Archive for May 21st, 2008

The “e-Expo” at UNE’s Dixson Library tomorrow (Thursday 22 May) will give academics and postgraduate students insight into the direct application of electronic resources in teaching and research, as well as “a glimpse into the future” of such resources.

That “glimpse into the future”, said the Library’s Information Services Manager, Celia Munro, will include surveys of innovations such as e-books and digital theses – innovations, she said, that would “make a big impact”.

Ms Munro said that the Expo would reflect the “more collaborative, group-based patterns of student learning” that were emerging in education, and would inform academics about the new technologies that are available to assist that learning. It would also reflect new directions in the integration of electronic resources, she said.

During this year’s “e-Expo” there will be, in addition to the presentations and training sessions in the Library, access to a “chatroom” and a blog through the Library’s Web page. “In this respect, the Expo itself is moving towards the future,” Ms Munro said. “We aim to provide as much 24/7 service for students – both off-campus and on-campus – as possible.”

The Expo will be a collaborative event, involving the Academic Skills Office, Student Assist, and the Information Technology Directorate as well as the Library. Presentations will cover Internet access to journals and databases (including the highly-regarded Elsevier journal package Science Direct, and legal, medical, and drug databases), resources for students with a disability, job blogs, Personal Response Systems (”clickers” that allow teachers to track levels of understanding in the lecture room), and much more. For the full program, go to: http://www-personal.une.edu.au/~cbarnes/eexpo.pdf.

Staff members from all the services will be available in the Library during the day to answer questions on their services.