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In order to give our students the best resources possible, we’ve compiled a list of websites, applications, and locations on campus to help you conduct research, create multimodal projects, and find help with any issues that might arise during your studies. Since we do not maintain these resources and things change frequently, rather than provide direct links, we suggest searching online to find out more.

Campus Resources for Multimodal Projects

Educational Resources Collection, Bracken Library

765-285-5334 | 765-285-5340 (Educational Resources Circulation)

Located in the basement of Bracken Library, The Educational Resources Collection has digital equipment available for checkout including laptops, digital video recorders, microphones, tripods, and digital cameras. Items can be checked out for a period of 6 hours and are eligible for 2 renewals.

University Media Services Equipment Checkout

765-6285-148 | Ball Communications Building, Room 194, Phone: 285-5373

The University Media Services Office offers equipment checkout privileges for faculty and students working on University related projects. Authorization must be provided from the instructor in order for students to check out equipment. Cameras, lighting equipment, microphones, and tripods are available.

iCare Corner, Teachers College 210

765-285-4197 | icare@bsu.edu

The iCare Corner has equipment for checkout including MacBooks, cameras, microphones, and voice recorders. Items can be checked out for a period of 3 days. Visit LEMIR, the online reservation system for specifics.

The Writing Program, Robert Bell

RB 295| M-F

The Writing Program has class sets of audio equipment (audio recorders and headphones) available for instructors to check out for use.

Tech Time, Bracken Library 101

765-285-8324 | techtime@bsu.edu *Appointments are strongly encouraged.

Students and faculty can make a 1-hour appointment at Tech Time to receive personalized assistance with learning how to use specific applications (Dreamweaver, Photoshop, iMovie, etc.) needed to complete projects.

The Writing Center, Robert Bell 295

765-285-8387 | writing@bsu.edu

To schedule an appointment go to The Writing Center website.

In addition to providing one-on-one peer tutoring for text-based assignments, The Writing Center enthusiastically offers peer tutoring for multimodal projects as well. Students working on multimodal projects are welcome to make appointments to work with a tutor.

The Digital Writing Studio, Robert Bell 116

765-285-8370 | writing@bsu.edu

To schedule an appointment go to The Digital Writing Studio website.

Tutors who staff the Digital Writing Studio are available to help explain how to navigate and use effectively digital composing tools as well as troubleshoot technological impasses. In addition, tutors can help brainstorm project ideas, provide feedback on the content and design of a digital project, and facilitate collaboration for group projects and presentations. Common digital and multimodal projects include (but are not limited to) producing a video, designing a website or infographic, constructing a digital portfolio, creating a blog, leveraging social media, developing fliers and brochures, selecting and editing images, and writing and recording a podcast.

Lynda.com

Want 24/7 access to available resources about learning online services like Adobe and and Blackboard? Gain free access to Lynda.com’s online learning service and thousands of other tutorials by logging in using your Ball State username and password.

Resources for Making Films in a Writing Course

Assemble a Film

iMovie

This user-friendly Mac based application allows users to edit and put together a movie using footage they’ve shot with a digital camera. Select “Help” and “iMovie Help” for step-by-step instructions on how to use iMovie for creating a video project.

iMovie ’11 Essential Training with Garrick Chow. Available on Lynda.com, this beginner’s level series runs about 3 ½ hours long and covers everything from the basics through post-production. Topics covered include importing video from myriad sources, understanding the interface of iMovie, organizing clips, editing video, working with effects, working with audio, and sharing and publishing your movie. This training session includes exercise files and transcripts of each section.

Movie Maker

This program is the Windows counterpart to iMovie. It allows users to edit and assemble a movie using footage shot with a digital camera. Its website offers instruction guides on how to import video, edit the movie and the audio, implement a theme, and publish to the web.

Windows Live Movie Maker Essential Training with David Rivers. Available on Lynda.com, this beginner’s level series runs about 2 hours long with tutorials on the basics, gathering content, editing the content, special effects, sharing your movie, and advanced techniques. This training session also includes exercise files and transcripts for each section.

Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe’s video editing software. Working with Adobe allows integration across the entire Creative Suite, so files (such as audio) are easily transferable for editing. Premiere Pro is a bit more involved than the other two softwares listed in this section. It may take a bit more experimenting and watching tutorials to completely understand how to utilize the software to its fullest extent.

Resources: To Publish a Film

iTunes

iTunes is a free application where users can play and download music, videos, and podcasts. Users can share video podcasts by uploading them into the iTunes library. This allows them to share their work with people they know, but also with the iTunes community who can rate their projects and leave comments. It’s a real place where students can receive real feedback and uploading their work is easy.

YouTube

YouTube is a website where users can upload their videos to the internet. Like iTunes, students can upload their projects to YouTube in an effort to share their work with a real audience. Privacy features can be toggled to make their work public or private, and YouTube’s commenting and rating features allows students to interact with a real audience. Once a student uploads a project onto YouTube, they will then have a link to their video for easy sharing. The About page provides links to easy how-to sections on getting starting, YouTube essentials, user guidelines, and more. YouTube also has a built-in video editor allowing users to edit their projects right in the YouTube interface.

Vimeo

Vimeo is another website that provides users a platform to upload their videos to the internet. Vimeo offers an alternative to the Google-owned Youtube for creators who still wish to share their work with the public sphere. Unlike Youtube, there are paid “tiers” that open up new features on Vimeo. Read more about the website on their About page.

Resources: To Enhance a Film

MusOpen

This is a “non-profit focused on improving access and exposure to music by creating free resources and educational materials.” Their website offers downloadable music without from copyright restrictions for free.

Freesound.org

This website offers sound effects in a number of different categories, downloadable and free of charge.

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is “a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.” Not only can people use Creative Commons to give other people the right to share and use their work, but it also provides users with a directory of Creative Commons-licensed content to use without the threat of copyright infringement. Audio, video, and even academic materials are available for use. Visit the About page for more information.

Flickr Commons

Flickr Commons offers public photo collections for people to use for free.

Film Resources: To Read & Watch

Brian Brooks’s “Good Advice! 8 Documentary Dos and Don’ts from a Vet Programmer.” on Indiewire. Simple yet sound advice for aspiring documentary filmmakers. Basic tips on how to create a successful film experience for your audience.

WikiHow’s How to Make a Short Documentary Film

A basic description of the steps fledgling filmmakers should take when attempting to make a short documentary film.

How to: Make a Short Documentary

Basic tips and tricks on how to go about filming a short documentary, especially in regards to transitional moments in the film.

Oystein Gilje’s “Multimodal Redesign in Filmmaking Practices: An Inquiry of Young Filmmakers’ Deployment of Semiotic Tools in Their Filmmaking Practice.” in Written Communication

Fred Johnson’s “Film School for Slideware: Film, Comics, and Slideshows as Sequential Art.” in Computers and Composition

Harbrace Guide to Writing (ed. Cheryl Glenn, Instructor’s Edition).

One of our approved textbooks for ENG 103, the Harbrace Guide to Writing includes relevant information on publishing work on YouTube. The section titles “A Rhetorical Approach to Broadcasting on YouTube” is located on page 404.

Podcasting in a Writing Course

Resources: To Create a Podcast

Audacity

Audacity allows its users to record and edit live audio for free and offers extensive how-to manuals. It also has a comprehensive wiki site with tutorials for many types of audio-related projects including podcasting. This site walks users through the process step by step, from choosing a host to sharing the finished product on iTunes or other podcast directories.

GarageBand

GarageBand is an Apple product that allows its users to complete audio projects like songs, ringtones, podcasts and more. Its user-friendly interface makes this program great for beginners, and the Help section of its website offers step by step instructions on how to create a podcast using GarageBand.

GarageBand ’11 Essential Training with Todd Howard. Available on Lynda.com, this beginner’s level series includes tutorial videos, exercise files and transcriptions. Includes a section specifically on how to create a podcast using GarageBand running about 15 minutes long.

Resources: To Publish a Podcast

iTunes

iTunes is a free application that allows users to play and download music, videos, and podcasts. Its searchable directory has thousands of free podcasts available in all different categories from sports, to education, to entertainment and more. iTunes also allows users to upload their own podcasts to the directory for free. The website includes many podcasting resources for both listeners and creators, including an FAQ sheet that explains what podcasts are and how to download them using iTunes; there’s an FAQ that explains podcasts for people wanting to make them and post them to iTunes.

Soundcloud

Soundcloud is a free website that allows users to discover, listen to, and share audio files for other users and listeners. While the site hosts a large number of musical artists, the site can also be used to upload podcasts. Soundcloud’s general FAQ answers a number of questions about account details, what Soundcloud is, etc. There’s an FAQ answers podcast specific questions, such as getting started, setting up an RSS feed, and connecting to iTunes.

You can also check out the article “21 of the Top Podcast Hosting Companies” on We Edit Podcasts for many more free uploading and publishing programs.

Resources: To Enhance a Podcast

Royalty Free Music

This website offers royalty free stock music and sound effects. It also offers a Free Music Program for educators who are using the music for a class project, like podcasting. An application process determines eligibility for access to this free music.

MusOpen

Freesound.org

This website offers sound effects in a number of different categories, downloadable and free of charge.

Audiomicro

This website is much like the others but offers a neat search bar on the front page for your unique needs.

Garageband also has stock music/effects to include in podcasts.

Resources: To Listen to Podcasts

In addition to iTunes, here are some other apps to find new podcasts:

Stitcher

“Listen to over 65000+ radio shows and podcasts on your iPhone, iPad, Android or PC. Create custom stations, get personalized recommendations and always be up to date!” This website allows you to personalize your podcast listening in a Pandora-esque way.

Other Resources for Podcasts

Garageband: Podcasting (Garrick Chow)

A training series on Lynda.com, this tutorial is about 2 hours in length and walks users through the essentials of making a podcast at a beginner’s level. Everything from the basics, planning, recording, editing, and publishing are covered.

Podcasting Tools

A website specializing in gathering resources for podcasting. Includes information about what podcasting is, software to use for creating a podcast, uses of podcasts, FAQs, links to wikis and podcast directories, etc. Also includes this blurb on how to make your podcast standout. This site has great short articles that lend themselves to providing students with the foundation they need to begin to talk about podcasting as a genre of writing. Follow this group on Twitter @PodcastingTools.

Podcasting Dos and Don’ts

From FeedForAll. A succinct conversation starter for class discussions about what makes a good podcast.

Ira Glass on Storytelling

In this four-part YouTube video, the host of This American Life talks about what it takes to make a good story to share with an audience.

Radio: An Illustrated Guide

This book details through both images and text how the radio show This American Life is made. It’s also a step-by-step how-to on how to make a story worthy of radio or podcasting. It also includes nuts and bolts type information about recording audio and how to develop good interview questions. The hardcopy is $5 while the e-book version is $2.

StoryCorps

This nonprofit group aims to give everyone the opportunity to share their story as a part of “one of the largest oral history projects of its kind.” Featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, StoryCorps is the perfect venue for students to learn about interviewing, storytelling, producing material for a real audience, and the value in listening. The “Education” section of their website offers free lesson plans, curriculum information, and more on how to adhere to their guidelines and submit to the project.

“How Podcasting Works”

The website How Stuff Works explains how podcasting works complete with videos, a brief history of podcasting, how to listen and create podcasts, and related links.

Podcast 411

This site includes numerous tutorials on how to create podcasts as well as podcasts directories and links to relevant information on creating and listening to podcasts.

Harbrace Guide to Writing (Cheryl Glenn, Instructor’s Edition)

One of our Writing Program approved textbooks for the ENG 103 course, this book contains useful information on podcasting in a section titled “A Rhetorical Approach to Podcasting” located on page 402.

Resources for Photo/Art

Photoshop Resources

“How to Use Photoshop: The Bookmarkable Photoshop Tutorial for Beginners” by Lindsay Kolowich

This blog provides an easy-to-read guide to Photoshop for beginners. It provides explanations and tutorials for the most common tools a new Photoshop user will be using.

“Fill Text with Images in Photoshop” by Chad Neuman

This is a step-by-step tutorial on how to use Photoshop to fill text with images.

“How to Create Your First Digital Painting Without a Tablet in Adobe Photoshop” by Monika Zagrobelna

This is a design-focused website that provides a step-by-step tutorial for beginners on creating a digital painting in Photoshop.

Art Repositories

National Gallery of Art

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection (LACMA)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Museum of Fine Arts Boston (Look for the collection titled MFA Images)

National Museums of Scotland Image Library

The Walters Art Museum

Art Images for College Teaching

Art Resource

Photo Repositories

Flickr (Adjust licensing for creative commons or no known copyright when searching)

Discover Yale Digital Content

The Granger Collection

The New York Public Library Digital Gallery

AP Images

DefenseLink Images (Look under the Observe link for photos)

NASA Images

NOAA Photo Gallery

Prints & Photographs Online Catalog Selection of the Library of Congress

US Fish & Wildlife Reserve Digital Library

US Geological Survey Multimedia Gallery

US Government Photos and Graphics

White House Photos & Video

Resources for Infographics

Infographic Platforms

Canva

Piktochart

Venngage

Infogram

Easel.ly

Google Charts

To Read About Infographics

Infographic Design from Canva Learn

The Ultimate Infographic Design Guide: 13 Tricks For Better Designs by Venngage.

These sources discuss aspects of how to design infographics.

13 Reasons Why Your Brain Craves Infographics by NeoMam Studios

This source gives reasons for why certain aspects of infographic design are more successful than others.

Infographics: Potential Drawbacks and Best Practices by Zack Onisko – Creative Market

The source discusses the rise of infographics, why you may or may not want to use them, alternatives to infographics, and what you should do if you decide to use infographics.

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