Tech and Talk Day at HCC

January 9, 2008 marked our third annual Tech and Talk Day here at HCC. Hosted by the Instructional Resource Center, this day showcases presentations by staff and faculty members, and gives our instructors a chance to learn new and innovative ways to teach in the classroom. Among the topics covered: the role of Wiki's in academia, Google Documents, using iclickers, Gaming, Copyright, etc... There was even a session on audio feedback being used in the classroom. With the use of technology, learning can be made innovative and fun! The presentations from Tech and Talk Day will be made available shortly. Check them out at the link below!

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Presidential Libraries in the News

There are a couple of Presidential Libraries that have made the news recently. The first off, the William J. Clinton Memorial Library and Museum is going ecofriendly with the addition of a new green roof. The other presidential library getting not necessarily positive publicity, is the Ronald Reagan Library that has just misplaced over 80,000 documents related to his time in office. Wow talk about different ends of the spectrum! Check out both articles to read more.

William J. Clinton Memorial Library and Museum
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Ronald Reagan Library article
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Veterans Day Rememberance

Veteran's Day was November 11th. In remembrance of those who have fought for our country over the years, the U S National Archives and Records Administration offer useful information for those conducting research on veterans. The site also includes statistical data on veterans.

Check it out!!

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How Much Money Does Your Library Save?

Have you ever wondered while browsing through the shelves of your library, that the library is actually saving money? Maybe not in cold hard cash, but using the library is actually a way of saving money. Here is an easy calculator to determine how much "money" you save at the library.

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U.S.Copyright Database for Sale?

Did you know that the U.S. Copyright Office has been trying to sell the Copyright Database for over $86,000? According to the Constitution, this very database which contains copyrights should always be made free and accessible to the public.

The high price-tag has placed it out of reach for many public and educational institutions and their leaders have raised concerns over this fact.

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Google Books

As you may know, Google has many innovative online resources. Many of you have probably used Google Maps for driving directions, travelled around the world virtually with Google Earth, or conducted research Google Scholar, and you may have even browsed the scanned selections from Google books.

Now, Google books has a new feature which allows you to cut and paste text from their collection of books. You can also "add to my library" which is really neat, this allows you to save the bibliographical information to your own account.

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Do You Know How to Take Good Notes?

How many times have you sat in a class and took notes on what the professor was lecturing on, and thought that you were taking good notes? How many times have you gotten a test back and thought that you could have done better, only if you had taken better notes? Well, there is help and hope for you struggling note takers out there, advice on taking more effective notes.

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Receiving Books Via-Email?

Sometimes, convenience is everything, especially when you want to read a classic and don't have time to go to the library. DailyLit is a service that sends you your requests via-email. It is easy to subscribe to, and the book is sent right to your computer!


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Wikipedia, 2 million articles and counting..........

When doing research, people use many online resources such as Wikipedia's blogs and podcasts, just to name a few. There is an enormous amount of subjects to read about, to learn new and exciting things. Wikipedia has hit its 2 million article mark, (the English language version, that is) and there is so much more to write about. Where is Wikipedia heading next?

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Google Making Books Available Online?

Wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to obtain books from major universities online? Well then you're in luck; the Google Book Search Project is here. Cornell University has agreed to participate in this wonderful program. There is no need to worry for those concerned about copyright issues because if the book is copyrighted then the viewer can only see the abstract.

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