New IRC web page

The re-designed Instructional Resource Center web page is here! With a debut late last week, the new web page includes all of the old favorites, what's new, the children's author and information page, and class handouts, but with less clutter and fewer distractions.




Information is presented in five categories:

• IRC Information - Faculty, GA's, student workers, hours, pricing and both IRC and EDCI 131/504 FAQ's.
• IRC Collection - Information regarding the library catalog, juvenile books, curriculum textbooks, IRC & it's technology, IRC services, and quick copyright resources.
• What's new - Links to the various IRC blogs for the latest information regarding additions to the collection and news. Sidebar widgets detail new books reviewed in the IRC Book Review blog, news from this blog, and a quick catalog search tool.
• Children's Author & Illustrator Pages - The main page presents reference resources, database recommendations, and Internet links for children's authors and illustrators. Additionally, over 75 individual author and illustrator pages are presented.
• IRC Resources - A compilation of various resources available beyond the traditional IRC collection; Internet resources, education & research, course handouts, leveled book kits, and mock Caldecott pages are featured here.
  

Take time to see what's new!

Tags: Ashland University Library, Ashland University Library Instructional Resource Center, Resource Center Web page, Web page redesign

IRC Hours Update

The Instructional Resource Center will be closed the following times this week:

• Thursday, February 1st
  Closed 10 am to 1 pm
  
• Friday, February 2nd
  Closed noon to 1 pm

Remember, printing is not available on the library, second floor, when the IRC is closed.

Microsoft Office 2007, goodbye Clippy

Scott Gilbertson, Monkey Bites, has posted a fond farewell to Microsoft Office's increasingly annoying "help" tool, clippy entitled: In Memoriam, Clippy. It appears clippy is no more in the newest version of Office.

First spotted in Office 97, the assistant was a help tool. Later versions of help allowed users to choose their own Clippy interface, remember the dog and Einstein? Though suspiciously absent in Office XP and Word 2003, see also Microsoft Tool Clippy Gets "Pink Slip" (CNet, 1/11/01), it seems Vista is indeed the last hurrah. As Gilbertson profoundly said: "Clippy is dead. Long live Clippy."

InspireData

Are you a fan of Inspiration and Kidspiration? If so, be sure to check out a recent addition to the AU network from the makers of Inspiration, InspireData. A visual data tool:

"InspireData includes more than 50 standards-based databases and examples in science, mathematics, social studies and more to get students started quickly analyzing data and understanding connections. Students can develop their own data sets for analysis using easy data collection tools including a Questionnaire tool, import function and quick table entry." (http://www.inspiration.com)

Looking for the AU network? After logging into a network computer choose the network applications folder and click on "all" (the world). Available software applications are listed alphabetically.

IRC Hours Update

The IRC will be closed between 11:00 am and 12:30 pm on Monday, January 22, 2007.

"The Dixie Clicks"

School Library Journal has a great article on how one eighth grade teacher used a class book blog to enliven history for his students. The Dixie Clicks: How a blog about the Civil War turned into a runaway hit, by Eric Langhorst details how:

"Over four weeks, the kids created a lively collective journal centered on, of all things, an assigned piece of reading: Guerrilla Season (Farrar, 2003) by Pat Hughes." (SLJ, Dec 2006, p. 47)

Check out his class blog:

• The Guerrilla Season Book Blog (welcome)
• Introduction to the Guerrilla Season Book Blog Project

Langhorst also authors the blog Speaking of History.

Tags: School Library Journal, The Dixie Clicks, History blogs,Eric Langhorst

TechCrunch - 2007 web 2.0 companies

TechCrunch, "a weblog dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies," is a great resource for quick updates on technology. While their interests are not specifically in educational or instructional technology, many of the companies and products profiled are ones that may make an impact on general Internet users. Today's TechCrunch blog post, 2007: Web 2.0 Companies I Couldn't Live Without, lists fifteen products co-founder Michael Arrington uses "every day" and includes:

• Digg
• Flickr
• Flock
• Gmail
• YouTube
• Skype
• Wordpress

Check out the blog posting as it includes not only reasons why they are favored, but also links to the TechCrunch coverage of the 2.0 company.

Tags: IRC Technology Resources, Ashland University Library, Ashland University Library IRC, TechCrunch, TechCrunch Blog, Web 2.0 Companies

IRC Hours: Holiday Break

The Instructional Resource Center (IRC) will be closed Monday, December 18th, 2006 through Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007.

Please check the IRC web site for additional hours updates.

AU Circulating: Technology

The following book has been added to the circulating collection. You will find it shelved in the regular location or in the new book display in the reference area on the main floor.

• Handheld computers and smartphones in secondary schools : a guide to hands-on learning
  LB1028.43 .W544 2006

IRC Reference: Technology

The following book has been added to the IRC reference collection. You will find it shelved directly inside the IRC, library second floor, in the reference section.

• Resources for assessment
  LB3060.83 .R48 2003