Alkek Library News

Video Tutorial: How To Narrow Your Research Idea

Most people start out with a pretty broad topic and then get lost. The key to research is understanding that it's about proving an idea - and for an idea to be proved, it must be measurable.

Which means it must be pretty specific. That's why all those journal article you see are so detailed.

So, now that you know, watch these two videos about why you narrow your idea and how you can do that.

  

Avatars Explain Scholarly Vs. Non-Scholarly

Avatars Explain Research Process

Avatars explain the research process. A student wants to focus his search, and the librarian gives him a search strategy.

Pump up your Presentations....

Do you have a presentation coming up? Do you want to WOW your audience? Then try one of the alternatives to Power Point Listed below. Most of the presentation tools are free, and only require you to create an account.

Ispiring free is a Power Point to Flash converter. It allows you to upload large files, keeps the embedded audio and video files and lets you embed as flash or to YouTube.

Sliderocket- flash effects (looks cool) but limits you to 15 mb file size. The interface is pretty easy to use and has some advanced features.

Prezi -collaborative, zooming flash effects, interactive

Glogster -poster presentation tool- has education version

Museum Box- This is an interesting tool that allows you to create a "museum box" with audio, video etc. (cool!) The site was inspired by Thomas Clarkson and anti-slavery campaigner who created a box that described why slavery was wrong. He carried around a box of items to illustrate his arguments during his campaign.(takes a little while to load.)

Animoto creates slick, professional, videos. There is an education version available. Allows you to create full length videos and  has large library of available music. You can also use voice thread/-with recorded narration- See the example: Great Depression using the Library of Congress collection.

Ahead.com- Create zooming presentations with Ahead. The free version allows you to have 300 mb of file size. Here are some examples of portfolios using Ahead.co

Go Animate- creates animated presentations. Free version for education.

Xtranormal- text to speech; animationed videos. This is where the "So you want to be a _______ videos. (Fill in the blank with lawyer, earn a PhD in political science major, etc.) 

Common craft is another animation creation tool. Many "How To" videos are created using Common Craft. Often used to explain complex subjects.

You can also just choose to share your presentations using GoogleDocs, Slideboom or Slideshare.  With Google Docs, you can also create and collaborate with others as a group project. If you presentation is really large, you might chose Slideshare whose file size limit is 100mb.

Timeline tools:

X Timeline-Easily create timelines using images & multimedia; Embeddable

Timetoast- Create timelines in minutes. Finished product has a slidable scale and highlights the important events.

Comic Strip Creators:

Chogger Use Chogger to draw your own comics, caption photos, take webcam pictures and add speech balloons.

Using Images:

Creative Commons - is a place to Share, Remix, Reuse — Legally!

Google Advanced Search: check box for images labeled with usable rights on images

Wikimedia Commons - is a database of 10,062,008 freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.

 

Welcome Students! The Library's resources & services = a successful semester!

For a great start to the new semester, Alkek Library offers drop-in orientations at the beginning of each semester. If you are new to Texas State and have never been in the library, all you need to do is check the schedule for the time and then just meet at the Reference Desk on the 2nd floor as you enter the main lobby.  There is still time left to take advantage this open walking-tour.  

If you prefer to tour Alkek Library from the comfort of your home or dorm room, we have an online tutorial as well as still photos and mp3 audio tours for you to enjoy at your leisure.

If you have a question, need directions or want to get a jump start on your research, you can stop by the Reference Desk, call us at 245-2686 or get online help using the Ask-A-Librarian service. We offer multiple ways of online help. You can chat with us using your preferred chat client by adding us to your contacts, or you can chat w/a librarian using the many Ask a Librarian widgets placed on various pages throughout the library website. There is an email option, and you can also schedule an individual consultation. New this semester we now offer the option to meet online with a librarian using videoconferencing software.

Also new this semester we have added an additional way to contact us! Now you can also TEXT-A-LIBRARIAN by texting # 512-761-8398. We are using a Google Voice number, so we can receive offline message in case you send it after hours.

We also offer workshops on using RefWorks, an online resource for bibliographic management. These are held in our classroom 101, downstairs from the main lobby. Our workshop schedule is updated periodically, so check back often for other classes.

Many of our research resources are available remotely. Access to many journal articles, newpapers, magazines are available online. If you want to know if we have access to your favorite newspaper or magazine you can search for it by using the Periodical List. Or, if you already have a topic you need to research, you can use one of the subject research databases. For more information about using the databases, see this research guide. There are also other research guides arranged by subject which offer you the best resources for your research topic.

Other popular library resources are Reserve and E-Reserve. You can check Reserve by professor or course for materials your professor has placed there for your class to use. Sometimes your textbook will be on Reserve. Other things like chapter readings, articles, videos, or old tests may be on Reserve. If your professor uses the E-Reserve service, they will give you a password to access the materials.

The final tip for a successful semester: Don't pay for journal articles! If you find an article you need, but the library does not have a subscription, then you can utilize the Interlibrary Loan Service to get a copy of the article. This service is also available for books and other materials. It is a free service.

Welcome to Texas State and remember: librarians are here to help you succeed!

 

 

Online Tutorials on Alkek Library's Website