Need a free image/video/sound clip to enhance an assignment?
Just because media is available online doesn't mean it's free to use.
Copyright regulations apply to online media, which means you have to pay a fee to/request permission from the creator to incorporate it into your own work.
To keep things simple (and legal), be sure to use copyright-free/copyright-friendly media, which you can find by searching the great resources linked below.
Remember: even if you don't have to pay for the media you use, you still have to credit the creator in your assignment.
For more information on how to cite images/videos/sound clips, check out the Plagiarism & Citation page.
*Website descriptions copied directly from the website unless otherwise noted*
All Media
Wikimedia Commons - a database of over 17,000,000 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.
Images
The Images Project - a web-based collection of student and teacher created curriculum images for Nova Scotia public school program use.
Flickr - Creative Commons - many Flickr users have chosen to offer their work under a Creative Commons license, and you can browse or search through content under each type of license.
Flickr - The Commons - a project wherein cultural institutions (libraries, archives, museums) make photographs with no copyright restrictions freely available online. Participants include several Canadian institutions, like the Nova Scotia Archives. This is a great resource for history/social studies assignments. (-Ms. Calder)
Open Clipart - a collection of original, royalty free clipart, images, graphics, templates and icons. Unless noted, content on this site is waived of all copyright and related or neighboring rights under the CC0 PD Dedication.
Pics4Learning - a safe, free image library for education. Teachers and students can use the copyright-friendly photos & images for classrooms, multimedia projects, websites, videos, portfolios, or any projects in an educational setting.
Pixabay - you can freely use any image from this website in digital and printed format, for personal and commercial use, without attribution requirement to the original author.
US Government Photos and Images - find government photos and images by topic. Some of these photos are in the public domain or U.S. government works and may be used without permission or fee. However, some images may be protected by license or copyright. You should read the disclaimers on each site before using these images.
Music/Sound
ccMixter - a community music site featuring remixes licensed under Creative Commons where you can listen to, sample, mash-up, or interact with music in whatever way you want.
Videos
YouTube - Creative Commons - features some of the most popular Creative Commons videos on YouTube that you can use (and in some cases even edit) for your own purposes.
Note: when you do a YouTube search, a "Filter" button will appear under the search bar. Click on it, select "Creative Commons," and your search results will be limited to videos you can use for free. (-Ms. Calder)
Teachers: For advice on using copyrighted media in the classroom, check out Copyright Matters.