Software for Creating
You might be thinking that you have no use for creative software, and you might be right. However, you might already be using software that's often used for design, but maybe you weren't thinking of it as "creative software". And knowing what software is available might spark some creative ideas for your next round of learning assets.
Please note this video will not teach you how to use any of the software we discuss. This section is solely intended to provide an overview of what software is available to you that can be used to create learning assets, how to access that software, and what uses it might provide.
If you are looking, specifically, for software training, you will find links to that below, as well as supplemental material in the Additional Resources section.
There is a ton of software that is approved for use and available through WSU, and you can find all the available options in the WSU ITS website under their Help me shop – software section. I've provided a link to the page below in the INFO section of this video.
With all that in mind, let's go over the software that's available to WSU faculty, staff, and students, that works great for creating learning assets.
Photoshop is probably the best known of the apps. It's an all-around image editor and creator, capable of creating animation and video as well. It's a very deep and robust app, so it will take time to master it, however, you can still do a massive amount of basic creating and editing pretty darn easily. And there's a ton of concise & easy to follow tutorials for beginners. Would I recommend PS to someone new to digital asset creation? Absolutely.
Illustrator is the app to create great illustrations, obviously, but also charts, graphs, infographics, so forth, when the stock options aren't getting it down. Illustrator, like PS, is deep and robust in its tools and options, however, I find Illustrator not as intuitive as PS when doing any destructive editing, such as cutting out sections, removing elements, so forth. However, for creating shapes, graphs, simple illustrations, and the like, I much prefer Illustrator. And with its native vector style creation process, you'll end up with much cleaner graphics.
Would I recommend Illustrator to most instructors looking to create assets? Probably not. I think illustrator will be more for those instructors who need or want to create their own simple illustrations, infographics, so forth. Unlike PS, Illustrator is not great for editing, but a powerhouse for creating.
InDesign is like if you took Microsoft Word and stuck it into PowerPoint. InDesign is not about creating a slideshow but is all about creating layout for text and images. These layouts can be for something as simple as a single page flyer to a 100-page illustrated novel. InDesign is also capable of creating interactive PDF's and webpages. InDesign takes some time to become familiar, if you're new to design UI, however, a great way to begin might be to grab one of the InDesign templates housed over in WSU Strategic Communications and take a look under the hood. Having a template and some basic tutorials could get you up and running in no time.
Would I recommend InDesign to most faculty or student? That depends on your need. If you need to do a multi-page layout with illustrations and you need full control over how the layout functions, then yes. If your need is simpler, then I would suggest Word, or even PPT.
Premiere Pro is Adobe's video editing software. There is the full, and very powerful, Premiere Pro, and there is its much lighter sibling, Adobe Rush. Premiere Pro is fairly easy to learn, but can be a bit overwhelming, at first, if you try to work above your skill. There are plenty of tutorials out there for beginners, and if you know you will be using video a lot and want to grow your editing options, then I would suggest you start your adventure with Premiere and enjoy the ride. However, if you just need to edit some video, throw a few graphics on top, include some text here and there, then I would suggest the much more user-friendly version, Adobe Rush.
I would definitely recommend Adobe Rush. Rush is a great editor for beginner and intermediate users alike. If you are wanting to add video editing to your toolbox, then explore Rush. It’s a very capable tool that does all the basic editing and graphic motions one might need.
Spark is an app that lets you create web pages, social media graphics, and videos via your mobile device. It's fairly easy to use, it's mobile, and I hope it sticks around and gains traction since I love mobile apps that work.
Adobe color is web-based and is a fantastic tool when working with color. It allows you to establish color harmonies, explore color options, and access thousands of custom color palettes created by other designers.
This app, (or is it really an option?), is little known among most casual designers. Fonts is Adobe's library of font options available for your use and has a huge library of fonts that continues to expand.
I think it would be near impossible to find someone on campus who has not used Word. However, I would bet that most are not using Word to its full potential. Word has built into it a simple to use UI that if used properly, will keep your document fully accessible and seamlessly convertible to a PDF. And if you really want to get more creative, there is a large library of available templates that already do most of the heavy lifting for you. There are templates for calendars, brochures, flyers, catalog, and more. Would I recommend Word? Of course… but does that really matter, you're already using word, aren't you?
I must admit that PPT has become my go-to app when it comes to content creating. Not only do I use it for my presentations, but I also use it for these videos, much like you might for your recorded lectures. But I also use PPT to create banners, flyers, infographics for other applications, and on and one. PPT is fully customizable in its size and dimensions, and so intuitively easy to use, esp. if you are already a Microsoft word user. PPT now also has an integrated system for accessing and using royalty-free and CC images. And its improved accessibility tool allows you to keep your work accessible as you go or to tackle it all in one single step at the end. I not only recommend PPT but encourage it.
I've noticed lately that Teams is gaining traction, and this makes sense. Teams is, not so much an app to create assets, but an asset that can be exceptionally creative in how it gets used. You might already be using Teams, but what you might not know is the massive library of plug-ins available for integration into your Teams structure. Besides being able to organize your work and organize your communication with others you can also use Teams as a personal assistance. You can even integrate your Adobe Creative Cloud account into your Teams UI. How cool is that?
Would I recommend Teams to someone not already using it? Yep. Or at least, I would strongly encourage you to explore what it's capable of. Could transform your classroom in a very creative way.
Excel is probably one of the most underutilized apps out there, in my opinion. Lurking below that calm and orderly surface is a machine capable of doing some amazing things, such as using excel to create interactive and dynamic educational tools. I use excel for several different things, but what I use it for the most is the organization, mapping, and tracking of my projects. I think excel is one of those programs you know you must use, or a program you can get by without ever touching.
The last app, in the Microsoft suite I'm going to highlight, is Stream. Stream is much like other recording and streaming apps but having it within the Microsoft suite makes it very easy to integrate into your workflow. Stream may at one time been a tool tailored to gamers it's now much more aligned to apps such as Zoom and Panopto, with similar features meant to meet the needs of more educators using video and streaming. Would I recommend it? Sure. Would I recommend it if you are already using Panopto and are comfortable with that? Maybe? I would definitely recommend that you explore how it might improve your workflow when creating learning assets, both recorded and live.
Panopto is the primary app available to staff, faculty, and students for recording and hosting video. The app comes with professional closed captioning thanks to WSU funding. Panopto seamlessly integrates into Blackboard and is the app we in OIR highly recommend for use by faculty and students. And unlike YouTube where you are unable to replace an existing video and keep the same URL, Panopto allows for changing any video with a new version and all links and embedded versions of it will live update. Would I recommend? Oh yeah.
Snagit is a software application that allows you to record your computer screen. This is very useful for learning content that is "hands-on", "step-by-step", or "show and tell". Any "how to" video on using software is going to be recorded by some sort of screen recorder. Snagit is a very competent and user-friendly app that can record your screen and allow for some pretty decent editing. It also has a growing number of features that promote sharing and collaboration. Would I recommend it? Absolutely.
Like to Learn More?
If you are uncertain how you might use any of the above software, I would encourage you to a bit of exploring online and to also visit our Additional Resources module on this page.
If it's training, you're after, I've provided some links below that should get you started.
And don't forget that there is a ton of training available, including live and recorded training during our Academic Resources Conferences each Spring, Summer, and Fall.
