Tag Archives: research

Research: What is the best podcasting plugin for WordPress?

The Audio player plugin currently installed on Midd WordPress is pretty good.  I believe Adam made some modifications to it so that the audio file it uses is included in the post’s RSS enclosure tag so that RSS readers will download the audio files for that post.  For example, see James Morrison’s blog for his International Political Economy course

However there are probably better WordPress plugins for podcasting.  Would be curious to know what’s out there and reviews.  Best place to start for this sort of research is WordPress Plugin Directory

Research: WordPress Plugin for Displaying Google Docs

Wouldn’t it be great if Google Docs could be displayed in a blog or other content management system.  That way, a bunch of people could collaborate on a text which could be displayed on a blog for others to comment upon.  The comments on the blog could help inform the editing of the text.

Is there a WordPress plugin for displaying Google Docs?  If so how well does it work?  Is it well supported.

Knowledge Exchange

Sites devoted to knowledge exchange are common in information technology.  One particularly good one is stackoverflow.com.  This particular site is exceptional for the following reasons:

  1. Anybody can ask a question or answer a question.
  2. Logged in users of the site can build a reputation by asking good questions or giving good answers
  3. Users with high reputations can do more on the site
  4. Any user (with moderate reputation) can rate an existing question or answer
  5. Any user (with moderate reputation) can edit an existing question or answer to make either better
  6. Best rated answers get pushed to the top

We could try to do something similar on this blog.  I know I have a bunch of questions I need to find answers too.  Some of these questions require a bit of expertise to find answers to, but others probably can be answered with a few google searches.

“Looking at Library Research” – You’re Invited

Submitted by Carrie Macfarlane

Please join us at next week’s workshop called “Looking at Library Research.” It’s part of the CTLR Pedagogy Roundtable Series.

Thursday, June 11
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Looking at Library Research, Library 230
Presenters: Brenda Ellis, Joe Toth, Andrew Wentink

Conveners: Carrie Macfarlane and Terry Simpkins

Has the way you do research changed over the past few years? Have you noticed a change in the research your students are doing? Finding information has become easier than ever, but sifting out the best information remains a challenge even for experienced researchers. In this roundtable we will examine some of the changes in the resources libraries provide and in how they provide them, as well as discuss how these mesh (or don’t!) with student and faculty expectations.

Information Behavior of Researchers – Myths of a Google Generation

Submitted by Judy Watts

A January 2008 report by a research team (CIBER) at University College London for the British Library and JISC, the Joint Information Systems Committee that promotes the use of academic IT in the UK, shows that while most young people in the US and UK are completely at home with computers, they rely on the most basic search tools and do not possess the critical and analytical skills to assess the information they find on the web. The report ‘Information Behavior of the Researcher of the Future’ also shows that traits commonly associated with younger users – impatience in search and navigation, zero tolerance for any delay in satisfying their information needs – are becoming the norm for all age-groups, from young students through undergraduates to professors. The study warns that young people are dangerously lacking in informations skills and presents the challenges for library and information services in meeting the needs of researchers.

The Executive Summary of  the report is a good read (and worth a look just for the cover graphic). You can find the full report here, and more recent publications of the JISC group, e.g., Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World, are listed here.

Meeting Classes – Introducing LIS Resources

Submitted by Judy Watts

With 17 class days in September, Librarians will have presented 53 classes. That’s a rate of 3 per day since the beginning of the academic year. Perhaps you can understand why getting these scheduled into rooms with adequate equipment, e.g., smart classrooms with computers for students has us tearing our hair.

First Year Seminars represent the greatest percentage of classes at the beginning of the term. New students need a basic introduction to LIS resources and services. Classes will often be back for in-depth instruction in subject resources when research papers are assigned.

It is interesting to see the range of subjects addressed:

Date — Course — Title — Librarian
4 FYSE 1066 Voices Along the Way (Judy)
4 FYSE 1236 The Malleable Human (Carrie)
8 FYSE 1215 Empires (Brenda)
8 CHEM 0322 Biochemistry of Macromolecules (1) (Carrie)
8 CHEM 0322 Biochemistry of Macromolecules (2) (Carrie)
8 CHEM 0322 Biochemistry of Macromolecules (3) (Carrie)
9 HIST 0600 History Research Seminar (Brenda)
9 HIST 0600 History Research Seminar (Andy)
10 FYSE 1020 Crime & Punishment in America (Andy)
10 FYSE 1253 The Brain in Sickness & in Health (Bryan)
10 FYSE 1048 Ecology and Conservation in Vermont (Carrie)
10 FYSE 1237 What Is Life? (Carrie)
11 FYSE 1062 Brother Can You Spare a Dime? (Andy)
11 FYSE 1248 The Trojan War (Cynthia)
11 FYSE 1249 Food and Choice (Joe)
11 JAPA 0275 Seminar in Japanese (Joy)
11 FYSE 1174 Andy Warhol (Judy)
12 FYSE 1236 The Malleable Human (Carrie)
12 FYSE 1244 Geology of National Parks (Carrie)
15 Hist 0700 Senior World History Seminar (Brenda)
15 Hist 0700 Senior US History Thesis Seminar (Andy)
15 HARC 0214 Art in the Middle Ages (Judy)
16 SOAN 0302 Resch: Ethnography Qual Methods (Jean)
16 PSYC 0202 Research Methods (Bryan)
16 GEOG 0100 Place and Society (Carrie)
17 Econ 0700 Senior Research (Brenda)
17 FYSE 1258 Performing Culture (Judy)
17 FYSE 1244 Geology of National Parks (Carrie)
18 SOAN 0302 Rech: Ethnography Qual Methods (Jean)
18 HIST 0397 The U.S. and the Pacific (Andy)
18 PSYC 0105 Intro. To Psychology (1) (Bryan)
18 PSYC 0105 Intro. To Psychology (2) (Bryan)
18 PSYC 0105 Intro. To Psychology (3) (Bryan)
18 FYSE 1245 Sound: the Aural Ether (Joy)
19 PSYC 0105 Intro. To Psychology (4) (Bryan)
19 PSYC 0105 Intro. To Psychology (5) (Bryan)
19 FYSE 1021 Love & Death (Bryan)
19 FYSE 1236 The Malleable Human (Carrie)
22 GEOL 0400 Senior Thesis Seminar (Carrie)
23 REFWORKS (Brenda)
23 FYSE 1264 Race Difference in 20th C America (Andy)
23 FYSE 1250 Songwriting (Joy)
23 FYSE 1211 Godel, Escher, Bach (Judy)
23 CHEM 0311 Instrumental Analysis (Carrie)
23 HARC 0219 Northern Renaissance Art (Judy)
25 FYSE 1255 The Collapse of Complex Societies (Jean)
25 FYSE 1254 Liberation and Literature (Joy)
25 REFWORKS (Richard)
29 PSYC 0700 Senior Research (Bryan)
29 FYSE 1256 Captains, Kings, Caudillos (Joy)
29 SPAN 0300 Hispanic Literature (Joy)
29 FYSE 1048 Ecology and Conservation in Vermont (Carrie)
30 REFWORKS (Jean)

Basic technology instruction is included in a large percentage of these classes, introduced either by a Technology Liaison or by the Librarian. Classes that involve intensive use of digital media generally schedule classes separately. Some of that activity will be reported at a later date.