What is it & Why do I like it? 

Over 6 million+ high quality stock images, videos and music shared by our talented community. 

Pixabay has been one of my go-to sources for media for several years.  I appreciate the wide variety of resources that are available without attribution required. When searching for an image, you can filter for photos, illustrations, vectors, or all.  It also a handy resources for videos, music, sound effects, 3D models and GIFs.  Various sizes are offered for downloaded images.  All media comes from the community, and you can contribute to the community as well.  

Favorite Feature

Edit directly in Canva! 

Licensing

Pixabay Content License governs the terms, summarized below

✓ Use Content for free, without attribution

✓ Modify or adapt Content into new works

✕ Sell an unmodified image

✕ Use in a immoral or unethical way, or within a trade-mark, design-mark, trade-name, business name or service mark.

Links:

Summary: Content License - Pixabay 

Full: Terms of Service - Pixabay 

Quality and Usability

Images and other media must meet high standards to be posted.  Pixabay evaluates submissions through a set of guidelines set on three pillars: visuals, usability and suitability.  Some examples of guidelines for images are: H or W dimensions at least 3000px, focus on the subject, straight horizon.

I have found media extremely easy to use.  Select your media, select the size or format (when applicable), click "download" and it downloads right to your device.  Or you can open in Canva to make edits.  Though attribution is not required, when you download an asset, a link is available to copy to your clipboard and add to your training material for attribution, along with a link to the creator's profile to say thank you. 

Applications for Education and Training Material

Pixabay is a great source for stock media in all kinds of learning materials: slide presentations, digital documents, videos, eLearning, job aids, or even social media posts.  

Downsides 

When you are working on a bigger project it can be hard at first to find sets of images that all match in style. The best thing to do is to find a creator that you like, visit their profile and see all of their work, or follow the creator. 

The options are more limited than in a paid library such as Shutterstock. 

Attribution Example

Image by [Creator] from Pixabay

What is it & Why do I like it? 

The Library of Congress Free to Use and Reuse Sets page  is a collection of sets of images, grouped according to themes, from the U.S.  Library of Congress digital collections.  

I enjoy the variety of historical images that could be found here. It is unique and interesting and holds a lot of possibility for adding interest to historical materials. 

Favorite Feature

Unique photos and illustrated images that would be hard to find in modern stock photo sites 

Licensing

The library curates these image sets by selecting images they believe are either in the public domain, have no known copyright, or have been cleared by the copyright owner for public use based on research. 

Quality and Usability

This site differs from stock sites becuase it showcases a wide variety of historical periods and styles.  For example, the "cats" collection included illustrated magazine covers, B&W photos, and historic lithographs from the 1800's.  These images may have specific appeal for educational projects 

There is a Classic Children's Book (circa 1900)  set that includes a scanned read of the entire book, which could be interesting for historians and elementary teachers. 

Applications for Education and Training Material

This site differs from stock sites becuase it showcases a wide variety of historical periods and styles.  For example, the "cats" collection included illustrated magazine covers, B&W photos, and historic lithographs from the 1800's.  These images may have specific appeal for educational projects 

There is a Classic Children's Book (circa 1900)  set that includes a scanned read of the entire book, which could be interesting for historians and elementary teachers. 

Downsides 

This site is fairly limited in the quanity it has to offer, it's helpful to look it over and get familiar with some of the categories before going here for a project.   It does contain a link to the full digital collections, but the full collection may or may not be free to use, and individual reserach would need to be done to ascertain permissions. 

Attribution Example

Image by [Creator] from Pixabay

What is it & Why do I like it? 

The Noun Project  offers over 10 million icons and stock photographs.  

Crafted and curated by real human Creators They offer free images, along with paid plans that come with more options such as color icons, commercial use, and different image file types. Like Pixabay, images and icons are created by a community of artists, from over 150 countries.  

In their own words: Noun Project is building a global visual language that unites us — a language that allows quick and easy communication no matter who you are or where you are.  https://thenounproject.com/about/

I love using icons for communicating meaning along side of, or instead of words,  in my training materials, and this website is perfect source for diverse and free icons, along with stock photos.  I also love the icon sets is that you have a variety of icons that will all match in style, however those only come with a subscription.

Licensing

Photos may be in the public domain, creative commons or royalty-free depending on the image.    Attribution of the artist is required for the free plan, and no cropping or editing of the photo before use. 

See details: https://thenounproject.com/legal/terms-of-use/#photo-licenses

Quality and Usability

All of the images I viewed were high quality and offered in a JPG format.  The icons come in a wide variety of styles and are highly images and easy to use file types. 

Applications for Education and Training Material

The free icons and stocks photos can be used in many different types of educational and training projects.  Icons are especially useful for instructional design materials.  The Noun Project has a focus on diversity, and has specifically developed diverse assets through the "Refining Women" project in 2017 and "Mission Driven Photo Collection" in 2020 so it is a good source when trying to diversify the visual support for educational and training materials.  

Downsides 

This site is fairly limited in the quanity it has to offer, it's helpful to look it over and get familiar with some of the categories before going here for a project.   It does contain a link to the full digital collections, but the full collection may or may not be free to use, and individual research would need to be done to ascertain permissions. 

Attribution Example

Renewable energy by Carlos Dias from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0) 

renewable energy by Carlos Dias from <a href="https://thenounproject.com/browse/icons/term/renewable-energy/" target="_blank" title="renewable energy Icons">Noun Project</a> (CC BY 3.0)

What is it & Why do I like it? 

This site is hosted by ISKME (International Society of Knowledge Management in Education a nonprofit that inspires and convenes educators to embrace the practice of Open Education. It serves as a database of  resources that displays all of the essential information and a thumbnail photo of each video. To access the video you are taken by a link to the original source.   Though I am focusing on videos for this post, the site also hosts 22 different types of educational resources. 

I often go to YouTube first when searching for videos, but this site reminds me that there are more educationally oriented options.  I also like that there are so many different educational resources shared by educators who care about making resources available. 

Licensing

Video licenses vary greatly, fand include public domain with no restriction, all 4 types of CC licenses, "Read the Fine Print" descriptions of custom licenses. But in the open source spirit, all are  free of cost.  License type are shown in words, e.g. "Conditional Remix and Share Permitted" and in abbreviations and icons, e.g. "CC-BY-SA" clearly in the thumbnails for each video for reference which makes selection easy.   "License type" is a filter option to refine your search. 

Quality and Usability

The OER commons Features lists "Free, Customizable, and High-Quality", however because these videos are coming from a  wide variety of original sources there is not consistent levels of quality, and previewing is recommended.  

There are 11 different categories to narrow your search, including educational level and content source which assists in the usability.  Each resource card has share buttons for X, WhatsApp, and Pintrest (could be useful for informal or adult education) and button to post directly to Google Classroom offering great convenience for users of that platform. 

Applications for Education and Training Material

OER Commons is a valuable source of videos to use when supplementing lesson plans or creating your own with lots of options.  

Downsides 

Because there are so many choices from different sources, selecting the appropriate resources for your education or training may take some time and previewing.

Attribution Example

Flights of Fancy Story Time: "Mission to Mars" by the National Air and Space Museum from OER Commons. (CC-BY-NC).

What is it & Why do I like it? 

Over the last decade Canva has been become the premiere site for creative graphic design for both non-professional graphic designers. The free version includes over 4.7 million assets for all kinds of graphic design.  This program can be used to create almost anything: social media posts, invitations, infographics, programs, flyers, presentations, and...... VIDEO.

In Canva you won't find fully developed videos, but you can find video intros and templates that get you started.  I love it because it is easy to use and and fully customizable.  

Licensing

License types can be viewed by hovering over the content (for example, a video template) item in the elements panel and clicking on the three dots in the top right corner to see the content source information. 

The options include CCO, Public Domain or Branded Content (rare).  If none of these are listed, they are covered by the Free Content License. 

By agreeing to Canva's terms, you receive a perpetual, non-exclusive, non-transferable worldwide license for all normal uses of the designs, including school projects. 

See details here: Canva's Content License Agreement 

Quality and Usability

Videos can be created in 8 different sizes, which is convenient when there is need to develop video specific to social media platforms. The YouTube size is the best to select for a horizontal video that will be viewed on a traditional computer, laptop or presented in a classroom.  Canva is a site for creating, so you need just a little bit of skill to create your final product, but that can be quickly learned by beginners.  The free account includes 1 Brand Kit (3 colors only) 5GB of cloud storage.

Canva provides standard high quality media for creation, though sometimes the free assets are not as desirable as the paid assets.

Applications for Education and Training Material

Canva is the place to come when you want a head start developing your own materials.  I used it to create a memory video for an organization's 100th anniversary by selecting a template, adding photos into the templates, adding music and adjusting timing.  Canva is a good option for taking instructional videos that you have recorded yourself and enhancing and "wrapping" them with template based intros and outros. 

Downsides 

The free elements are mixed in with the premium elements when you search for assets or templates, so it can take more time to find what you want in the free category. 

Attribution Example

Attribution not required, but you can credit the creators

Laptop video by Tima Miroshnichenko from Canva Original Video 

What is it & Why do I like it? 

 Adobe Stock  range of stock media from Adobe with an extensive collection available of   for free images which can be used in the development of media in other programs, not limited to Adobe.  

I like this site because of the large quantity of media available, the detailed search options, and consistency of quality.   Though it's in this section for videos, it is an excellent source of modern stock photos and images as well. 

Licensing

Content includes royalty-free licensing and can be used immediately upon download. 

The free products come with a standard license, which is limited to 500,000 reproductions or views and should not be shared with another individual. 

See details here:  Terms & Conditions

Quality and Usability

Adobe Stock videos, like most stock image sites, can be searched by key words.  But an outstanding feature if the range of custom search options: shot size, shot angle,  orientation, Generative AI (Gen AI only or Exclude Gen AI), People (include or exclude), Race & Ethnicity, and Color. 

All assets are high resolution and created with the quality that Adobe is known for.  Free videos may come in different forms, but most are offered in HD or 4K. 

Applications for Education and Training Material

Adobe stock can be used to enhance  a wide variety of educational and training materials, including presentations, web pages, digital documents, print documents, and video.  It is a reliable source for high resolution, modern photos, vectors and videos.  

Downsides 

The free images and videos are much more limited than a subscription to Adobe Stock. File type may require conversion depending on your program.

Attribution Example

Video by Adobe Stock

What is it & Why do I like it? 

Tenor is a website and mobile connected with Google  that allows the public to share  animated GIFs  that are free for non-commercial use. 

I like that it's easy to use and that the GIFS can be quickly customized with your own text in a variety of colors, and downloaded and shared.

Licensing

Custom license terms for Google.  

A few notes: In the guidelines for uploading Tenor requests "Please only upload content that you own or have permission to post."  Every image also includes a flag option to report copyright violations. 

Quality and Usability

The quality of GIFs varies quite a bit because they are not professionally created or curated.  GIFS can be quickly shared though several different social media platforms, but for educational and training material the GIFs the best options are linking or embedding.   

Applications for Education and Training Material

With the inclusion of a GIF library in most text messaging platforms, and workplace communication platforms like Teams, they have become a common way to communicate in the digital world.  A well placed GIF or meme can make a great discussion or conversation starter, provide a little bit of pizzaz and interest to a boring topic, and can be used for a little bit of humor.   Tenor is one source to quickly find and link an animated image to spice up your communication. 

Downsides 

Though GIFS are extremely popular in digital communication, the constant motion can have a negative effect on attention and learning, especially for neurodivergent learners. As you can see from my embedded example, there is not a pause button with this option, so they should be used carefully. 

Attribution Example

Attribution not required but you can link to or credit the source: https://tenor.com/view/reverse-uno-meme-oof-big-gif-8789740406551729907

What is it & Why do I like it? 

Slidesgo by Freepix offers AI generated presentations and slide templates, up to 3 per month.  Paid plans greatly extend the opportunity with access to the full library.  There are special rates for educational institutions. 

What appeals to me about this site is the choices of animated templates.  This is a great starting place when you want to include some motion for interest or emphasis in a presentation and either aren't skilled enough, or don't want to do the work of animating it yourself.    Slidesgo also hosts a full "Education Hub" with a variety of resources and a "Learn" section with tutorials. 

Licensing

Goverened under a custom license.  Free users must give attribution by leaving the credits intact where they appear on the downloaded slide templates.  

Quality and Usability

Quality of the products is good, content is curated by Freepix so there is a selection process.

Usability: The templates embed directions for use right on a slide, include icons and illustrations within the same style of the presentation to move around which gives more creative flexibility.  Some of the templates have a lar useful across platforms.  

Applications for Education and Training Material

Sometimes you just want a place to start on a presentation that isn't a built in Microsoft template that everyone has seen a million times, and you want some animated motion for interest.  The templates are fully editable, and can be used in PowerPoint, Google Slides, or Canva, so educators and trainers have the flexibility to get a start and make it their own. 

Downsides 

The site has a lot of advertising, so be careful where you click "download".  The free plan is quite limited, but still holds value for occasional use.   Free and premium templates are mixed together so you have to scroll to see them all.  

Attribution Example

A slide with the attributions at the bottom is included.  Example: This slide presentation was created by Slidesgo including icons by [   ] and infographics and images by [   ].  Please keep this slide for attribution. 

What is it & Why do I like it? 

Wikimedia Commons is a collection of millions of freely useable media files, including images, videos, sounds, and 3D models.  The Wikimedia Foundation owns the site, but it functions as a hosting site, rather than owning the content.  

Licensing

Users must read the Reusing content outside Wikimedia page to fulfill the terms of the license.  Content can be in two categories: open content, with creative commons licenses, or public domain.  Except for materials believed to be in the public domain, a link to the full text of the license(s) is included on the file description page. 

Quality and Usability

Quality varies greatly based on a creator.

 Selecting it will show many more details including file size information, captions, summary, licensing, file history,  and file usage on other wikis such as wikipedia.org. With shortcuts for download, use this file on the web, use this file on a wiki, email a link and information, it is pretty easy to use your selected GIF or animation. 

Applications for Education and Training Material

This site contains more educational GIFS and other animations than some popular sites like Tenor and GIPHY.  They can be embedded into training materials, or used in a standalone format.  

Downsides 

Content can feel disorganized when there are 35,000 + files. 

Attribution Example

Orbit of 10 Hygiea by [Creator] [CC license type] 

What is it & Why do I like it? 

The Audio Library by YouTube offers Free, No Copyright, Royalty-Free Background Music.  It is a promotional platform for artists to share music with other creators that can be used for free with creative commons or custom licenses. 

3,000 + tracks in a variety of musical are ready to download. 

When I am creating a video right in YouTube, it is a convenient source to find tracks. You can also listen to the music on Spotify.  Some music includes a time stamped "key musical segments for the songs"  which can help with selecting a track with timing that is complimentary to your training.   See example below from "Tiny Paws" by SakuraGirl

0:00 - Intro: Bright Synths and a playful melody start the track

0:15 - Verse: Catchy pop beats and uplifting harmonies build energy

0:30 - Pre-Chorus: Rhythmic variation lead into a vibrant progression

0:45 - Chorus: High-energy synth-pop explosion with a fun rhythm

1:00 - Bridge: A brief melodic breakdown before the final peak

1:15 - Outro: Softly fading melodies bring the track to a cute end. 

Licensing

Free, No Copyright, Royalty-Free Background Music . Credit the artist and link back to the original release to stay clear of copyright claims. 

Quality and Usability

The quality of the music varies by the artist and the style.  The biggest limitation with usability is that if you want to use the music outside of YouTube you must obtain the permission of the artist.

Applications for Education and Training Material

Though this music is geared for social media, it could be used for educational and training videos.  Music can play a significant role in the emotional impact of telling a story, and it makes a video without narration more interesting

Downsides 

Though this music is geared for social media, it could be used for educational and training videos.  Music can play a significant role in the emotional impact of telling a story, and it makes a video without narration more interesting.

Attribution Example

Music By : "Tiny Paws" by SakuraGirl

What is it & Why do I like it? 

Openverse is an archive of public domain and create commons-licensed images and audio with over 800 million creative works drawn from open API's and the Common Crawl dataset.  It is the successor of CC Search and was launched in 2019.

I like this site because there are a lot of assets in one place and everything is free. I was especially excited to find  musical tracks here.  As a musician, I often enjoy adding music to projects, and finding just the right track. 

Licensing

All Openverse content is under a Creative Commons License or is in the public domain

Creative Commons Licenses include the following acronyms, and each file preview has an icon indicating which ones apply. 

• BY: You can use the content, but only if you include an attribution to the original creator.

• NC: You can’t sell what you make using the content.

• ND: You can use it, but you can’t alter it or create derivative works.

• SA: You must apply the same license to whatever you create with the content that was on the original content itself.

Note from the website: "Openverse does not verify licensing information for individual works, or whether the generated attribution is accurate or complete. Please independently verify the licensing status and attribution information before reusing the content."

Openvsere Terms of Use 

Quality and Usability

Search by key words from the home page, or go to a unique page for images only, or a unique page for audio only.  The audio files have a play button on the thumbnail for a quick preview.  To download the assets the site will link out to the original site, e.g. Wikimedia Commons, to get the image or audio file.   

Each asset page includes the License type,  widget for "Credit the Creator" with a copy text option for Rich Text, HTML, Plain text and XML. source, type, dimensions (image) and AI generate "Related images or audio tracks" suggestions.   When searching you can also filter based on the use "Use commercially" and "modify or adapt" and/or by license type.   There is not an option to filter search by image type, e.g. photo vs. illustration. 

Because this is a repository linking out to different sites the quality is inconsistent, you need to check the details for each asset.  For example in searching for "ice cream cone" I found a cute photo with some cones tied together with a red bow, but the resolution was pretty low because it was a smaller size than other photos.

Other user features: dark mode, source code, Slack Channel

Applications for Education and Training Material

The assets on OpenVerse support a wide variety of educational and training materials.  Embed photos into presentations, guides, lessons, websites and more.  Embed audio sound effects and musical tracks into videos and eLearnings, or play royalty free at a live training event. 

Downsides 

Becuase assets link out there can be errors. The first musical track that I tried to get linked out to a site with an error message "Sorry, no page here".  My assumption is that album is no longer hosted on the site.  But most others linked out to sites like Flickr and Wikimedia Commons were working. 

Attribution Example

Music By [ creator ] [CC license type]

What is it & Why do I like it? 

Jamendo is a site hosting a wide variety of music by independent musicians that includes free streaming and free downloads for non-commercial use.  Their partner site Jamendo licensing offers subscription based music for commercial products.

Over 40,000 Musicians originating from over 150 countries have contributed to this large library. 

I enjoy being able to pick a curated playlist for background music, or searching for just the right track to set the mood for an internal project. 

Licensing

Jamendo music was the first platform to legally share music for free from any creator under Creative Commons licenses. (www.jamendo.com/about).  

The specific Creative Common license for each track will be shown after clicking the download button. 

Important: If your educational video is going to be publicly hosted online, you must purchase a license for the music. 

Quality and Usability

Quality will vary by the individual creators, but there is an overall standard of quality for recordings. When a track is selected for download a note such as "MP3 Quality" is noted.

The search features are easy to use, and once a track is selected the license type is clearly visible.

Applications for Education and Training Material

Stream a  playlist like Just Piano or Chill Zone in a classroom to set the mood for quiet reflection, or Beatmaker's Arena to generate some energy.  

Download music for video projects or presentations that will be used exclusively in your classroom. Free music CANNOT be used in a video hosted on YouTube, a separate license must be obtained for that.  

Another possibility is to listen for your own inspiration and enjoyment while working and creating amazing training.  

Downsides 

There are less search and filter options than you might find on a paid site, and you won't find familiar tunes.  Not all tracks on a playlist are individually downloadable.

Attribution Example

Music By [ creator ] [CC license type]