How to access Oxford Journals

Further to the previous Oxford Journals post, this should help you access the various journals. Just think - access to nearly 200 years of knowledge.

1. Go to the Oxford Journals website.
   
2. Search or browse until you find an article of interest. (N.B. No article published after 1995 is covered by our licence.)
3. To retrieve the article, click on PDF in the menu to the right of the screen.
4. You'll be taken to the pdf download page.
5. Scroll down to the Athens Users sub-menu and click on the Sign in via Athens option.
6. You'll be take to the familiar (ha!) Athens Authentication page.
7. Using your username & password log in to Athens. You'll be taken straight back to Oxford Journals & download will commence automatically.
8. There is no need to log in to retrieve further articles.
9. When you've finished, log out. There are bad people about.

Simple really. Of course you'll never read this and since it's 8.30 of a Friday evening and I'm on holiday - Anyone fancy a pint? I'll get me coat. And, of course, I was very, very drunk.

Rowley Birkin QC

Reasons to be cheerful, part four

In no particular order:

• TartanHeart @ Belladrum
• Clachnaharry Inn
• Proper butteries & baps
• Chanterelles in Glen Affric
• The Crown & Anchor in Findhorn
• Findochty
• ICT
• Portmahomack
• The Cawdor Inn
• Leakey's Bookshop in Inverness
• Caterpillars
• The Racing Post on the bus to Glamis
• Sweetie mice
• but mostly, CIVILISATION.

Your Laughing Librarian signing off for a few weeks. Avanti popolo!

NLN Taster CDs

Did you know that NLN Materials are in their 4th round of development. These "taster" CD-ROMs will show you what you've been missing. Each CD will autorun & a web menu will link to a NLN materials related to specific subject areas. Subjects available are:

• Travel & tourism
• Sport & fitness
• Social Sciences
• Science & mathematics
• Performing arts
• Learning support
• Land & environment
• Hospitality & catering
• Health studies and care
• Hairdressing & beauty
• Art & design
• Business & management
• Computing & IT
• Construction
• Core Skills
• Early years
• Engineering
• English & communication
• ESOL

Limited numbers are available but we'll keep a reference copy of each in the library. Maybe even find some server space.

Damn small puppy

Two new (to me) Linux distros.

• Puppy Linux, started by Barry Kauler, is a small (50-60M), fully featured Linux distribution. A full OS & desktop suite in 60Mb. Will even boot from a USB memory stick!
• Damn Small Linux is similar - a full suite of desktop applications, boot from CD/USB. Will even run in Windows. Plus a complete load into 128Mb of RAM.

Both of these could transform that retired 486-based in the attic.

Source: Guardian Unlimited Technology

From the people that gave you spray-on mud...

If you own a Kelvinbridge tractor or lust after one:

A special report from the Sierra Club about the impact of sports utility vehicles on the environment. Includes discussion about the pollution created by SUVs, the role of the United States as one of the top polluting nations, and the relationship between dependence on oil and national security.

http://www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/SUVreport/

Spray-on mud?
http://www.sprayonmud.com/
Spray-on mud.

Source: Librarians' Index to the Internet

On your feet or on your knees...

Calling all real libraries...
I know we've all looked at federated search tools to make our (and our customers') lives that little more easy. However, the likes of aspire from Fretwell Downing are purtily scarily priced, even if they say it ain't.

Federated search? Your electronic resources and library catalogue can be searched simultaneously through one interface and results brought back to the user in a single result set. Sounds pretty cool. And that sounds pretty cool sounds pretty sad.

Anyway, try dbWiz from Simon Fraser University in Canada. Looks mighty fine to me. OpenSource too.

Now all I have to do is persuade Herr ÜberTechie that this is important. Where's that AK-47?

Summertime (no teachers) & the living is easy...

Two FE truisms:

• Librarians are incapable of original thought (cut & paste);
• Techies spend the summer catching the rays.

The Clipboard toolbar in MS Office is a real pain & not easily turned off. So some advice for the cut & paste brigade & a wee bit of work for the much-maligned techie. Edit the registry with Regedit to kill the clipboard beastie - Annoyances.org has the answer.

Well, it gives us something to do...

JISC Inform

If you don't receive a print copy of JISC Inform (what's a jisc), the latest, Summer 2006 edition, is available for download in Word or Acrobat formats.
Much of the material covered has been posted here before. As you know, dear reader.
Interesting article on blended learning, though, from Mark Russell of the School of Aerospace, Automotive and Design Engineering and the Blended Learning Unit (A Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning) at the University of Hertfordshire. [Are BL people the Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogochs of education? Discuss.]

Source: JISC Inform, 14, Summer 2006

Oxford Journals Archive

Oxford Journals Archive is a new (free) service has just been added to the college's growing portfolio of electronic resources.
The archive represents over 165 years of historical research. The online archive contains articles from over 140 titles, compiled into subject-based archives:

* The Humanities Archive (1829 – 1995)
* The Medicine Archive (1878 – 1995)
* The Science Archive (1848 – 1995)
* The Law Archive (1952 – 1995)
* The Social Science Archive (1902 – 1995)

Not quite sure that access is complete just yet (more info to be posted shortly), but there's a link in the menu to the right & the archive has been added to your My Athens listing. My Athens? Think I'll go and watch the golf...

http://www.oxfordjournals.org/

Web design

Nice site from the University of Minnesota in Duluth. Yo, Bob! Lots of stuff on Dreamweaver, CSS, Javascript, etc., but more importantly, lots of information aimed at solving web accessibility issues.

Web Design References can be found here.

Thought. Has Hibbing an FE college?

What the über-techies don't tell you...

The move to federated access management is ‘an essential part of JISC’s work’, said Sarah Porter, JISC’s Head of Development, at the start of the Access Management showcase event held in central London yesterday.
Delivering the keynote address at the event, which attracted around 150 senior IT managers, publishers and other delegates, she said the UK Access Management Federation, due to be launched in November, will support educational institutions to implement new technologies, such as Shibboleth, which will allow single sign-on to resources for users through the implementation of federated, devolved authentication.
More here: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=showcase_accman

Source: JISC

New JISC Collections

Several new & innovative collections, most without charge, will become available over the next few months. These are:

• 18th-Century Parliamentary Papers;
• Archival Sound Collection (British Library);
• 19th Century British Newspapers (British Library);
• Medical Journals backfiles;
• Newsfilm Online (ITN, Reuters);
• Online Historical Population Reports.

Naturally, not all are of interest, but maybe, someday...I feel a song coming on.

Source: JISC Digitisation Programme

More on Intute

The 8 subject hubs of the RDN no longer exist as separate entities; instead Intute runs from one database (hosted at MIMAS) and provides one interface, which will be deemed much easier for users.

INTUTE consists of 4 thematic subject areas:

• Arts & Humanities (comprises Humbal and Artifact)
• Health & Life Sciences (comprises BIOME and ALTIS)
• Science, Technology, Engineering & Geography (comprises PSIgate, Gesource and EEVL)
• Social Sciences (comprises SOSIG and ALTIS)

http://www.intute.ac.uk/

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

VTS (Virtual Training Suite)
The front page Virtual Training Suite (VTS) has been updated and the individual tutorials will be re-developed over time. http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/

Internet Detective
The "Internet Detective" http://www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective/ - a generic tutorial aimed at encouraging students to search the web effectively and efficiently.

My Intute
My Intute is another new service which exploits Web 2.0 technology - users can register for their own personal account where previously made searches and selected records can be saved and weekly email alerts are received which match specific interests. http://www.intute.ac.uk/myintute/index.php

FE Section
Intute has a dedicated section for FE resources http://www.intute.ac.uk/fe/index.html - this is made up of 25 subject areas, which each include case studies and VTS tutorials. There is also an Intute booklet for Further Education.

Support Materials
Intute offers a range of free support materials for staff in universities and colleges. You are free to copy or adapt these materials for educational purposes. The materials include subject booklets, leaflets and PowerPoint presentations, all of which can be downloaded from: http://www.intute.ac.uk/support.html

Source: JISC RSC

New NLN Materials

Just to keep the people up-to-date even if they are sunning themselves in Costa Foxbar.
Three new sets of NLN materials released today:

• Learning to learn
• Making learning work for you
• Modern foreign languages

http://www.nln.ac.uk/materials/

Source: JISC RSC

Firefox extensions

Yeah, I know.

Briefly, good website listing the 50 best extensions for Firefox.
http://tinyurl.com/eghh4

Source: Phil Bradley in CILIP Update.

Intranets: the shocking truth

Anyone interested in the future of the organisational intranet will look forward to the Code of Practice of the Intranet Benchmarking Forum. The code will cover 4 areas: design & usability; business value; communication & culture; and strategy & governance. Compliant intranet sites will be able to display a logo.
No cheap cracks.
http://www.ibforum.co.uk/

Source: CILIP Update

Lord Levy, Baron Gates

Would you buy a (much) used operating from these people? (Or should that be should).

According to Jack Scofield in Technology Guardian, Microsoft has paid out $6.83 billion (and rising) in anti-trust fines.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1818614,00.html

Source: Technology Guardian

My other web browser's a Porsche

Those of us enlightened enough to use Firefox as a web browser will find the article on IE (as in Ayeeee!) in today's Technology Guardian of some interest.
The rest of you won't. But should...
It's called preaching to the converted.

And while we're on the subject, Mozilla has just released a free beta version of Firefox 2.0 with spell-checker and phishing filter.

http://technology.guardian.co.uk/weekly/story/0,,1818623,00.html

Source: Guardian Technology

Web searching for dummies

The Web Search Guide is about web searching, web strategies and tools from a Canadian perspective.

Contents include: Self-paced lessons about using the Web to find information and community. Tips on using IE; best web search tools and how to use them; use of email, newsgroups, web forums and mailing lists.

http://www.websearchguide.ca/

Source: Internet Resources Newsletter, 142, June 2006

Post Compulsory Education & Training Network

The Post Compulsory Education & Training Network is designed to support tutors and teachers within FE Colleges and Adult Education Centres around the UK. They are dedicated to giving Managers, Co-ordinators, Tutors and Support Staff the tools to manage the classroom and guide the learners to achieve progression in qualifications and skills.
This website has been designed by FE practitioners from Training Providers, Further Education Colleges, Universities and Prisons, who have working knowledge of the real issues faced by tutors. They are dedicated to providing a simple, structured and user friendly facility to answer all your questions and provide you with original resources, support and ideas.

http://www.pcet.net/

Source: Internet Resources Newsletter, 142, June 2006

Teaching in a vacuum?

The inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, Sir James Dyson, is investing millions of pounds in Britain's first specialist design and engineering school, which he hopes will inspire and educate generations of inventors and engineers.

Sir James said he was concerned that too many young people were not studying engineering, putting Britain's economy and heritage at risk.

Full story here.

Source : Education Guardian, 11th July 2006

My Athens, Your Athens, A'body's Athens

Eduserv are pleased to announce the launch today of the new MyAthens service. MyAthens has been redesigned to reflect the updated layout of the Athens administrator interface, and there are several new and innovative features.

These include:

• a MyAthens homepage with an account summary and list of 'favourite' resources;
• an improved Resources list:- allows the selection of 'favourite' resources to display on the homepage;
• a keyword search that dynamically displays a subset of your resources (this searches the resource title and URL);
• a 'Recent' tab showing the resources used in the previous two weeks;
• the Account Details page now shows the organisational contact details;
• a comments form allowing users to e-mail their Athens administrator if they need support.

www.athensams.net/myathens/

Source : Eduserv

Intute

The Resource Discovery Network (RDN), which you probably have never heard of, has become Intute, something you'll forget quite quickly (& Intutively?)

Intute is a free online service providing you with access to the very best Web resources for education and research. The service is created by a network of UK universities and partners. Subject specialists select and evaluate the websites in our database and write high quality descriptions of the resources. The database contains 113706 records.

http://www.intute.ac.uk/

Source : Intute

Modern Times

There was I searching for something to redeem the month of August after you, my august colleagues, return refreshed to the glittering spires. And then, revelation!

New Dylan album out on 28th / 29th August. Title? Modern Times.

May you live in interesting times.
I do.

http://www.bobdylan.com

Source: Alan Taylor (diarist & ex-librarian), Sunday Herald

Free, open source software

OpenDEN is a directory of Open Source software (and there's an awful lot) available on the internet. Everything that can be bought, there's a free alternative here. Sometimes better. Anyone for Firefox?

http://www.openden.com/

Source: Internet Resources Newsletter, 142, June 2006

I'm on holiday...leave me alone

Yeah, you're always on holiday...

Anyway, to keep up-to-date with what's happening in the sector, try FE News.

They say: "We specialise in providing up to the minute news and features about Further Education across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including Colleges, Training Providers, Awarding Bodies, Funding Bodies, Apprenticeships and Inspections".

http://www.fenews.co.uk/

Source: Internet Resources Newsletter, 142, June 2006

Can't stream, won't stream?

The Moving Image Gateway (MIG) is a new service that collects together websites that relate to moving images and sound and their use in higher and further education.
The sites are classified by academic discipline, some forty subjects from Agriculture to Women's Studies, collected within the four main categories of Arts & Humanities, Bio-Medical, Social Sciences and Science & Technology.
Each site has been evaluated and described by the BUFVC's Information Service, which regularly checks and updates the database. Sites are highlighted which have video or audio streaming.
There are some 600 sites on the MIG database at present, and it continues to grow at the rate of ten per month.

http://www.bufvc.ac.uk/gateway/

Source: BUFVC / JISC

News from the EMOL mole

From the start of the next academic year, 2006/2007, the Education Media OnLine service (EMOL) will have a new name: Film & Sound Online.
EDINA is not only updating the look-and-feel of the user interface for Film & Sound Online but is also adding important functionality. The key improvement is that users of Film & Sound Online will be able to browse by subject, as all the service content is being classified through the UNESCO thesaurus.

http://www.emol.ac.uk

Source: June 2006 EDINA newsletter

Scotcast.net is a local directory of what's new and being broadcast on the internet by music, literature, media, arts, sports and politics enthusiasts and professionals.
Scotcast.net hope to make a valuable contribution to the independent broadcasting network in Scotland by offering a central point to view and contribute listings and links for podcasters and bloggers in the country.

Source : Internet Resources Newsletter 142, July 2006

Get cheap books

GetCheapBooks.com is a leading online price comparison shopping site for undergraduate and graduate textbooks (including medical, legal, business, professional, and technical) as well as a broad range of cross-referenced personal interest, rare, and even and out-of-print titles.

Might be worth a look since we hate books.

Source : Internet Resources Newsletter 142, July 2006

Sparks in Germany

The Guardian FE Diary reports:
On a recent fact-finding trip to Germany, Professor Frank Coffield, of London University's Institute of Education, dropped in on a training session for apprentice electricians near Duisberg.
It was a day when they were doing their general academic subjects in the classroom. This particular session - literature - was devoted to Goethe's Faust. They were reading it around the class in the old- fashioned way and, as young men do, some were anxiously checking ahead in the text to see if they had to do the Gretchen part.
"At the end of the class I asked one of them for the relevance of Goethe's Faust to his training," Coffield says. "He replied: 'Electricians have souls as well.'"

Tommy Reilly's time is indeed nigh...

Source : Guardian Education

New Jorum resources

The amount of content in Jorum continues to grow on a daily basis. Deposits of new resources are coming from both from funded projects and individual institutions.
This summer the JISC funded X4L Phase 2 projects will begin submitting their resources to Jorum. These will amount to around 400 objects in total. Some of the subject areas comprising the new resources include:

• COLOSSUS – psychology, history, economics, women’s studies, politics and sociology
• Learning Bank 2 - Business, marketing and health
• Realm - Performing arts, art and design, business, tourism and research
  skills
• ReSET – Science, Engineering and Technology
• SURF WBL – Work Based Learning

Go on, have a look. Won't kill ya!

http://www.jorum.ac.uk

Source: JORUM

JISClegal news

The JISClegal newsletter for June has just been published. Interesting stuff (you listening?) includes:

• Copyright webcats now downloadable in digestible chunks;
• Royal Society trials new Open Access journal service;
• New wave of cyber cheating;
• Copying music for personal use;
• Accessibility law - the webcast

That's all folks! http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/newsletter_06-06.html

Source: JISClegal