Tired of pasting ugly URLs in your emails? Use hyperlinks instead!
Welcome to the first episode of Tech it Out! In this episode, I’ll show you how to create hyperlinks in your Outlook emails.
Questions? Contact Danae.
Month: August 2015
Even Easier-to-Use CFAES and Extension Branded Images!
We have great news and not-so-great news this morning. Yesterday, we shared the link to a Buckeye Box folder that housed easy-to-use branded images. The not-so-great news: we’ve deleted this Buckeye Box folder. The great news? = the reason why! What we didn’t realize, was that this resource already exists! CFAES Communications now offers branded college and University background images, art, in addition to logos in .jpg and .png formats.
This 4-H Background image is one of many image resources available on the CFAES Communications site.
We apologize for the confusion. As we had mentioned in the previous post, if you have trouble using an image in it’s current format, do not see a desired image available, or just have a general branding question, please contact Jamie or Danae and we will help or contact the appropriate parties within the college.
Easy-to-Use Ohio State Branded Images
This post has been updated here.
2015 Video Creation Workshops Registration
Registration is now OPEN for this Fall’s Video Creation Workshops!
Back by popular demand! Our video workshops were a hit last year, and they’re back for 2015!
OSU South Centers / Piketon | October 15th
OSU Marion Campus | October 21st
Mahoning County Extension Office | November 5th
What will be covered:
- Video shooting best practices (suggested equipment, lighting, sound, etc.)
- How to edit in iMovie (Mac users)
- How to edit in Pinnacle Studio (PC users)
- Where to upload and share your videos.
- Where to find more video creation resources in Buckeye Box.
The workshops will be facilitated by Mitch Moser, Amanda Raines, Danae Wolfe, and Jamie Seger, depending upon location.
Participants will receive an email with detailed information approximately 10 – 7 days before the date of the workshop. However, if you do not have iMovie or Pinnacle, it is suggested that you go ahead and download one or the other program immediately after registering. These are hands-on workshops and participants will be expected to engage during the entire day. iMovie typically comes preloaded on Mac computers, while Pinnacle is $59.99 and can be purchased here.
Registration is now open! These workshops reached capacity last year, so make sure you register for a seat before they “sell out!”
Click here to register!
Contact Jamie Seger or Danae Wolfe with questions.
Best Royalty-Free Image Sources
Images are a wonderful, and almost necessary, addition to blog and social media posts, marketing materials, and websites. A great photograph can help convey your message and grab your audience’s attention. Research suggests that social media posts, for example, garner more attention than text-only posts, but finding high quality and royalty free images can be a drag!
While a Google image search may help you in diagnosing a pest or plant disease, it is NOT a proper way to find images for use in marketing or educational materials. Many of the images you may find via Google image search are not licensed for public use. If you find an image online that you would like to use, but cannot find any licensing information, you should attempt to contact the original author for permission. Not receiving an answer from the author is not implied permission. If you do not hear from the author, it is best to find a suitable image licensed under Creative Commons.
If you need a refresher on the types of Creative Commons licenses and allowable image uses, you should watch this helpful video.
The following royalty-free image resources can serve as a starting point in your image search. This is not an exhaustive list, but the resources here offer fairly extensive image libraries that cover a wide range of topic areas.
Pixabay
Pixabay tends to be my first stop when looking for high quality stock images. I don’t always find exactly what I’m looking for, but the site offers thousands of images that cover nearly every topic imaginable (unless you’re looking for something ultra-specific). All images are released under the Creative Commons CC0 license as public domain and are free to use for both personal and commercial projects with no attribution required. Be careful not to click the subtle ShutterStock ads that will take you to the fee-based ShutterStock website.
StockSnap.io
StockSnap.io is a new (2017) stock photo website with tons of great images. From gorgeous images of food to business savvy photos for presentations, you’re sure to find a great selection of royalty-free Creative Commons CC0 images here.
PikWizard
PikWizard offers tons of great images across a diversity of topics. From technology to landscapes, PikWizard is easily searchable and offers tons of exclusive images you won’t find on another stock photo sites.
Foodies Feed
FoodiesFeed offers searchable, high quality, and beautifully colorful photos of food. You’ll find tons of well-composed photos of ingredients and prepared meals, but not many shots of people. No attribution is required for using the photos. I did notice images downloaded as very large files. The image below downloaded at a size of 9.4MB so I used Photoshop to resize to something more manageable (181KB).
Public Domain Archive
Public Domain Archive has a nice, though limited, supply of public domain images that are high quality and free to use. All images are released under the Creative Commons CC0 license as public domain and can be used for both personal and commercial projects with no attribution required.
Unsplash
Unsplash features a variety of high quality and searchable images. You can even subscribe to receive 10 new photos in your inbox every 10 days. All images are released under the Creative Commons CC0 license as public domain and are free to use for both personal and commercial projects with no attribution required. Below is an example of the great images available on Unsplash.
Free Images
Free Images offers many great images that are free for editorial purposes including education. When used for an editorial purpose you should provide proper credit to “FreeImages.com/Artist’s Member Name.”
Public Domain Pictures
Public Domain Pictures is a repository of free amateur images available for download. The free images are released under the Creative Commons CC0 license. Be sure not to click the many ads for fee-based stock photography sites.
Flickr Creative Commons
Flickr offers millions of photos licensed under Creative Commons. You can search for images by each type of Creative Commons license. Always make sure to follow license restrictions for each photo you’re using.
Getty
Another great resource for free images is Getty, though you can only embed free Getty images on websites, blogs, or social media. You will not be able to use free Getty images for printing, PowerPoints, use in 4-H project books, etc.
RGB Stock
RGB Stock offers a lot of great stock photos, all with Creative Commons CC0 license. You will have to register for a free account to download images, but it’s worth it for free access to high quality images!
CFAES Photo Library
The CFAES Photo Library is a great place to find images that represent OSU landmarks, programs, and people.
Bugwood
If you’re looking for images of plants, insects, and plant diseases, Bugwood is one of the best! The database is searchable and offers tons of great species-specific images. When downloading and using Bugwood images, you MUST provide attribution. Images are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 and Creative Commons Attribution/Non-commercial 3.0. If you’d like to use photos for a commercial purpose (e.g. in a bulletin that will be sold), you must get approval from the image author.
If you’re ever in doubt about allowable uses for stock images, check out the website’s about page. Most sites offer additional information about the licensing of their images and appropriate uses.
Whether you take your own photographs or download images from stock sites, keep the following in mind:
- Your images should be relevant to their use
- You should use only high quality and in-focus images
- When required by the image license, provide proper attribution
- Never use an image without permission, unless licensed under Creative Commons
If you’re interested in creating great graphics with the images you find (without learning Photoshop), I encourage you to check out our blog post on Canva.
Questions? Contact Danae.
CFAES e-Learning Needs Survey
Deana Namuth-Covert, the Director of e-Learning for CFAES, and her team have created a needs assessment to survey CFAES faculty and staff. The results of this survey will determine future workshops and trainings college-wide on topics such as online course design, as well as specific tools such as Carmen, Moodle, etc.
Because of the ongoing partnership between the the CFAES e-Learning team and the OSUE Ed Tech unit, Extension professionals are encouraged to participate in the survey. This way, we can identify areas of collaboration in our college, as well as across the University.
Questions? Contact Jamie.
Want Up-to-Date Extension Tech Info? Follow us on Twitter!
Are you following your Ed Techs on Twitter yet? You should be! Follow Jamie and Danae for relevant tech information as well as updates on available trainings, workshops, and other happenings in Extension Ed Tech!
New social media app offers authenticity over contrived versions of ourselves. Meet @bemeapp. #beme #edtechln http://t.co/JAF7VGDis1
— Danae Wolfe (@DanaeMWolfe) July 17, 2015
So you want to make an app? There’s a decision chart for that! http://t.co/gwOqBbvJ3v #EdTechLN #CoopExt
— Jamie Seger (@JamieMSeger) July 22, 2015
Follow Danae.
Follow Jamie.
New to Twitter? We’ve got you covered! You can find a primer on Twitter here. Once you’re up and running it’s best to begin expanding your personal learning network. Here’s how.
Meet Your New Ed Tech, Danae Wolfe!
Please help me in welcoming our new full-time Educational Technology Specialist Danae Wolfe! Danae began her new position in the OSU Extension Ed Tech Unit August 3rd. Below is a brief Q&A with Danae. You can also learn more about her and her new role on her bio page.
Extension Background
Despite participating in 4-H as a youth, it wasn’t until much later in life that I discovered Extension. I started working as Summit County’s Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Educator in 2012. Prior to that, I donned the iconic Smokey Bear uniform while working as an Interpretive Park Ranger for Cuyahoga Valley National Park where I taught park visitors about water quality issues and invasive plants.
I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to teach informal education, but I was never quite sure in what capacity. With opportunities to reach a statewide audience (and beyond), I knew Extension was the right fit for me when I discovered all the organization had to offer.
How did you get to be so interested in Educational Technology?
With a background in environmental education, it seems odd that I’ve become so interested in Educational Technology (especially considering many environmentalists feel society needs to disconnect to become more in tune with the natural world). Throughout the last three years working as a county-based Extension Educator, I’ve had the opportunity to teach a variety of classes and workshops about Educational Technology and I’ve learned how critical digital media is to the work that we do in Extension.
I’m particularly interested in how Extension can become more adaptable to meet the changing needs of our clients. People are accessing their information differently than they have in the past. The Internet is often the first (and sometimes only) resource people look to for information and it’s our responsibility to ensure that our clients are finding the most up-to-date and reliable information possible. I’m looking forward to exploring the many ways we can stay at the forefront of creating innovative educational experiences that empower people with knowledge.
What has been your favorite project or program that you’ve worked on that involved tech?
My favorite tech-related programs have been the Garden and Insect Photography workshops I’ve offered over the last two years. I’m a macro insect photographer and sharing my expertise with others has been a thrill. Seeing insects up close allows people to appreciate their beauty and intricacy and provides an avenue for learning about and valuing species that often get overlooked. I believe we can use photography not only to educate our clients about a variety of topics, but also to tell the story of Extension.
What are you excited to learn more about or work on during the next year?
One of the things I’m most excited about is the opportunity to meet with faculty and staff in each region and start drafting a comprehensive social media marketing campaign for Extension. I’ve heard countless times from clients that Extension doesn’t market itself well enough and I’d like that to change. I have ideas for viral videos, hashtag campaigns, and a 365 photo project that highlights stories of Extension. Other than a social media marketing campaign, I’m also excited to explore how we can improve search engine optimization to ensure people can find our web content and fact sheets. We want our information to rise above the junk floating around on the Internet!
Ed Tech Philosophy
Technology allows us to break free from geographic constraints. It allows us to connect with people and organizations that share similar interests and face similar issues. Education technology, when used appropriately and well, will move us forward into a future of Extension that globalizes unbiased, research-based information. The mission of Ohio State University Extension is to strengthen the lives of Ohioans through research-based educational programming, but why stop at Ohio?
As I think about how we can use technology in the work we do in Extension, I’m excited for the opportunity to engage my creative side. The possibilities are boundless and I encourage each of us to think innovatively as we move into the future.
Contact Danae with educational technology-related questions, meetings requests, and training information. You can also utilize our Ask an Ed Tech comment thread for tech-related questions 24/7.
Heather Gottke will remain involved in the Educational Technology unit via special projects and assignments.