News

I’m about midway through my Information Literacy practicum here at the CIMC, which I’m doing as part of my degree program over at the School of Library and Information Studies, and it seemed like a good time to reflect on my experiences here – both what I’ve been doing, and what I’ve seen.

I’ve mostly been involved in the developmental side of IL here so far; I started in late July working on tutorials, and that’s been my focus here for a lot of the past two months. In particular, I’ve spent a lot of time seriously revising the technology tutorials (take a look at PowerPoint and Mac OS X! New and improved!), though I’ve also been doing some work learning Macromedia RoboDemo and creating demonstration tutorials using that. A lot of this has involved learning services I’ve never had the occasion to use, such as Library Express and WorldCat, as well as giving applications I’m familiar with, like Microsoft PowerPoint and Macintosh OS X, a fresh look so that I could create tools that were useful to novices. Since I've been working with tutorials rather extensively, I was inspired to write a mini-essay on the subject.

But tutorials are only one piece of a much larger picture, and the CIMC obviously endeavors to provide its patrons and users with the entire picture of library education. One major way we do that here is obviously through workshops; the CIMC offers workshops in everything from research tools to technological tools. There’s something for almost everyone here, and we make sure that the students, faculty, and staff in the School of Education know about them through the wide distribution of out blue and white handouts, outlining our upcoming courses, their dates, and whether pre-registration is required.

The vast array of workshops and online tutorials and tools available at our website is part of what gives the CIMC such a great instruction program, but the most important component is undoubtedly the people. Everyone I’ve met here has been friendly and helpful, and that shows both in the development of the workshops and tools and the execution of them. I look forward to working with all of you for the remainder of the semester.

Posted by Amanda Roberts on October 28, 2004

ERIC Documents? While most campus databases only cover journal articles, the ERIC database adds the wide-ranging Eric Documents to education journal article coverage. ERIC Documents include research reports, papers presented at conferences, curriculum guides, theses, government documents, descriptions of monographs (books) and many other printed education resources. Although the average ERIC Document is between twenty and thirty pages, they range from a few pages to more than a thousand.

How fast? At the present time, 96,656 of those documents are available online as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. Less than 50 are dated 2004 since the ERIC processing agency has been in the process of extensive reorganization since late 2003. A benefit of that reorganization is a remarkable reduction of download time. The previous download service could take a few minutes for a dozen pages. Now with a high speed campus or home connection, you can be reading a document of more than 300 pages on your desktop in less than thirty seconds - sometimes much less.

The next time you do an ERIC search, look for the “Full Text from ERIC” link at the lower left corner of the results page.
--Peter Cupery

Posted by on October 22, 2004

We hope you had a chance to take part in the Wisconsin Book Festival from October 6-12! In the spirit of this fantastic annual event, the CIMC has gathered books, videos, and educational materials by authors and illustrators showcased in the Festival.

Some of the authors (like Jane Austen) never stepped foot in our state, but the Festival featured discussions of their works. Others not only live here - they've also created books about Wisconsin's history and character ("B is for Badger," "Celebrating Everyday Life in Wisconsin History").

While you're in a Wisconsin state of mind, don't forget our Wisconsin Authors & Illustrators website at http://cimc.education.wisc.edu/ed_info/webliographies/bookfest.htm!

Posted by Amanda Werhane on October 21, 2004

Thanks to an Instructional Lab Modernization grant, there will be new
computers in the Macintosh classroom. The grant provided funds to
replace the classroom's computers and to get some extras like a slide
scanner and drawing tablets. The new computers will be duel-processor
Power Mac G5 systems with 21-inch monitors and plenty of RAM. The
systems currently in room 346, duel-processor Power Mac G4s, will be
moved to the Macintosh classroom in room 330. The equipment is
currently on order, and is expected to be in place for the start of
the 2005 spring semester.

Posted by Chris Dowling on October 17, 2004

Each semester, CIMC staff review SoE course offerings, and connect with SoE faculty in order to design instruction sessions for SoE courses and programs. CIMC instruction sessions help address information and technology literacy standards; topics include evaluation and selection of resources for class projects and research, using technology and digital media for classroom work, and effective use of technology to communicate and convey information to classmates and instructors.

A review of course-integrated instruction work during fiscal year 03-04 shows a steady rise in the number of sessions offered. In a comparison of fiscal year 02-03 to 03-04, the number of course related sessions more than doubled with a three-fold increase in attendees. During fiscal year 03-04, CIMC staff offered a total of 68 course-integrated sessions reaching 1281 students across programs in the School of Education, showing this work is on the rise.
Design of effective course-integrated instruction happens in a collaborative context. CIMC staff work closely with SoE faculty in order to compliment course objectives and outcomes. Steps include initial contact with individual faculty, review of the class syllabus, consultation with faculty about course materials and specific course assignments, and design of class material to tie directly to course objectives. Class sessions take place in CIMC technology class space, or in the original classroom.

If you are a Professor, Teaching Assistant or other SoE instruction staff, consider contacting a CIMC staff member to find out more about course-integrated instruction. Course-integrated instruction will be scheduled at your convenience and tailored to the specific needs of your class, meeting or group. To learn more about course-integrated instruction opportunities, visit the program description online, or contact Catherine Stephens at cstephens@education.wisc.edu.

Posted by Catherine Stephens on October 16, 2004

Registration is now open for CIMC showcase events during American Education week. Scheduled events for Monday, November 19 include CIMC Tours highlighting CIMC resources and services. Three workshops are scheduled on Learning Objects in Education, Evaluating Information and Technology Resources, and Designing Classroom Assessments. Lemonade and cookies will be served throughout the afternoon. Details on registering for these events is on the CIMC web site at http://cimc.education.wisc.edu/help_training/workshops/index.html

Posted by Jo Ann Carr on October 15, 2004

Many new web resources have been cataloged and added to MadCat. Among these are:

“Religion and prayer in U.S. public schools, libraries, etc.” This web site focuses on current religious topics in the United States and Canada. It is an attempt to disseminate accurate religious information and expose religious fraud, hatred and misinformation.

“State high school exit exam: a maturing reform” is a report prepared by The Center on Education Policy. It examines high school exit exams in 25 states. Topics include: the impact of exit exams on curriculum, characteristics of exit exams, and the relationship of exit exams to other education policies, such as the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

'Historical Maps Online" provides digitized historical and topographical maps of Illinois and historical maps of North America, the Northwest Territory, former North American colonies, Louisiana Territory, Canada, Latin America, the midwest states, Indians of North America, waterways, transportation, and maps from the Newberry Library.

In addition to new web resources, several web sites from the CIMC professional resources guide were selected and incorporated into the MadCat database. We have created bibliographic records for web sites such as “The children's literature web guide” and Statistical resources on the web: education”. These web sites are now directly searchable and accessible through MadCat.

Posted by Jo Sin on October 15, 2004

Get into the Halloween spirit here at the CIMC. During the second half of this month, the CIMC will feature a display highlighting spooky Halloween materials includind some creepy anatomy models. Be brave and check out the display and don't be afraid to review the list of helpful Halloween resources on our webliography.

Posted by Erica Arroyo on October 14, 2004

Among the new materials recently added to the CIMC collection are two titles to support the teaching of astronomy and language arts. For a complete list of the 234 titles added to the CIMC collection in the past four weeks use New in MadCat

Slangalicious: Where We Got That Crazy Lingo, text by Gillian O'Reilly, is a conversational guide to American slang for children, including brief etymologies, colorful illustrations by Krista Johnson, and frequent sidebars to explain words that appear in the narrative. In CIMC's Pre-Kindergarten-12 collection at LTy PE 3711 O74 2004. 84 p., including "Further reading," "Selected sources," and an index of terms discussed.

Out-of-This-World Astronomy: 50 Amazing Activites and Projects by Joe Rhatigan & Rain Newcomb, introduces "the study of stuff in space," providing statistics, quizzes, activities, and experiments about the stars and planets. 128 p., full-color illustrations, glossary, webliography, and (very brief) index. In CIMC's Pre-K-12 collection at LTy QB46 .R527 2003

Posted by Vince Jenkins on October 11, 2004

School of Education faculty members who wish to assist their students in preparing for Content Area Tests may wish to consult Professor's Guide to Praxis II Tests (ETS, 2000). This guide reviews the areas in which candidates may encounter difficulty with the Praxis tests and provides suggestions for assisting students to preapre for these tests. Examples are provided for the areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. Copies of this title are available in the Reference Collection and Professional Stacks, see LB 1762 P76 2000.

Posted by Jo Ann Carr on October 10, 2004