The following is a list of (mostly) free useful tools, software and apps available online. It is by no means exhaustive! I will add to it as I come across new useful tools (or at least things that are new to me). And I’ll try to delete anything that gets out of date.
I want to see software for…
Screenshot Software
Obviously if you want to take a screenshot of a webpage, Edge, Vivaldi and Chrome all have built-in screen capture tools. (In Chrome, press Ctrl-Shift-I (or Cmd-Option-I on a Mac) then press Ctrl-Shift-P (or Cmd-Shift-P on a Mac). Type the word screenshot. Several screenshot options will appear in a panel on the right-hand side of the screen. Or, type chrome:flags into your address bar then search for desktop screenshots, and enable it. To take a screenshot, click on the Share this page icon in the address bar, and taking a screenshot should now be an option.)
ShareX
ShareX allows you to take screenshots easily. It includes options to blur (for example confidential or personal information), crop and highlight. You can also choose whether or not you want your cursor shown in the screenshot.
PicPick
With PicPick you can take screenshots easily. Choose either an entire screen, an active window, the scrolling windows and any specific region of your desktop. You can also easily add effects or edit your image. You can even customize hotkeys, file naming, image quality etc
Surveys
Smart Survey
Free for for personal use to build a basic survey. Includes unlimited surveys, 15 questions per survey and 100 responses per month.
Google Forms
With Google Forms, you can create a new survey and edit it with others at the same time. There are a variety of pre-made themes or you can create your own. Free with a Google account.
Microsoft Forms
With Microsoft Forms, you can easily create surveys, polls and quizzes. Forms automatically provides charts to visualise your data as you collect responses in real time, and data can be easily exported into Excel.
Survey Monkey
Basic plan is free.
Online Calculators
Omni Calculator
Omni Calculator has almost 2,000 calculators, for all kinds of tasks from simple conversions to working out compound interest rates.
Symbolab
Use Symbolab to solve algebraic problems. (It also shows how it works them out!)
Music
Musescore
Professional (and free!) software to create, play and print sheet music. For Windows, Mac and Linux.
Convert MP4 to MP3
Really useful to convert videos (of concerts, for example) into music only. Simple to use – drag and drop the file, click to convert it, then download.
The Rhythm Randomizer
The Rhythm Randomizer generates unlimited rhythm exercises (useful for students?). When you first go to The Rhythm Randomizer, you’ll see a randomly generated rhythm. To make your own examples, you can amend the rhythm settings (such as duration, time signature and length).
Sodaphonic
Sodaphonic is a simple, intuitive tool that is clean and easy to use on any device. You can easily record, edit and share audio online. It doesn’t require a sign-in or account creation for basic use. And it’s FREE! Yay!
aQWERTYon
Created by the NYU Music Experience Design Lab, you can make music with your computer keyboard and play along with YouTube videos 🙂 Back in Black anyone??
Other
Tiny.CC
Tiny.cc is an easy to use URL shortening, organising and sharing service.
Bit.ly
Similarly, Bitly is also an easy to use URL shortening service.
PDF to Flipbook
Convert a .pdf into a flipbook. (Works particularly well for reading pdfs on tablets or phones, as you can swipe through with your finger). The free version limits books to 40 pages.
Paletton
A design tool for creating colour combinations that work well together.
Rgb.to
Converts RGB colour codes to other formats. And it can also generate colour schemes too.
FreeMind
A mind mapping tool which allows you to organise and prioritise your ideas. It has a click and drag interface for easy editing and also it allows you to share your maps. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Calibre
Free to use and can import any ebook file format for you to read onscreen.
FastPreview
View WebP images easily with FastPreview, an open source tool. Simply right-click an image to open it with FastPreview. You can also view the image’s EXIF data easily.
https://tn123.org/fastpreview/
Cartoonise
Cartoonise (is that a word??) your world! Just because you can… (Not sure I can claim it’s useful…I just like it!). Simply upload an image or video and it will “cartoonise” it.
cartoonize-lkqov62dia-de.a.run.app/cartoonize
Get an on-screen ruler
Place a digital ruler on your screen using iruler.net. The website will detect the size and resolution of your monitor automatically. (If it doesn’t assume the right monitor size, click “Select your monitor dimension” and manually enter your screen size and resolution. You can find your resolution by right-clicking on your desktop, then choose “Display Settings).
Go to…
Note: Before you download or use any software, please read the disclaimer.