Finding and Using Images

FINDING IMAGES

Images can help contextualize your course. They also work as visual landmarks for students reviewing content. There are a number of ways to get copyright-free images into your course:

Lemieux Library

The library has many resources that will help you find art and images for your course. The libguide on using images is a great place to start. The library also has access to images for such fields as the arts, medical and heath sciences, science & engineering, history, and government. They also provide access to thousands of films Links to an external site. you can use for your course.

Google Images

Google allows you to search for images while filtering for usage rights. To do this, type in your search word(s), choose Images, then Tools, then Usage Rights. You should be fine with the least stringent choice, which is Labeled for noncommercial reuse.

Free Image Sites

There are a number of free image sites online. Some are better than others. However, here are a few we think are worth a try:

EDITING IMAGES

In Canvas

If you just want to resize an image—and it is not a huge size change—you can do that easily right in Canvas. Just click on the image and use the little corner boxes to drag it to the size you want. As you are dragging and resizing you will see the pixel change as you move. An alternative way is to click on the image then click on the picture icon (Insert/Edit Image) in the upper toolbar. This will open a window where you can type in the size you want. If you just put in the width Canvas will retain the aspect ratio. To give you an idea of how pixel size translates to the page, the image at top is 600 pixels wide by 100 pixels in height.

On a Mac

When you are on a Mac, anytime you open an image you are automatically in a handy editor. Click on the toolbox icon in the bar above your picture to show the Markup Toolbar. Here you can resize your image and adjust exposure, contrast saturation, color balance and sharpness. You can add text, lines, arrows, boxes, circles, and opaque or transparent blocks of color. You can even create quick circular images, which we love to do. Here is a quick Tutorial on How to Make a Circular image Preview the document Download Tutorial on How to Make a Circular image . In you Mac there is quite a bit you can do without ever opening an editor like Photoshop.

On a PC

The Photos app that's built into Windows 10 isn't as full featured as some photo editing apps, but it's extremely easy to use and is convenient. You can use it for basic filters, cropping and rotating images, and other light edits. Here is a link to the directions for editing photos in Windows 10 Links to an external site..

ACCESSIBILITY AND ALT TEXT

At Seattle University, our goal is to make sure that all of our online course pages are accessible to all students, especially those who may have disabilities and may be using assistive technology devices such as screen readers. A screen reader is a software application that enables people with visual impairments to access text or images displayed on a computer screen. Screen readers work closely with the computer's Operating System (OS) to provide information about icons, menus, dialogue boxes, files and folders.

We cover more accessibility issues in other sections, but for images it is important that someone who can't see the image can get the information they need.

Using Alt Text

Alternative text or "alt text" provides a description of an image. If users cannot see an image due to a slow connection or because it is being read by a screen reader they can get a description of the image from the alt text. When you upload an image to Canvas, you will be prompted to add Alternative Text. Unless it is purely a decorative image, it is always a good idea to briefly describe your image. If it is only decorative, click the Decorative Image checkbox.

Shows Canvas Image Upload window with text box to write Alternative Text or checkbox to use if the image is decorative.

If you didn't add alternative text when you uploaded an image, don't worry, you can always add it later by highlighting the image and clicking on the Image Embed Icon. This will open a window that will allow you to add alt text.

WRAP TEXT AROUND AN IMAGE - (REQUIRES WORKING WITH CODE)

Unfortunately, the Rich Text Editor in Canvas does not have a way to wrap text around an image. This can be very frustrating. However, If you are not afraid to use the HTML Editor in Canvas, there are workarounds and this page will walk you through the steps: Wrap text around an image.

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