Digital Writing and Other Resources

This is an ongoing list of websites and documents that will be helpful as you work with writing in a digital environment and write for various audiences (and a few other writing resources).

 

Sites for design resources

Canva (free resource that a lot of professionals use for documents. good graphics)

 

“What you see is what you get” website builders

wordpress.com (free site through wordpress)

wordpress.org (will have to host, so not free…but more flexibility. here’s an article that spells out the differences)

wix

weebly

atavist (pretty cool builder especially if you are going for a blog)

Article on these and other options

 

Understanding Fair Use, Creative Commons, Public Domain (h/t Noel Tague)

A succinct breakdown of types of Creative Commons licenses at Flickr (see right sidebar).

brief definition of fair use from Stanford University Libraries.

A short article on the definition and historical development of open access.

A breakdown on the relationship between fair use, public domain, and Creative Commons.

 

Sites that offer images in the public domain and under creative commons license

Remember, most images you search for online may be under copyright, requiring you to get special permissions for use. It is good to get into the habit of using images freely available in the public domain or under creative commons license (see this article for difference between public domain and creative commons). That being said, you could also take your own pictures (provided what you are photographing can be legally photographed), create your own images (e.g., software, good ol’ fashion arts and crafts), or purchase the rights for images at sites like Shutterstock.

Tables, figures, and charts are tricky when it comes to copyright and fair use. Here is one article on copyright and fair use when it comes to tables/figures/charts and here is another article on copyright and fair use for tables/figures charts. Search “chart” in this article to find what I find to be the best standpoint on what would be fair use and not for using a table/figure/chart. I recommend reproducing the figure/table/chart to be safe, and, from an educational standpoint, to practice your abilities as a visual rhetorician. As an ethical practice, you should, of course, also attribute where you got your information when you reproduce a table, chart, or figure.

Here are some websites that offer public domain and creative commons images, but there may be other ones you find (please add, if so!). Always explore the site and/or individual files to make sure they are free to use and whether their are additional requirements for use (e.g., must give credit to creator):

Pexels

Public Domain Archive

Pixabay

New York Public Library (do some reading here to make sure you know what is under public domain)

PublicDomainPictures.net

http://www.flickr.com/commons (mostly free of copyright restrictions- be sure to check info on pic)

Splitshire

1 Million Free Pictures

Viintage

PD Pics

New Old Stock

Bing (after searching for an image, can filter by Creative Commons License; h/t Trevor)

Wikimedia Commons

Internet Archive

The Public Domain Project

Because a lot of free images tend to be of groups that are overrepresented in popular culture, here are some resources that highlight underrepresented people like women of color, black and brown people, LGBT folks, and people with disabilities:

WOCinTech (pictures of women of color in technical jobs, most under CC license)

nappy (pictures of black and brown people under CC license)

Burst (pictures of many different people, including LGBT couples under CC license for most part)

UKBlackTech (pictures of black people in tech, many ages)

The Disability Collection (Getty Images has images of people with disabilities)

Broadly (has images of people across gender spectrum)

 

Sites that offer moving images in the public domain and under creative commons license

Like static images, moving images may be under copyright. Here are some resources that make available free moving image files. As with the sites above for images, you should always explore the site and any individual file you might be using to confirm files are free and whether there are certain requirements you must meet:

Wikimedia Commons

Moving Image Archive

Vimeo Creative Commons

Prelinger Archives

Internet Archive

The Public Domain Project

YouTube (when you search for video, click “Filter” in upper right corner and select “creative commons”)

 

Sites that offer sound recordings in the public domain and under creative commons license

Like images (static and in motion), sound recordings may be under copyright. Here are some resources that make available free sound files. As with the sites above for images, you should always explore the site and any individual file you might be using to confirm files are free and whether there are certain requirements you must meet:

Freesound

Sound Bible- Royalty Free Sounds

Sound Bible- Sound Effects

Audio Micro

Partners in Rhyme

ZapSplat

Free Sound Effects

Wikimedia Commons

Free Music Archive

Internet Archive

The Public Domain Project

Public Domain Review

The Sound of Picture Production Library

 

White Paper Examples

USDA

ULI

U.S. Department of Education

WAP Forum and World Wide Web Consortium

DoD

 

Collaborative Writing

Collaborative Writing Tips

Google Docs

 

Genre

Genres you thought of in class Fall 2017

Genres you thought of in class Spring 2018

 

Time Management

Time Management Help

 

Revision

Revision Plan Example