Blogging Librarian » Web

Video: A Plagiarism Carol

Isaak Kwok — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 05:19:24 +0000

A wonderfully professional and well-produced video by the University of Bergen in Norway on the topic of plagiarism.

Wikipedia Vandal Study

Isaak Kwok — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 01:08:35 +0000

Quite a scary look at how the large number of vandalised edits are done, particularly for political figures. Although Wikipedia works on a community moderation system, some of the hurtful and defamatory edits of US Senators were left as is for up to weeks at a time.

Like what librarians like to tell you, use Wikipedia as a very basic search and background study. Then use other resources such as books, encyclopedia, and online databases to verify the facts.

Creative Commons Singapore is Coming!

Isaak Kwok — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 03:53:06 +0000

Just saw the announcement of CC Singapore on my feedreader from Creative Commons blog. Currently, the draft of CC BY-NC-SA is put for public discussion. So, do go over to CC Singapore to join in the discussion. CC Singapore is hosted by the Centre for Asia Pacific Technology Law & Policy (CAPTEL) and is lead by Anil Samtani and Giorgos Cheliotis.

The launch event is planned for 27 July 2008 with the completed licensing suite.

Encyclopaedia Britannica Goes … Wiki

Isaak Kwok — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 10:00:30 +0000

Just read on the Encyclopaedia Britannica blog that they have decided to move their entire works into a wiki platform.

Very interesting news indeed! I think Encyclopaedia Britannica is getting a little worried about the increasing influence of Wikipedia although many academic institutions still disallow its use for citation purposes in the students’ papers.

For me, I actually use Wikipedia quite a bit when I’m providing advisory service. I use it as my preliminary search, but then branch off to look for relevant information through our books, e-resources and the Web.

Well, will definitely keep an eye open for the Encyclopaedia Britannica wiki.

Top 100 Tools for Learning Activity

Isaak Kwok — Sat, 03 May 2008 05:13:04 +0000

The Centre for Learning & Performance Technologies (C4LPT) in the UK has just released the Summary Information report (PDF) of the Top 100 Tools for Learning. The tools were decided by inviting learning professionals to submit their personal Top 10 tools.

Of the top 10 of the 100 tools listed, I think I use maybe 6 of them on a daily basis:

Besides these tools, I also use Wikipedia, flickr, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook quite frequently.

So, what are some online tools that you use at work or for personal leisure?

(via heyjude)

Common Craft Show: Podcasting in Plain English

Isaak Kwok — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:18:48 +0000

YouTube Link

Common Craft Show has just come out with another great video on explaining social media. This time it’s on podcasting.

The release is just nice for me as I’ll be doing some course on podcasting next month. This would help the class understand what podcasting is all about.

Server Migration

Isaak Kwok — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 09:42:05 +0000

I’m in the midst of a server migration. So, things might be a bit wonky. See you on the other side.

UPDATE: Well, if you seeing this update, it means everything is back online. If you chance upon any problems, just drop me a mail through the ‘About’ page.

Quick Links - Reluctant Readers and Other Stories - 22 January 2008

Isaak Kwok — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:52:08 +0000

- Hooked on books
An article on turning reluctant readers into enthusiastic ones. It also includes some book suggestions.
(via Library Stuff)

- ‘Google Generation’ is a myth, says new research
The research shows that although young people are familiar with using the computer and the Internet, they, however, do not possess the analytical and critical skills to assess the information that they find. I guess that’s where the role of librarians coming in to help these young people do the critical and analytical assessments.
(via LISNews)

- Evaluating Web Content in the 2.0 Era
Related to the previous link, some guidelines on how to evaluate web content has been put up by a couple of librarians from the University at Albany, SUNY.
(via Library 2.0)

- White bread for young minds, says university professor
A university professor of media studies, Tara Brabazon, has claimed that Google is “white bread for young minds” and more should be done to equip students with the skills that they’ll need to properly interpret and sift through the information readily available on the Internet.
(via LISNews)

- Library Arcade
Carnegie Mellon Libraries’ have created 2 games that are, at the same time, fun and educational. One of the games requires you to help students with their enquiries and the other game is to learn how to shelve books correctly according to the Library of Congress Classification System.
(via iLibrarian)

Quick Links - Doris Lessing and Other News - 11 December 2007

Isaak Kwok — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 08:46:54 +0000

- A hunger for books
Unless you have been leaving under a stone or kept away from all news, then you would know that Doris Lessing has been awarded the “Nobel Prize for Literature”. So, here’s her acceptance speech. Very inspiring reading.

- 7 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners (Flash plugin required)
An online tutorial, created by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenberg County, for their own patrons to teach them about the importance and how-to of lifelong learning and in the process, create a personal learning plan. Hmmm … an interesting way to communicate and engage with library users.
(via LibrarianInBlack.net)

- Spell wears off as children ditch books
Apparently, children in Scotland are going back to the PCs and consoles after the Harry Potter craze as a survey has shown. I wonder how many children in Singapore are doing the same thing.
(via LISNews)

CommonCraft Show on Blogging

Isaak Kwok — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:45:17 +0000

If you ever had difficulties understanding what a blog is, then the Commoncraft Show has done another wonderful video to explain just that. Sit back and enjoy!

YouTube Text Link