Research Skills: A Blog Series from your ELI Library staff

Evaluating Websites

A couple of weeks ago, we talked about using Google for your research. Of course, NOVA Libraries has access to thousands of newspaper, magazine, and journal articles through the library databases. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not good and useful information out on the web as well.  You just need to be critical.

So how can you decide if a website has good information that would be appropriate to use in your assignments? You’ve heard of the 5 W’s, right? Well, they can also be applied to evaluating information, on the web and elsewhere. 

WHO – Who wrote or published the information? Is it someone you have heard of? Is it an

organization that you are familiar with?

WHAT – What are the author’s credentials? Are they clear about their experience in the subject

and how they relates to the topic they are writing on?

WHEN – When was the information published? Is it the type of information that changes over

time (Think: Medical Information)? Or is it the type of information that stays the same (Think:

History)?

WHERE – Where did the author get their information? Are they properly citing their sources?

Are they clear on where their facts, statistics, graphs, etc. are coming from?

WHY – Why are they publishing this information? What is the author’s motivation? Are they

showing a bias?

Take a look at the NOVA Libraries’ 5 W’s to Determine Good Information for more tips! And as always, if you’re not sure about a website, ask us! ELI-Library@nvcc.edu

Have You Heard of ELI's Virtual Student Union?

Have you heard of ELI’s Virtual Student Union (aka VSU)? This is an online site that we’re building to help keep ELI  students connected outside of their Blackboard course sites --to start online clubs, get study help, discuss topics of interest with fellow students, and in general, to hang out! We’re inviting students in select ELI courses to preview the Beta site and give us feedback in upcoming blog posts. Here’s our first site review:

"From the first moment I saw this website, I liked the background colors, which are green and black. These two colors are soft and relaxing. In addition, these are NOVA’s colors. Secondly, the pictures representing each topic are attractive because of their colors and bright laughter. At the same time, they also speak for the topics. In the Club Hub, there are some available groups which are easy to access, and their themes are helpful for the school environment.  I love the songs in Music Lounge; they are appropriate for everyone and restful. The most helpful for ELI students is the Game Center. After a few hours of studying online, students can simply click on the Game Center to play challenge games and have some fun with their friends. Another thing I like about this site is the Event tab. This not only helps students stay up-to-date on recent and upcoming events, but also gives enough information for students to participate.  This site can be a place where students can make friends and help each other out in studying..."

We look forward to more feedback, ideas for site improvements and involvement in this project as we move forward with the next phases. If you are an ELI student interested in previewing the site, contact Bridget Downey, Student Life Specialist, for more information. And look forward to more VSU news coming soon!

Beyond the Card Catalog: The Dangerous World of Internet Research

In his second article, William Hatheway, adjunct professor of English at ELI, will continue to shine some light on writing in the 21^st century.

A few centuries ago, two individuals, Isaac Newton and Gottfried Leibnitz, invented calculus…. separately. Working a certain unknown number of years apart and certainly with a great deal of distance between them, each in their own way developed an entire field of study. Now, can you imagine this happening today? No, instead we’d hear of it from a tweet by @newton, or a text from Leibnitz, as soon as one of them got finished. In short, information gets out and around today in ways and extents unimaginable before.

Now, for today’s student this offers great opportunity. Who needs to zip through the microfiche reader (do you even know what that is? am I dating myself?) when we have the mighty Google machine? But there are also risks, of course, and prime among them is how we know whether to accept a source as valid or not. And this is made even more complicated because the rules change as fast as the net itself; Wikipedia, for example, was basically banned from college essays just a few years ago, but nowadays it seems that it has accrued enough respect to be allowed in certain academic venues.

So, when you do a search, and a number of hits pop up, where to start? I suggested you begin at the end; that is, look at the end of the address: any corporate interest can buy any .com url, but only verified non-profits can get .org, vetted government agencies .gov, and accredited educational institutions .edu. While these are no guarantee of absolute veracity, they each carry with them a certain standing as being legitimate, trustable entities.

But here’s the rub, and where this entry becomes a cautionary tale. Imagine you know very little about Martin Luther King, Jr., and you are assigned to report on his ethical and moral character. So being a responsible researcher, you take a stab at martinlutherking.org. Makes sense, right? It is a non-profit, and it’s his name. Now you actually take a look at the homepage, though, and you get quite a shock … is this the MLK we are just now building a monument to in our nation’s capital? For what you start to read tells you not about an amazing activist who gave his life for peaceful change, but rather someone so repulsive that you can download a flyer that asks “Which holiday honors a liar, a cheater and traitor?”

You and I know that something is up here, but how? Isn’t this a vaunted .org site? Shouldn’t that alone make it trustworthy? Well, this may surprise you: racist groups can incorporate themselves as non-profits just the same as those that are formed for the purpose of saving the world… and if they get to a website name first, it’s theirs. So who runs this martinlutherking.org? None other than Stormfront, an organization dedicated to “white power."

It just goes to show that, while often invaluable, the internet can be treacherous ground for even informed researchers. So, take your time, dig deep, and question everything before you take its word.

Tech Tuesday: Prezi

Prezi is a web-based presentation application that allows the presenter to use text, images, and videos in a non-linear fashion and ends as a visual map of the presentation. There is a free Prezi Public License, as well as options for paid subscription access through Prezi Enjoy and Prezi Pro. Prezi also offers a special education license for students and educators. Check it out for free here.

Follow Prezi on Twitter @prezi

Netiquette mis-deeds

Do you get annoyed by bad netiquette? If so, you might appreciate this article from CNN.com.

Social Networking with NOVA

Are you a social networker looking for more ways to connect with NOVA? You can keep up with the College buzz by becoming a NOVA Facebook fan or Twitter follower. You can also find NOVA podcasts on iTunesU and watch NOVA's own YouTube channel, NOVAaccess. And ELIfe is only one of many blogs on the NOVA scene! For links to all of NOVA's social media sites, visit www.nvcc.edu and find the boxed section, "Connect with NOVA."

Library Resources Tip #7: LearningExpress

Looking for a productive way to procrastinate? Try brushing up on your skills with LearningExpress. This suite offers practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, and other information for all age levels in a variety of areas. Need to refresh your reading, writing, or math skills? Check out Skill Building for Adults. Considering a career move? The Job Search and Workplace tools can help you improve your business writing skills, create a well-written cover letter and resume, and ace an interview.

LearningExpress is easy to overlook amidst the multitude of other resources at NOVA's Library Website. If you're looking for more gems like this, click on "Articles & More" and then go to the "Encyclopedia's, Dictionaries & Reference" section.

NOVA recognized as popular choice for service members

We at NOVA and the VCCS are proud to be included in the “Most Popular Colleges” list by EDGE Magazine, a Military Times publication. The list ranks the 50 most popular colleges as determined by active-duty service members who used tuition assistance to pursue a degree last year and NOVA and the Virginia Community College System placed 20th! We are happy to support ELI’s military students by providing convenient, flexible, and affordable distance learning courses and to be recognized as a top choice for active-duty service members.

Announcing faTV!

Understanding the world of financial aid is often a bewildering process. There are special terms, dates, and qualifications that if you haven't encountered personally, can be intimidating. Typically, fear of the unknown leads to avoidance. But in the case of financial aid, lack of understanding or clarity about the process may cause you to miss out on valuable aid, loans, scholarships and grants that you may be eligible for. If only you had known! If only the information was presented in a practical way, you might take advantage, right? We hear ya! And evidently, NOVA's Financial Aid office does too.

faTV is NOVA's latest effort to help you pay for college, learn about financial aid and avoid unnecessary student debt. Here's a couple of our favorite faTV clips that may answer questions you've always wondered too:

• How can I pay for college?
• What is a Perkins Loan?
• What's the difference between a grant and a loan?
• What is a scholarship?
• About the new GI Bill

Try the Pomodoro Technique

Do you ever have problems accomplishing everything you've set out to do in one day? Do you stress out when you find you've spent too much time on one task and have neglected other important to-do items? Well, using the simple Pomodoro Technique for time management, you can eliminate this anxiety and enhance your focus and concentration by breaking up tasks into five basic steps. All you need is a kitchen timer, a piece of paper and a pencil. Then: ready, set, Pomodoro! Visit this website to see how to use this technique and start getting the most out of each day.

Financial Aid Website Revision

Have you visited NOVA's Financial Aid website lately? The site has been re-designed to better serve your needs. The new visual layout clearly organizes information, tools, and instructions, including a FAFSA video tutorial and step-by-step "easy guide" to the application process. The latest Financial Aid updates are posted directly on the main page, providing the information you need, when you need it, without having to scroll through pages and pages of text. Check it out!

More distance learning options

NOVA offers many distance learning course options, both campus-based and at ELI. However, if you cannot find exactly what you need, check out these other options:

VCCS Online - The Virginia Community College System has twenty-three community colleges, many of them offer distance learning options.

Electronic Campus of Virginia - The Electronic Campus of Virginia is a cooperative instructional technology initiative among the state's public and private colleges and universities.

SREB Electronic Campus - The SREB Electronic Campus of the Southern Regional Education Board is an “electronic marketplace” for courses, programs and services. All courses and programs are offered by regionally accredited colleges and universities in the SREB states.

Free Software Downloads

Here's a quick list of links to software you can download free, from ones you probably already have (like Acrobat Reader) to ones you may not (like free internet phone service, free DVD burning software, free audio editing software, and lots more).

Cool Technology Tool: Jing

One of the frustrations in a distance education course is having technical problems. Sometimes it is difficult to write out in an email exactly what your problem is. It seems as if you type and you type and you type, and still the professor does not get it! It would be so much simpler to just “show” him or her what is happening on your end. Well, your wish has been answered! Jing is a FREE screenshot and video capture program that can be very useful in showing others a technical concept or problem. There are versions for both MAC and Windows. In addition, TechSmith, the parent company, offers server space to its users to store the images and movies that you have created. In this way, you can use them over and over again.

Here are some examples of how you can use Jing software.

Screen shots: Here is an example where your instructor tells you to go to the “Groups” area to answer the first question. You, however, do not have a “Groups” area in your course. This screen shot allows the instructor to see what links you have in your course.

Video Capture: This feature captures your screen for a little video that you can either save as a file or store on the TechSmith server. If the screencast is saved as a file, you can embed it in an email or post on the web. Since it can also be stored on the TechSmith server, you can paste the link to the video in emails, IMs, and on the web as I have done in the example that follows. (This allows it to play faster, too.) The video can play up to 5 minutes long and supports both audio and video. Click on this link to see a screencast that I did for a classmate on how to find our project files on GoogleDocs: http://screencast.com/t/zA5D0LyHiS5

How to get started: First download the FREE Jing software at http://www.jingproject.com/. The Jing yellow suns symbol hang on your computer screen. When you need to capture content on your computer screen, click on the yellow capture ball to the left and begin. Here are some short, handy videos to get you started: http://help.jingproject.com/get-started/get-started-with-jing-taking-y/. Enjoy your new toy!

Google Apps Tip #6: Google Sites

If you have wanted to have your own website but didn’t know how to get started, here you go!

Google Sites is one of the easiest ways to create your own website and publish it for people to access from the Internet. First, choose a template you like from Google Sites. Then you can add text or attach files or embedded images, videos, or information from other Google applications (like Google Docs, Google Calendar, Picasa and YouTube).

You can also create a web page with your friends and classmates by inviting them to be collaborators with you. If you want to make your website private, invite only the people you want to be allowed to view your site.

Quick, Free Tutorials on 100 Widely-Used Software Tools

Have you ever been working on your computer--whether for school, work, or your own projects--and gotten stuck trying to figure out how to get your software to do what you want it to do? NOVA provides you with a great tool for solving this problem--free, short, online video tutorials on just about any software product you might be using.

The service is called Atomic Learning, and the easy login instructions are here. Once you log in, you'll find tutorials on just about any software imaginable, from the basics (Microsoft Word, Excel, etc.) to things you use a lot for school (such as Blackboard) to more specialized software you might use for web page design, creating audio files, editing photos, and more (e.g., Dreamweaver, FrontPage, Garage Band, Final Cut Pro, and more). Tutorials are provided for both PC and Mac software programs.

The best thing about the tutorials in Atomic Learning is that each video is short and focused on just one particular skill or task, so you don't have to sit through a lot of instruction on things you don't need to know. Just read through the list of videos on the software you're using, find the video on what you need to know, watch for a couple of minutes, and hopefully, your problem will be solved!

Post a comment if you've used these tutorials--or, check them out and then post a comment to let your fellow ELI students know what you think of them!

Do You Wordle?

Want to create a cool image for a website, poster, flyer, or even term paper cover page? Check out Wordle, a site that creates "word clouds" based on text you enter. Put in some text and the site will create an image that shows the words you use most in a neat graphic, with different sizes and emphases on each word according to how often you used each word. You can even have the site create a Wordle for a whole website or blog. Once your Wordle is created, you can play with the layout, font, colors, and more to make it look the way you want. Try it out and see what you think!

The Mysteries of GPA--Solved!

Do you know how your GPA is calculated? Do you know what it currently is? How about figuring out how the grades you expect to earn this semester will affect it? Check out this site, which describes how NOVA GPAs are calculated, tells you what GPA you need to earn to achieve different academic honors, and, toward the bottom, gives you a link to a GPA calculator.

Another Online Radio Option

Last week, we pointed you to Pandora for listening to free music online. Finetune is another option, and like Pandora, it creates a "station" just for you based on the artists you like. And, like Pandora, you can download finetune for your iPhone as well as using it on your computer.

Has anyone used both Pandora and finetune? Which one do you like better, and why?

Listen to NOVA on the go

Did you know that NOVA is on iTunes U? On NOVA's iTunes U, you can download podcasts (audio clips) or vodcasts (video clips) on a wide range of topics. We have everything from a message from NOVA's President to an interview with a successful ELI student to our popular "60-Second Chef" series. All the recordings are free, and you can listen to them on your computer or download them to your iPod or other mp3 player to listen or watch on the go. Check it out, and let us know what you think!