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E-Learning at Boise State | |
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Note: All links open in a new window. To return to this page, close the new window. Netiquette (Guides to Online Behavior) The Net: User Guidelines and Netiquette is Arlene H. Rinaldi's guide to online behavior and computer ethics, covering the Web, discussion groups, electronic mail, and other electronic media and protocols. The Netiquette Home Page covers both common courtesy online and the informal "rules of the road" of cyberspace. Guides to Online Learning How to Learn Online answers some basic but important questions about learning online. The Online Learner's Guide addresses various aspects of learning online, from choosing an Internet service provider to completing group assignments. The people at VirtualChase have gone beyond providing guides to conducting Internet research and have compiled useful checklists, articles, and instructions for assessing the quality of information found on the Internet. This site is highly recommended for all students, particularly the sections devoted to assessing the quality of online information. Wolfgang Memorial Library has compiled a number of checklists for evaluating the quality of information on various types of web sites, along with links to other guides to evaluating information found on the Web. The University of South Carolina has developed a basic guide to evaluating information found on the Web. Online Libraries Calling itself the "Internet's premier research library," the Argus Clearinghouse is a collection of reviews and links to the best databases resources and sites on the Net, in 12 general categories, including arts and entertainment, regional information, business and employment, and recreation. Duke University Libraries Research Databases aims to select, gather, and link the widest range of online resources available for researchers, teachers, and students. The Internet Public Library maintains a collection of online ready reference works, responds to reference questions, creates web resources, evaluates and categorizes resources on the Internet, and provides a space for exhibits. LibrarySpot is a guide to dozens of hand-picked online libraries, including medical libraries, film libraries, government libraries, and law libraries. The site also contains links to numerous reference works. Project Gutenberg is an online repository of electronic texts, including many classics and historical documents. Carlweb's Uncover, an Internet library and database service, enables you to search through the contents and keywords of 17,000 periodicals. The U.S. Library of Congress is the world's largest library, with over 100 million items in its holdings. Features of the Library of Congress web site include an online art gallery, a search engine for locating existing or pending legislation, and information on copyright, in addition to access to the library's extensive holdings. The WWW Virtual Library is a large text-based collection of databases of online resources on several hundred topics, many specialized but many that cover such such general topics as music, astronomy, philosophy and nonprofit organizations. Reference Works You can search numerous online dictionaries at Dictionary.com, including dictionaries in languages other than English. The site also offers an online thesaurus and links to such writing resources as style guides and handbooks. The Encyclopedia Britannica is a good place to get a general understanding of just about any topic. It also provides online access to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and Merriam-Webster's Thesaurus, articles from leading magazines, and multiple databases. The reference desk at Fact Monster combines almanac, encyclopedia, dictionary, and atlas in one useful site. The reference section of yahoo.com contains dozens of links to reference resources in a wide variety of categories. Billing itself as "the single best source for facts on the Internet," RefDesk.com is part portal, part search engine, and part links page. The editors have assembled links to what they consider "essential reference tools." At YourDictionary.com, you can look up words, phrases, and technical terms in over 280 language dictionaries and over 80 specialty dictionaries. The site also contains links to information on grammar, linguistics, language Search Engines Search engines help you locate information on the Internet, whether in the form of Web pages, newsgroup postings, multimedia files, database records, or some combination. One search engine will often work quite differently from another; for this reason, it's important to spend some time familiarizing yourself with how a particularly search engine works and how to seek information from a particular search engine. You can do so by reviewing the online help systems available at the following sites, particularly the sections of the online help devoted to advanced searches. The Invisible Web is largely made up of information stored in databases, where conventional search engines can't find it. This article discusses the Invisible Web and links to search engines capable of searching the Invisible Web. SeachEngineWatch contains links to a variety of search engines, ratings and reviews of search engines, and advice about using search engines. Self Analysis The Kiersey Temperament Sorter is an assessment of personality and temperament that identifies you as an Artisan, Guardian, Rational or Idealist. This is the same test used in career development programs at Fortune 500 companies and in counseling centers and career placement centers at major universities. When you've completed the test, visit this page to learn how your temperament relates to education and learning. The Diablo Valley College Online Guide is designed to help you become a more successful student. It includes a Learning Style Survey that will help you identify your learning style, as well as learning strategies that will help you study in a way that matches your unique learning style. Learn more about learning styles--and how you might turn learning styles into learning strategies--by reading "Learning Styles Can Become Learning Strategies" and "Learning Styles and Strategies." This Transferable Skills Survey asks you to rank a number of skills valued by employers to determine where your strengths and weaknesses might lie. The VARK Questionnaire attempts to answer the question "How do I learn best?" That is, the questionnaire aims to find out something about your preferences for the way you work with information. From North Carolina State University comes this Index of Learning Styles questionnaire, designed to identify your particular learning style. Subject Indexes The Librarians' Index to the Internet is a searchable, annotated subject directory of more than 8,500 Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness to users of public libraries. The Index is meant to be used by both librarians and non-librarians as a reliable and efficient guide to described and evaluated Internet resources. The University of Pennsylvania Library maintains an extensive index of web sites, organized by subject. Boston College Libraries has compiled numerous links to online library databases, categorized by subject matter ranging from the humanities to the sciences and medicine. Study Guides Created by Joe Landsberger of the Learning Center at the University of St. Thomas, Study Guides and Strategies provides a wealth of advice on a variety of subjects, including studying, participation in class, preparing for and taking tests, writing, and evaluating information found on the web. Academictips.org contains tips and tricks to help you manage your time, take better notes, study more effectively, improve memory, take tests, and handle the stresses of college life. Dallas TeleCollege has compiled a number of links to information about improving your study skills, time-management skills, reading skills, and test-taking skills, as well as other topics useful to distance learners. The UAW-DaimlerChrysler National Training Center offers a variety of tips and strategies for staying motivated, managing your time, working collaboratively, and studying effectively in an online learning environment. Go to "Learning Tools" at the bottom of the page and select your area of interest from the drop-down menu. Tutorials The self-paced tutorials at actDEN.com cover a variety of productivity, communication, and presentation software, including FrontPage, PowerPoint, MS-Office, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express. Bare Bones 101 focuses on the basics of searching for information on the Internet, combining short, simple explanations with brief descriptions of eight major search engines. The Complete Internet Guide and Tutorial is an extensive guide to the Internet, including browser basics, search strategies, e-mail tips and tricks, and more. Finding Information on the Internet is a tutorial created and maintained by the Teaching Library at the University of California at Berkeley. In addition to search strategies, it offers advice about evaluating information found on the Internet, citing electronic sources, and understanding Internet jargon. Finding It Online is an interactive tutorial on how to search the Internet using basic and advanced search techniques. The site includes practice exercises for the major search engines as well as specialized databases. Searching with Internet-Provided Resources is a comprehensive tutorial covering the mechanics of search engines, basic search strategies, and advanced search methods. Writing Resources A+ Research and Writing is a section of the Internet Public Library offering step-by-step instructions for writing a research paper, along with advice about finding information on the Internet and links to other writing resources. At bartleby.com, you'll find tools for writers, including famous quotations, reference books, and literary works. The basics of citing online resources are described in this excerpt from The Columbia Guide to Online Style. |
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