News

The School's Academic Planning Council has selected MERIT (Media, Education Resources, and Information Technology) as the new name for the merger of the CIMC, IMDC, and SoE IT office. MERIT Services and staff are housed on the first, third, and fourth floors of the Teacher Education Building. MERIT will continue to provide the library, help desk, learning spaces, media development, technical support, instructional technology consulting, and infrastructure support formerly provided by the CIMC, IMDC, and SoE IT. Additional information about the reorganized unit including our new website will be announced later in the spring semester.

Jo Ann Carr
Director, MERIT

Posted by Jo Ann Carr on January 2, 2009

MERIT Library is pleased to announce the Spring 2009 workshop schedule. Topics include:

Introduction to Dreamweaver
Introduction to RefWorks
Introduction to KompoZer
Using Google for Academic Research
EndNote in a Nutshell
Introduction to Word 2007
Designing Learning Scenarios with Second Life
Introduction to Data Analysis with SPSS
Finding Education Articles
Dreamweaver Web Site Management
Online Tutorials: From Passive to Interactive
Introduction to PowerPoint 2007
Internet Media in the Classroom
Enhanced Educational Maps with Google Earth
Introduction to the GIMP

As the spring semester begins, we invite faculty and staff to contact our instruction team to request "course related instruction sessions". Sample sessions are listed online.

We look forward to working with you!

Posted by Jim Jonas on January 2, 2009

Are you writing your dissertation or starting to think about it? We have a great tool for you! MERIT Library has adapted a Dissertation Calculator that helps current and future dissertators plan their studies. Simply enter the expected start and completion dates of your dissertation and the calculator will generate a plan that includes every phase of the process along with a suggested amount of time for each step. In addition to the timeline, the Dissertation Calculator provides strategies and links to support resources for each stage. Try it out yourself and let us know what you think.

Posted by Amanda Manteufel on January 2, 2009

Instruction Support and Consulting
MERIT staff specialize in providing support to integrate 21st century skills into course assignments. Our instruction team offers instruction on a variety of topics through class sessions or links to tutorials. For additional information about course-integrated instruction, please see our guidelines. Staff are available for one-on-one help and instruction. Please contact staff to arrange a time to meet.

Library Course Web Pages
MERIT staff are available to work with you to create an online resource pointing to electronic reserves, library databases, tutorials, web sites, workshops and other resources that address the educational themes and individual assignments for specific courses. The Library Course Web Page is available for your use through My UW.

Technology Spaces, Equipment, and Lab Support
MERIT staff help you reserve teaching labs and technology equipped classrooms, and provide lab services in support of SoE course work. We also provide circulation of digital equipment -- cameras, laptops, camcorders, to name a few -- and can help direct you to teaching lab spaces.

Collection Development: Purchase Materials
We continually evaluate and expand our collection to meet the needs of the School of Education students, faculty and staff. We encourage you to share your recommendations of specific materials that will support your course.

Course Reserves
Your course readings can be made available online (e-reserves) or at the CIMC circulation desk for short term loan. Submit your request online or contact Donna Meicher at dmeicher@education.wisc.edu for additional information about Course Reserves.

Please contact Catherine Stephens with questions about

Posted by Catherine Stephens on January 2, 2009

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Thank you,

Catherine Stephens, on behalf of MERIT's Library & Instructional Technology Services

Posted by Catherine Stephens on January 2, 2009

Free and Open Source Software

This is the first of a series of articles introducing free and open source software [1]. Each article focuses on a desktop program that is comparable with a well-known proprietary [2] word processor, web authoring, graphics, statistics, or other program. This first article introduces the web authoring tool KompoZer. Among the programs covered in future articles will be OpenOffice, the GIMP, and R. Every program featured runs on common desktop operating systems like Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows.

Free and open source software is made and distributed under a development model based on the freedom for programmers to share programming code they have written. Three reasons for choosing to use this software are its cost, compatibility, and development model. This software is usually free of charge and is freely distributed on the Internet at sites like Source Forge (http://sourceforge.net) and Fresh Meat (http://freshmeat.net). It runs on a variety of operating systems like Apple Macintosh and Microsoft Windows, and it can read and write files that are compatible with proprietary programs. Finally, the development model depends on peer review like the academic community. The source or code is open for others to see which makes it possible to learn from others, to add or improve code, and to join a community making interesting and useful tools.

KompoZer

KompoZer is a web authoring tool for making web pages without knowing hypertext markup language (HTML) or cascading style sheets (CSS), the hidden language codes that determine the structure and appearance of web pages. It is a graphical web authoring system similar to Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage. Best of all it is free and available for Apple Macintosh, Linux, and Microsoft Windows desktops.

KompoZer features a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editor to make web pages as easy as typing a paper in a word processor. You can quickly switch between preview, code (HTML), and design views of the same web page. Multiple pages can be opened simultaneously, and tabs allow switching between pages. Advanced features include forms, tables, templates, and a built-in CSS editor and FTP client. All web pages are based on standard file formats so the same site could be edited by team members using KompoZer, Adobe Dreamweaver, or Microsoft FrontPage.

The KompoZer installer for Linux, Macintosh, or Windows can be downloaded from its web page at http://kompozer.net/. KompoZer is a small, fast tool. The installation simply requires extracting or expanding the archive then dragging and dropping it into the "Program Files" (Microsoft Windows) or "Applications" (Apple Macintosh) folder.
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[1] Visit these web sites for more information about the Free Software Foundation (http://www.fsf.org/) and the Open Source Initiative http://www.opensource.org/).

[2] Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft Corporations make and sell proprietary software like Adobe Creative Suite, Apple iWork, and Microsoft Office.

Posted by Chris Dowling on January 2, 2009

Making Choices for Multicultural Education: Five Approaches to Race, Class, and Gender (6th ed.), by Christine E. Sleeter and Carl A. Grant.
Wiley, 2009
Prof LC1099.3 .S58 2009

Beneath the Surface: The Hidden Realities of Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Young Learners, K-6, by Ken Pransky.
Heinemann, 2008
Prof LC1099.3 .P73 2008

Reel Diversity: A Teacher's Sourcebook, by Brian C. Johnson and Skyra C. Blanchard.
P. Lang, 2008
Prof LC1099.3 .J635 2008

Take Action! Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom, byLori Langer de Ramirez.
Merrill/Pearson, 2009
Prof LC1099.3 .L363 2009

Posted by Vince Jenkins on January 2, 2009

Do Not Open, by John Farndon.
DK Publishing, 2007
LTy AG 106 .F37 2007
Summary: A collection of unusual facts, secrets, and unsolved mysteries from around the world, from Paris' hidden tunnels, to the mystery of the the Roswell crash site in New Mexico, and to secret documents contained in the Vatican library.

Scholastic Book of World Records 2009, by Jenifer Corr Morse.
Scholastic, 2008
LTy AG 243 .M69 2008
Summary: A reference guide including records in the realms of politics, sports, the environment, nature, space, and popular culture, and includes a section of United States records.

Every Minute on Earth: Fun Facts That Happen Every 60 Seconds, by Steve Murrie and Matthew Murrie; illustrated by Mary Anne Lloyd.
Scholastic Reference, 2007
LTy AG 243 .M86 2007
Summary: Curiosities, wonders, and miscellanea about Earth, space, technology, pop culture, food, animals, sports, the human body, etc.

Encyclopedia Horrifica: The Terrifying Truth! About Vampires, Ghosts, Monsters, and More, by Joshua Gee.
Scholastic Inc., 2007
LTy BF 1556 .G44 2007
Summary: A visual reference with true stories of such creatures as vampires, aliens, werewolves, and ghosts, accompanied by photographic evidence, eyewitness accounts, and original interviews.

Wisconsin, by Jean F. Blashfield.
Children's Press, 2008
LTy F 581.3 .B58 2008
Summary: Child's guidebook to the state's people, land, government, economy, and history.

A Dictionary of Dance, by Liz Murphy.
Blue Apple Books, 2007
LTy GV 1585 .M86 2007

Lives of the Great Artists, by Charlie Ayres.
Thames & Hudson, 2008
LTy N 6536 .A97 2008
Summary: Presents illustrated and age-appropriate imaginary tours of the studios of famous artists from Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to Monet and van Gogh, in an anecdotal reference that is complemented by reproductions of famous works and introductory portraits.

Japanese Picture Dictionary, illustrations by Chris L. Demarest.
Berlitz Pub., 2008
LTy PL 679 .J37 2008
Summary: "A child's first Japanese dictionary, over 1,000 words and phrases."

Children's Night Sky Atlas, by Robin Scagell.
DK Publishing, 2004
LTy QB 63 .S367 2004
Summary: Discoveries and state-of-the-art space photography illustrate science revelations about constellations, the evolution of stars and galaxies, and the planets in the solar system.

Extreme Dinosaurs (1st ed.), by Robert Mash; illustrated by Stuart Martin.
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007
LTy QE 861.5 .M34295 2007
Summary: From the mammoth Argentinosaurus, heavy as twenty elephants, to the tiny meat-eating Microraptor, smaller than a chicken, here are the dinosaur record breakers.

Posted by Vince Jenkins on January 2, 2009