How to plan, create and share digital hero books
All software listed here is free. A list of additional, not-for-free image, audio, video and DVD software (doc, 55K) is provided by the Center for Digital Storytelling.
Picasa is Google's image organiser and basic editor. Visit the Picasa homepage to check for the latest version.
GIMP is open-source software that is good for creating images and photo retouching. Visit the GIMP homepage to check for the latest version.
There are other free image editing programs
to download.
Audacity is open source software for recording and editing audio. Included here is Audacity 1.2.6. Visit the Audacity homepage
to check for the latest version and additional downlolads.
Soundslides is used to create simple digital stories or photo essays with audio. Included here is Soundslides 1.5. Visit the Soundslides homepage
to check for the latest version. NOTE: Soundslides Plus is available, but this toolkit covers the original Soundslides program.
Note: Soundslides requires Adobe Flash Player (minimum ver 7).
Listed below are entry-level programs for creating basic movies:
KiNO is a video editor for GNU/Linux. Included here is KiNO 1.1.1. Visit the KiNO homepage
to check for the latest version and additional downlolads.
Computers that have DVD burners will come with basic DVD authoring and burning software. There are also free DVD authoring programs
to download.
VLC media player is a cross-platform multimedia player for various audio and video formats (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, mp3, etc..) as well as DVDs. Included here is VLC 0.8.6. Visit the VLC homepage to check for the latest version.
Note to Linux users: The Linux packages here are source packages that you should be able to compile and install on your own computer. Each package contains instructions on compiling. In most cases, however, it's easier to use a prepackaged version for your Linux distribution. If you have network connectivity, take a look at the software home pages for download links. You could also check your Linux distribution's software installation system (apt, rpm, yum), which is the easiest way to install software.