The Writing Across Technology curriculum includes online modules on rhetorical design and software tutorials. Our software tutorials go over common functions, but this page is for unexpected errors or questions. The First-Year Writing office can support instructors in developing activities regarding the rhetorical use of digital tools, or in developing ways to facilitate problem-solving, but instructors and students should consult the below sources regarding unexpected technological errors and/or for information on where to find the software.
Have you already tried troubleshooting and searching online for the problem?
If instructors or students encounter technological problems with the software, we recommend first exploring problem-solving approaches. It's important that instructors don't feel the need to be "experts" in a given software and rather engage in collaborative exploration of different platforms with their students. Even if you access the resources below, be sure to conduct thorough searches of the available materials to see if there are solutions to your problem before asking a question.
There is software available for free to all UConn students for each type of project, and all software can be accessed by UConn faculty and students for free either in their browsers or on campus.
If you feel you may need a lot of assistance, Microsoft and Apple products will offer the most robust customer service and help options of the resources below.
Image Editing Software Resources | Soundwriting Software Resources | Video Writing Software Resources
Image Editing and Composition:
Pixlr (Online, Browser-based): Pixlr is very similar to Photoshop (with fewer capabilities) and is entirely free. Instructors and students only need Adobe Flash to run it.
- Pixlr offers an FAQ and also an email address for questions here: https://blog.pixlr.com/support/
- There are also a number of Pixlr tutorials on YouTube for further functions not explored in the modules.
- Running flash on Chrome: https://blog.pixlr.com/enable-flash-on-chrome-for-pixlr-editor/
PowerPoint (Available to all UConn faculty and students): PowerPoint is part of the Office suite and has relatively powerful image-editing abilities.
- PowerPoint is available for free either for download or through UConn Anyware: https://software.uconn.edu/microsoft-products-students/
- Microsoft has a fairly robust costumer support system. For questions regarding PowerPoint, see: https://support.office.com/en-us/powerpoint
- There are a number of further tutorials on both the Microsoft website and on platforms such as YouTube.
- If you're having difficulty installing or running PowerPoint on your device, ITS can help: https://techsupport.uconn.edu/
Audacity (Available for either download or online use): Audacity is a free, open-source audio-editing program.
- Be sure to download Audacity from the correct page source: https://www.audacityteam.org/
- If you can't or don't want to download Audacity, it is currently installed on UConn Skybox, where students and faculty can access a remote desktop from any computer: https://software.uconn.edu/uconn-software-online/ (Click "Desktop" to launch Skybox) Be sure to save your files to your "P:" drive (labeled with your NetID)
- Audacity offers a number of support avenues if you need help with technological errors, including an FAQ, manuals, and forums: https://www.audacityteam.org/help/
GarageBand (Available on Apple devices): GarageBand is a free application for those who have Apple devices. It can also be used on mobile devices (with more limited features)
- First-Year Writing doesn't have an available tutorial for GarageBand, but there are resources online: https://support.apple.com/garageband
- Apple offers phone-based support for all of its products: https://getsupport.apple.com/
- There are also discussion forums for questions and help: https://discussions.apple.com/community/ilife/garageband
Lightworks (Available for download): Lightworks is a free video-editing software. It works best on Windows computers, but can work on Macs. If you're using a Mac with Lightworks, be sure to have a mouse that has a right-click button.
- Lightworks offers a number of video tutorials: https://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=162&Itemid=246&start=QuickStart
- Lightworks FAQ: https://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=104&Itemid=220
- There is a forum for other questions: https://www.lwks.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&view=listcat&Itemid=82
iMovie (Available for Apple devices): iMovie is a free video-editing software for Apple devices. It can be used on some mobile devices with more limited features.
- iMovie is installed on publicly available Macs in the library. You should have a USB device connected to ensure the project will save. Here is a guide on how to export your project as an editable project from iMovie: https://computers.tutsplus.com/tutorials/quick-tip-move-your-imovie-events-and-projects-to-an-external-drive--mac-47327
- There is no FYW tutorial for iMovie, but there are user guides for iMovie further down this page: https://support.apple.com/imovie
- Apple offers phone-based support for all of its products: https://getsupport.apple.com/
- Apple forum for iMove help: https://discussions.apple.com/community/ilife/imovie
- There is a known issue where iMovie crashes when exporting movies. The solution is often updating iMovie. Please consult the Apple website for instructions on how to do so.