ERIC Update

Sorry about the delay in posting this week. It's been pretty chaotic in the library with the recarpeting and painting.

Most of you use the ERIC database via the EBSCO interface on a regular basis, which provides direct access to all of our journals. But are you aware of some of the major changes to the database content that have occurred in the past two years? The last reauthorization of ERIC updated its mission to concentrate on research related documents, which has lead to an updating of the list of journals. Some titles such are the Chronicle of Higher Education, Education Digest and Instructor are no longer being indexed because they do not include research based articles. 

ERIC has also raised the bar for ERIC documents with a new, more rigorous selection policy. They are currently asking for feedback on proposed changes to how they indicate peer reviewed for these documents. They are also working on how to incorporate grey literature such as Pew Reports and other 'think tank' reports into the database since they often include significant data. The submission process for those who have documents they wish to be included in the database has also been simplified. 

These changes do have an impact on the results you now receive when searching. ERIC is still the go to database for high quality, research based resources. However, if you or your students are looking for more practical, hands-on and/or news related articles, I suggest you go to Education Research Complete. 

Money Talks

Grants, Grants, and more Grants

Just last week I was doing some research on finding ways to fund a project I'm planning.  As we all know, funding, or the lack of funding, can be problematic for all teachers.  In this day & age, budgets are tight and focus is directed at training for technology integration and incorporating the Common Core State Standards into school curriculum.  It's common knowledge that teachers are encouraged to be creative in their classrooms, but unfortunately, creativity costs money.

Have you ever heard of Edutopia? It's a great resource for all things education -- the tag line reads, What Works in Education. Another interesting fact about Edutopia is that it is a George Lucas Educational Foundation. Yeah, that guy.  Anyway, I receive regular emails from Edutopia and last week they sent out a great article entitled The Big List of Educational Grants and Resources.  Some of the grant submission deadlines have passed, but some are still live and some have rolling submission which means you or your students have lots of time to submit a proposal.  Take a look at the list.  Sign up to receive emails from Edutopia.  It's win/win for you and for your students. 

UNC Charlotte Streaming Video

Some of you are aware that Atkins Libraries subscribes to Films on Demand, but that is not the only collection of streaming video to which the library subscribe. All of our streaming video titles are included in the online catalog. However, that can be a bit of a challenge if you don't have a specific title in mind. To help folks discover these resources, we have created a specific web page, which is now available for perusal and searching - https://library.uncc.edu/streamingvideo

Here's what it looks like:

If you don't have a specific title or keyword to search, I recommend you peruse the Education link in the right menu bar. 

Many of the videos can be embedded directly into your Moodle so look for an embed code on the screen. If you have any specific titles you like to have available for streaming let Abby or Judy know. We can't guarantee we will be able to deliver it through streaming (licensing & copyright issues) but we will see what we can do.

Timelines & More Streaming Video

Does anyone remember the search tool, Google Timeline? I used to love sharing it with my high school students, but sometime around 2011 it disappeared.  I’ve used timelines in my English classroom to discuss book plots, front load historical information, and to discuss changes to society over a period of time.  When used well, timelines can be a wealth of information and if you have the right tool, timelines can be fun and interactive.  

I’ve found a really great open source tool for you to use to create interactive timelines!  Check out Timeline JS.  Technology beginners and experts can use this resource to create custom timelines by pulling source from Google Spreadsheets, Flickr, Google Maps, Youtube, Soundcloud, and many more.  Use the timeline on your Moodle site, or on your blog, or as a presentation in your classroom, or any other way you see fit.  

 

In other news, we’ve started a trial for Sage Video, which includes a fabulous Education collection.  We’re trialing all three collections: Communications & Mass Media, Counseling & Psychotherapy, and Education.  Check out the Sage streaming video collection by clicking this link: http://sk.sagepub.com/video.  

Free Technology for Teachers

Last week Abby introduced you to a short list of Best Websites for Teaching and Learning complied by the American Association of School Librarians. A great site but there is soooo much more out there and it's really hard to keep up. One of the ways I attempt to keep up with ed tech trends and new tools is by scanning blogs. And my 'go to' blog is Free Technology for Teachers by Richard Byrne. 

There are several reasons I love this blog, first and foremost he understands teachers and the challenges they encounter in the classroom. Hence his emphasis on FREE TECHNOLOGY. Secondly, he's succinct, one post a day and that's it. He doesn't wax eloquently for screens about a tool. Posts include a brief paragraph about the tool and then a brief paragraph (maybe two) about how the tool could be used in the classroom. Thirdly, he discusses a wide variety of subject areas and ed tech topics including skill tips for teachers and students. Below is a snapshot of the most recent posts to give you an idea of the content of the blog. 

To say the least I have discovered a host of tools and learned a lot of new tricks (especially Google tricks) from this blog that I use on a daily basis and with students in the classroom. Take a look, share it with your students. I guarantee you will find something useful. And like me, you will begin to wonder when this guy sleeps!!!

Best Websites for Teaching and Learning

If you’re like Judy and me, you are intrigued by all of the free educational tools out there on the internet.  A lot of you are probably using one or more website, tool, or app in your classes this semester.  How did you decide which website, tool, or app or use?  Where did you hear about it?  Who recommended it to you? I’m betting you learned about the tools you use in your classroom from another professor or instructor or teacher.  Teachers know stuff!

I’m going to tell you something you probably already know: librarians know stuff too.  Every year the American Library Association and the American Association of School Librarians publish a list of Best Websites for Teaching and Learning.  The title of this list is a bit misleading because in addition to websites the list includes apps and tools and streaming video and other cool resources to use in your classrooms (face-to-face and online). This year tools like TouchCast, Booktrack Classroom, Gooru, and Code grabbed coveted spots on the list.  Kahoot and Powtoon made the list in 2014.  Odds are, at least one of the online tools you use for work or for play has made this list!

Take a look at the Best Websites for Teaching and Learning.  If you have time, play around with one or two of the resources. You might find a new tool to use in your classroom that will engage your students and maximize learning. It’s worth a look, right?

Carry your favorite journals in your pocket

BrowZine delivers academic journals to your iPad, iPhone or Android tablet. It includes thousands of journals, from both Open Access journals from publishers like BioMed Central plus supported publishers such as Wiley, Taylor & Francis and Sage that Atkins Library subscribes to.  BrowZine works by aggregating articles from UNC Charlotte  library databases into complete journals, then arranging them by subject on to a newsstand for your perusal. The result is an easy, alternative way to browse, read and monitor your favorite scholarly journals.  With the app you can -

• Browse individual journal issues
• Read new articles online on your tablet or phone
• Email them to yourself in one easy step
• Download and save them to your tablet for offline reading
• Send them to Refworks , Zotero , or Mendeley
• Open most of them in many other tablet apps, including Box, DropBox and iAnnotate
• Share ciations and your comments on Twitter or Facebook

The result is an easy and familiar way to browse, read and monitor scholarly journals across disciplines. It will help you keep up easily with the newest article research in your field!

Just 3 easy steps to get started...

1. Download the free BrowZine app.
2. When you open BrowZine for the first time, you’ll see a list of schools – select University of North Carolina Charlotte, then enter your NinerNet ID and password.
3. Select subject areas, and start browsing journals.  That’s it!  You can save your favorites to your personal bookshelf.