SUPPORTED PLATFORMS

Audacity

Audacity is a free and open-source digital audio editor and recording application software. Audacity can help you edit podcasts, music, and voice-overs for digital media projects. The Forrer Learning Commons has audio equipment like microphones and headphones for the recording process! The Gurus can help you learn how to use Audacity with this cheat sheet.

GarageBand

GarageBand is the line of digital audio workstations for macOS and iOS that allows users to create music or podcasts for free. Garage Band is free and comes preinstalled on most Apple devices. The Gurus are able to assist you in learning how to use GarageBand.

Audioship

Audioship is a free MP3 to MP4 converter. MP3 files are audio-only files, whereas MP4 files can also support video. Some platforms only use MP4 files for editing, so you’ll need a free platform to convert MP3 to MP4 files.

Microsoft Sway

Microsoft Sway is used to create reports, presentations, training material, and newsletters through a linear story-telling format with beautiful designs. Sway is easy-to-use and more engaging than a PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation. Need assistance creating a presentation? The Gurus are here to help!

Timeline JS

Timeline JS is an open-source tool that enables anyone to build visually rich, interactive timelines. Beginners can create a timeline using nothing more than a Google spreadsheet. This resource is perfect for history classes! Want to help getting started? Ask the Gurus!

Story Map JS

If you need a map of the world to present your information, use this platform! Story Map JS is a more interactive historical timeline, allowing users to click on geographic locations for information. And, of course, the Gurus can help!

Canva

Canva is a great online graphic design tool for making posters, flyers, infographics, social media posts, and more! It offers a wide range of backgrounds, fonts, clipart images, and assets for creating effective designs. However, there are elements you may not be able to access with a free account, like adding music and voiceovers to videos, so be wary! If you would like assistance with using Canva, schedule an appointment with the Gurus through Penji!

Piktochart

Piktochart is a beginner-friendly version of Canva. With Piktochart, you can create beautiful infographics, flyers, posters, presentations and reports easily with absolutely no design experience! Like Canva, however, Piktochart has paid and free versions of the platform. If you would like help getting started with Piktochart, schedule an appointment with the Gurus through Penji!

Gimp

GIMP is a free and open-source raster graphics editor used for image manipulation and image editing, free-form drawing, transcoding between different image file formats, and more specialized tasks. It is a beginner-friendly, free alternative for Adobe Photoshop. Although it supports most file types, it does not support DNG. Gimp offers tutorials on their website, but if you would like more help in figuring out the software, schedule an appointment with the Gurus through Penji!

Adobe Color

Adobe Color can help you generate a stunning palette using principles of color in design. Use these color palettes when designing websites, social media posts, presentations, and more! Although Adobe Color is more rigorous, you can also use Coolors for palette generation.

Brand Mark

The logo generator by Brand Mark allows you to create simple logos for your personal business, online portfolio, or other body of work with no graphic design experience required. Generate a dozen logo ideas seamlessly just by inputting your brand name, slogan, vibe, and colors.

Fontjoy

Fontjoy can help you generate font pairings, or different fonts for headers and paragraphs, that look good together on websites, infographics, and other media.

Cloud Convert

Need to convert one file type to another? Whether you need documents, images, or audio, Cloud Convert can perform up to 25 free file conversions every day so you can correctly submit an assignment or obtain the right file type for editing.

Compress PNG Images

Compress PNG can compress up to 20 PNG files into a ZIP format so you can send them over email and other formats without losing your image quality. Save storage space on your computer and manage large files by compressing them into ZIPs.

Compress JPEG Images

Compress JPEG can compress up to 20 JPEG files into a ZIP format so you can send them over email and other formats without losing your image quality. Save storage space on your computer and manage large files by compressing them into ZIPs.

UnSplash

Similar to the Creative Commons, UnSplash provides royalty-free images for using in media projects without copyright infringement. UnSplash has more updated imagery than the Creative Commons. Always give credit to the creator!

We Compress

We Compress is a free file compression service. Convert documents and images into ZIP files with a limit of 50 MB.

Adobe Express

Adobe Express is a digital creation suite that lets you easily create beautiful images, videos, and web pages. Adobe Express was previously called Adobe Spark, but recently underwent a rebranding process. If you would like assistance making Adobe Spark webpages and videos, check out our how-to page of tutorials.

PowToon

PowToon allows users to create videos with animations and characters as a fun way to present information for projects. The Gurus have a variety of PowToon tutorials that can be found under the PowToon section of our how-to page.

Google Apps

The Gurus help with a variety of Google Apps like Docs, Sheets, Drive, Slides, etc. If you would like help using any of the apps in the Google Workspace, schedule an appointment with the Gurus through Penji!

Kapwing

Kapwing is a media development tool for social media creators. It features a resizing tool to post your media on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and other popular platforms.

iMovie

iMovie is a simple video editing software offered by Apple. It is only available on Mac computers, but it is free and comes with each machine. The Gurus offer tutorials and assistance for iMovie here. If you do not have a MacBook but would like to create and edit a video using iMovie, use the Mac Desktops outside of the Academic Resources Suite in the Forrer Learning Commons!

Microsoft Photos

If you do not have a MacBook and your computer uses Windows, you can edit videos and photos for free using Microsoft Photos. Microsoft Photos comes preinstalled on all Windows operating machines. If you want need help, check our how-to page and scroll to Video Editing!

Although iMovie and Microsoft Photos are the most common free video editing platforms, the Gurus can also assist in creating videos with Adobe Premiere Pro, Canva, Adobe Express, and more!

WordPress

Create your own website! You can request a WordPress site from the Gurus via emailing us at gurus@bridgewater.edu or requesting a site in person through scheduling a Penji appointment. Once you have your site, you’ll receive instructions to log in at wp.bridgewater.edu and get started! If you need help designing your website, be sure to check out our WordPress tutorials.

Google Sites

Google Sites is a web page-creation tool offered by Google. It’s much simpler than WordPress, but it also can’t perform as many functions. Google Sites is a great resource for students and faculty looking to create quick and easy web projects. If you would like assistance creating a Google Site, the gurus can help!

W3 Schools

W3 Schools teaches students how to code for website development. With HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript, and more languages, receive free tutorials and practice your web development skills. Having trouble finding a coding solution? W3 Schools and the Gurus can help!

Website Accessibility

ADA compliance is an important consideration for any website development project. If you want to learn about website accessibility guidelines, reference Usability.gov. If you want to check your website, go to the Gurus’ How-To page to access the WAVE accessibility checker!