When thinking about software, there are new and exciting possibilities coming out regularly and there are many options to choose from. Some of the discussion will be focused around tools (software or programs) that are:

• most likely already in use at your institution,
• are openly available,
• can be used in ways consistent with principles of data sovereignty, and
• have been and are currently being used successfully by language communities

Below is a quick guide for general software and some considerations.

A great deal of text-based documentation can be managed in any modern word processor (MS Word, Google Docs); though you might find that one system gives you better formatting control than another. Open-source options include Google Docs and Libre Office—both create files that can be shared fairly easily and do not require a license or purchase agreement.

'Notes' applications that come standard on different operating systems can be great for collecting small snippets (words, sentences) in a way that allows you to link them together later on. Obsidian is an open-source option for a ‘notes’ app and is easy to learn with great functionality.