In order to critically engage with scholarship, scholars need to be aware of the inherent problems within the system of academic scholarship. Be aware that many databases have inherent bias that reflect a primarily white, cis-male standard that permeates American society and academia. Even the terms we use to search for research are inherently problematic. By acknowledging these inherent problems, all scholars can participate in improving the academic and public discourse.
Authored by jaime ding
This LibGuide is a resource for students as a start for digital projects.
These are just a few of the best starter tools compiled and recommended by the Digital Projects Lab staff. It will point you towards tools that can help create video, audio, or visual scholarship.
Please feel free to email jpding@calpoly.edu or rwhite@calpoly.edu with any questions.
The words in "quotes" refer to the tabs below.
Find tools here that require user to participate in some way: interacting with data visualizations, participate in a game, or absorbs user input.
| Tool | Description | Account Required? | Creation Rating | Tutorial Links | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tableau | Powerful and flexible data visualization software. Create and share interactive visualizations on the web. | Y, free | ♦ ♦ | ||
| Google Data Studio | Create and share interactive visualizations and dashboards online with this free, easy and flexible tool. | Y, free | |||
| Flourish | Easy data visualization tool | Y, free | ♦ ♦ | ||
| Data Wrapper | Easily create beautiful charts to share online | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Plotly Chart Studio | Create sophisticated charts using D3 and WebGL, with no coding required | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Raw Graphs | A tool that helps with the missing link between spreadsheets and data visualization. Great for creating vector graphics. | N | ♦ ♦ | ||
| Gephi | open source tool for data visualization | N, needs to be downloaded | ♦ ♦ ♦ | ||
| Twine | An open source tool for telling interactive, non-linear, choose your own adventure design | N | ♦ ♦ | = | |
| Unity | A game design tool | Y, free | ♦ ♦ ♦ | ||
| Voyant | An easy, drag and drop text analysis tool that will analyze language used on a page, book, website, etc. | ♦ |
Each tool is marked with a number of ♦, indicating the technical skill needed to use it. One ♦ indicates a "what you see is what you get" ability, while five ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ indicates the need for advanced coding languages.
Visualising Data: a fuller, in-depth scope of many data visualization tools out there
Use these tools to create displays: a graphic, a website, or a presentation.
| Tool | Description | Account required? | Skills Required | Tutorial Links | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canva | To create graphic designs and infographics | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Piktochart | Create beautiful infographics, flyers, posters, presentations and reports easily with absolutely no design experience. | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Easel.ly | a simple infographic maker that lets you visualize any kind of information | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Medium | Y, free | ♦ | |||
| Ghost | open source | Y, with limintations | ♦ ♦ | ||
| Prismic.io | Y, free | ♦ | |||
| Conceptboard | Y, free | ♦ | |||
| Instructables | Y, free | ♦ | |||
| Slides.com | Y, free | ♦ |
A list of alternative applications to tools like the Adobe Creative Suite.
Use these tools to create a sense of time or place.
| Tool | Description | Account Required | Creation Rating | Tutorial Links | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArcGIS Online | A powerful web-based GIS platform for mapping and spatial analysis. | Y, free through Cal Poly | ♦ ♦ ♦ | example Story Maps | |
| Carto | Easily create and share dynamic interactive web maps | Y, free | ♦ ♦ | ||
| Google Earth Tour Builder | Build a virtual tour through Google Maps | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Juxtapose | Easy to make time frame comparisons for a specific place (often used for before/after instances) | N | ♦ | ||
| Timeline Storyteller | An open-source expressive visual storytelling environment for presenting timelines | N | ♦ ♦ | ||
| Timeline JS | An open-source tool that enables you to build visually-rich interactive timelines | N | ♦ | ||
| Storyline | An open-source tool that enables an annotated, interactive line chart | N | ♦ |
Find tools here that can record, edit and transcribe videos.
| Tool | Description | Account Required | Skill Rating | Tutorial Links | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Broadcaster Software | A free, open source screen sharing with streaming capabilities, with a recording tool | Y, free | |||
| Flipgrid | Y, free | ||||
| ShareX | Free, open source screen recording and sharing, a recording tool | N | |||
| Adobe Spark | Video editing tool | Y, paid | |||
| 123apps | a series of tools to cut, merge, and convert video files | ||||
| Otter.ai | Transcribes conversations into notes. This does cost money, but our Disability Resource Center does offer help with this particular tool, and further resources. | Y, paid | |||
| Thisten | |||||
| Google Docs | A Google doc can also transcribe a conversation, simply by going to "Tools -> Voice Typing" | Y, free |
Each tool is marked with a number of ♦, indicating the technical skill needed to use it. One ♦ indicates a "what you see is what you get" ability, while five ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ indicates the need for advanced coding languages.
Find tools that can be used to create audio files, such as a podcast or music.
| Tool | Description | Account Required | Skill Rating | Tutorial Links | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anchor | An all-in-one platform where you can create, distribute, and monetize your podcast from any device, for free. | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Descript | Record. Transcribe. Edit. Mix. As easy as typing. | Downloaded software, free | ♦ ♦ | ||
| Soundcloud | A platform to upload audio. | Y, free | ♦ | ||
| Go Synth | Maximum 256 second sound bytes with transcriptions and links that can be shared as an audiogram. | Y, free | ♦♦ | ||
| Audacity | an easy-to-use, multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. Developed by a group of volunteers as open source. |
Download software, free | ♦ |
Each tool is marked with a number of ♦, indicating the technical skill needed to use it. One ♦ indicates a "what you see is what you get" ability, while five ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ indicates the need for advanced coding languages.
All digital materials need to be accessible: as a start, see Cal Poly's polices and plans.
Please keep in mind issues of privacy, copyright, and distribution while you make digital projects: all of these issues are important and very much in flux.
Robert E. Kennedy Library can offer preservation of your website in the University Archives through a tool called ArchiveIt.
Please contact Laura Sorvetti, lsorvett@calpoly.edu, for more information.
Please let us know how your projects turned out! lib-digital@calpoly.edu