Pages

Thursday 25 October 2007

JSTOR on Facebook

JSTOR provide electronic access to archives of Arts journals - it is a major resource for history students and one you will become very familiar with if you are not already! JSTOR are now on Facebook (further details here) - there are two JSTOR applications:
JSTOR Information gives guidance on how to search JSTOR, frequently asked questions and links to further help pages.
JSTOR Search application allows you to search for journal articles from within Facebook.

There are also JSTOR tutorials available on YouTube - How to Search JSTOR and How to Browse JSTOR.

If you find any other Facebook applications helpful for finding information for essays, leave details as a comment.

Wednesday 24 October 2007

Inquiry-based learning

If you haven’t come across the idea of inquiry-based learning (IBL) yet, you probably soon will! It is a self-directed way to learn, study and collaborate, working to proactively discover and reflect, rather than passively absorb information that is given to you. More information about the concept can be found here.
For a student perspective from the University of Manchester on IBL and some practical tips on how you can take part, click here.

The University has a Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) which works with departments to support and develop IBL in teaching practices. Student input and involvement is a key element – each department has a Student Ambassador and there is a CILASS Student Blog and CILASS Student Journal. Details of the English Department’s involvement with CILASS can be found here.

The Library works with CILASS to develop student’s Information Literacy skills. Information Literacy is key to enabling you to engage with IBL. You need the skills to look beyond your reading list, to locate and evaluate sources of information and carry out independent research – the English subject guides and the Arts & Humanities Finding Information Guide are good starting points.
The Library has developed a set of Information Skills Tutorials accessible through MOLE. There are general tutorials on topics such as effective searching of the internet and evaluating information. There are also English specific tutorials. Have a go at the Internet for English tutorial produced by the Intute Virtual Training Suite too.

As a student you are part of an academic community in your discipline, and this is another aspect of IBL – get involved! Discussion and the exchange of ideas are key, not just with your immediate peers here at Sheffield, but with academics and students from other institutions. Try searching for blogs and discussion boards about topics of particular interest to you. The English Subject Centre for instance has online discussion boards and email lists and the Postgraduate English page has a journal and forum for postgrads. The Script Circle is worth a look for any budding playwrights. Or if you are studying Shakespeare, try SHAKSPER - The Global Electronic Shakespeare Conference.  JISCmail lists for Literature  and Linguistics are particularly valuable when you are thinking about your dissertation.

If you come across any websites you find useful, post the link as a comment on here to share your discoveries with other students and let us know why you found it helpful.

Inquiry-based learning

If you haven’t come across the idea of inquiry-based learning (IBL) yet, you probably soon will! It is a self-directed way to learn, study and collaborate, working to proactively discover and reflect, rather than passively absorb information that is given to you. More information about the concept can be found here.
For a student perspective from the University of Manchester on IBL and some practical tips on how you can take part, click here.

The University has a Centre for Inquiry-based Learning in the Arts and Social Sciences (CILASS) which works with departments to support and develop IBL in teaching practices. Student input and involvement is a key element – each department has a Student Ambassador and there is a CILASS Student Blog and CILASS Student Journal. Details of the History Department’s involvement with CILASS can be found here.

The Library works with CILASS to develop student’s Information Literacy skills. Information Literacy is key to enabling you to engage with IBL. You need the skills to look beyond your reading list, to locate and evaluate sources of information and carry out independent research – the History Subject Guide
and the Arts & Humanities Finding Information Guide are good starting points.
The Library has developed a set of Information Skills Tutorials accessible through MOLE. There are general tutorials on topics such as effective searching of the internet and evaluating information. There are also History specific tutorials. Have a go at the Internet for Historians tutorial produced by the Intute Virtual Training Suite too.

As a student you are part of an academic community in your discipline, and this is another aspect of IBL – get involved! Discussion and the exchange of ideas are key, not just with your immediate peers here at Sheffield, but with academics and students from other institutions. Try searching for blogs and discussion boards about topics of particular interest to you. The Historical Association for instance has online debates, discussion boards and a page specifically for History in higher education. JISCmail lists for history
are particularly valuable when you are thinking about your dissertation – there are a huge number of interest groups on everything from Cornish History to Hadrians Wall to Mining History to the Mass Observation project!

If you come across any websites you find useful, post the link as a comment on here to share your discoveries with other students and let us know why you found it helpful.

Thursday 18 October 2007

Accent and dialect sound recordings

The British Library Sound Archive has a collection on Accents and Dialects, a great resource for anybody studying this aspect of English language. Collect Britain has a selection of over 600 sound recordings you can listen to online taken from the Survey of English Dialects and the Millennium Memory Bank. You can browse the collection here or search the collection by area, but make sure you select 'Recorded Speech' in the Object Type selection box, otherwise you will get a lot of results in other formats.

And here are a few links to similar projects and collections.

Let us know what you think of this resource, or ask any questions by leaving a comment on the blog, or by emailing lib-eng@sheffield.ac.uk.

Tuesday 9 October 2007

John Milton: a bibliography

The Library currently has access to an online bibliography of the works of John Milton and secondary works referring to him and his writing. We only have access on a trial basis, so we need your feedback to determine whether this is something we should consider investing in long term, so please let us know what you think.

The bibliography does not include any full-text access to works by or about Milton, but does provide a great tool for discovering references if you are researching Milton or perhaps considering writing your dissertation on him later this year. It may also be of interest to those of you currently studying LIT3028 Writing the English Civil War or LIT207 Restoration and Eighteenth-century Literature.

The bibliography states it aims to:

"bring together all manuscripts and editions of John Milton's works and all studies and critical statements concerning his life and works, all allusions and quotations, and all significant imitations during the years 1624-1799."

Further info can be found here. There is a search facility with search tips to get you started. The content of the site is divided into 17th century primary sources and secondary sources, and 18th century primary sources and secondary sources, you can browse here. There's also a small collection of images on the site.

Get in touch on lib-eng@sheffield.ac.uk, or by leaving a comment.

Friday 5 October 2007

MyiLibrary ebooks

We currently have access to around 60,000 electronic books via MyiLibrary. You will need the password to login and view the full content (follow the login link at the top right hand side of the MyiLibrary homepage). There is an extensive collection of both European and American history books. You can browse by topic or search for something more specific. Some (but not all) of the ebooks have an Index at the end that links you to the relevant pages.
It's well worth a browse to see what's available, especially as it can sometimes be difficult to get hold of the books you need in the library when they are in high demand.

We'd like to hear your feedback on this resource.
And as ever, you can leave a comment on the blog or contact us at histlib@sheffield.ac.uk.