Subject Guides: Open Educational Resources (OER): Free Creative Software

Open Software & Resources

For Coding
For Design

Codeacademy
Free online coding classes in 12 coding languages.
freeCodeCamp
Learn to code with free online courses, programming projects, and interview preparation for developer jobs.
codewars
An educational community for computer programming. On the platform, software developers train on programming challenges known as kata.
Khan Academy
Offers free courses across many disciplines. Free test prep courses are also available.
Udacity
Free online classes in data science, artificial intelligence, and programming.
The Coding Train
Free programming tutorials.
CodeHS
CodeHS is a comprehensive teaching platform for helping schools teach computer science.
OpenProcessing
A community of creative coders!
Glitch
Browser-based IDE with templates for popular projects.
W3Schools.com
Learn different programming languages for free.
Stack Overflow
The largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their programming knowledge, and build their careers.
Google Code
Open source projects through Google.

Krita
Krita is a professional free and open source painting program. It is made by artists that want to see affordable art tools for everyone.
Inkscape
Inkscape is a professional vector graphics editor for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. It's free and open source.
Blender
Free and open source 3D creation suite. Supports modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, and even video editing and game creation.
Easelly
Easelly is a simple infographic maker that lets you visualize any kind of information.
Vectr
Free graphics software used to create vector graphics easily and intuitively.
openFrameworks
openFrameworks is an open source C++ toolkit for creative coding.
Processing
Processing is a flexible software sketchbook and a language for learning how to code within the context of the visual arts.
Pure Data
Pure Data (or just Pd) is an open source visual programming language for multimedia.
Cinder
Cinder is a free and open source library for professional-quality creative coding in C++.
Creative Cloud for iPad and iPhone
Free app for using Adobe Creative Cloud apps on mobile devices. Creative Cloud access is available to Lake Forest students and staff. Ask ITS for access.
Scribus
A desktop publishing tool that's a genuine alternative to Adobe InDesign.
GIMP
Open-source photo editor.
LightZone
Open-source digital darkroom software for Windows/Mac/Linux.
Fusion 360
Free for students, Fusion 360 is the first 3D CAD, CAM, and CAE tool of its kind that connects your entire product development process in a single cloud-based platform that works on PC, Mac, and mobile devices.
JetBrains
Software development tools - students are eligible for free educational licenses.
Axure
Wireframing, documentation, and specification software tool for web and desktop applications that offers free licenses for students.
Brackets
Open source code editor.

Questions?

Please reach out to a librarian with any questions! You can reach us by email at library@lakeforest.edu. Please allow one business day for a response.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Open Software & Resources

Questions?

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