The Virtual Library course: Registration now open!

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Monique Flaccavento

The move from paper to electronic information sources has dramatically changed the landscape of academic research, publishing, and scholarly communication. Fast-paced technological innovations shape our research practices as well as the ways we publish and share our work with others inside and outside our fields.

Librarian instructors will guide students through electronic research resources available at the University of Toronto – and beyond – and provide students with the necessary skills to use them effectively to enhance their research in education. The course is offered via online modules:

1.Library search basics
2.Advanced search techniques*
3.Tracking citations and impact factors
4.Open Access publishing and scholarly communication
5.Citation management (RefWorks, Zotero, etc.)
6.Data and statistics in education research
7.Research beyond the University of Toronto

* Advanced search techniques is the only required module. Students must complete a minimum of three modules to successfully complete the Virtual Library course.

Note: This course is only open to graduate students and faculty pursuing studies / research in the field of education. There are only 20 spaces available — register now!

Register

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Featured Activity Kit. Bridges

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Sioban Linnen

Looking for an activity for your budding engineers?  Give your students a hands-on learning opportunity with Bridges: Comprehensive Bridge Building Set by K’NEX [C.R. 624.2 B8512]. Building and learning about bridges helps students to understand the design, engineering, and construction process, but also provides an opportunity for students to develop their team work, communication, and presentation skills.

The kit includes hundreds of K’NEX building pieces and dozens of activities of varying complexity for different ages and abilities. Suggested activities teach basic bridge building concepts and bridge types, including suspension bridges, swing bridges, lift bridges, and more. Students can also explore bridges through history, building replicas of Roman arch bridges and modern bridges such as the London Bridge. Included with the kit is the Bridges Educator Guide, full of lesson ideas and worksheets.

Stop by the coffee table near the Circulation Desk on the ground floor of the OISE Library and take a look today!

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New Titles!

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Sarah Ann Gauthier

Come check out these new reading and writing Curriculum Resources!

Catching Tigers in Red Weather – Read about how the teacher-poet Judith Rowe Michaels refocused her grade 9 English class to help students explore their writing skills. Judith Rowe Michaels teaches writing as an art form with potential for creativity in filmmaking, web design, and music. A great book to teach students to use their imagination!

Reading Better, Reading Smarter – is for teachers to create their own planning and implementing of scaffolded reading experiences (SREs).

Reading for Understanding – is a guide for using reading apprenticeship, to increase student engagement and academic achievement. This book includes a framework for improving the reading of all students (English learners, students with special needs, AP courses, and much more). It also includes concrete instructional and assessment tools.

These titles and more can be found on the New Acquisitions Shelf on the Ground Floor of the OISE library!

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Featured Activity Kit: Hanukkah Celebration Box

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Wendy Traas

Saturday evening marked the beginning of Hanukkah with the traditional lighting of the first candle on the menorah. Celebrate the start of the holiday season in your class with the Hanukkah Celebration Box (CR 394.267 H9562). This week’s featured activity kit promotes sensory awareness of cultural traditions. It contains a wooden menorah and dreydl, candles, and cookie cutters, a stencil book, wooden stamps and sponge letters featuring Jewish symbols. The guide has suggestions for creative activities such as decorations that can be made from the cookie cutters and stencils. An included picture book tells the story of a Hanukkah celebration from the perspective of a child.

Teachers can use the dreydl game to reinforce mathematical concepts of half, whole, zero, and one-to-one correspondence. Instructions are included, as well as recipes for latkes and Hanukkah cookies.

The kit is currently displayed on the coffee table near the Circulation Desk on the Ground Floor of the library. Come have a look!

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E-Books at the University of Toronto

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Monique Flaccavento

Learn more about finding, downloading, and printing e-books available at the University of Toronto:

http://guides.library.utoronto.ca/content.php?pid=349929&sid=2862864

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