Path of Inquiry November 16th, 2010

Path of inquiry: What are some effective research and collaboration tools that you have been using? Why are they effective?

The Google Docs collaboration tool is a great way to share information when working with others on an assignment, project and is a super great way to share power point slides. I like this tool because often email gets bogged down and email boxes can get full especially when sharing power point presentations. Another downfall to emailing PowerPoint presentations back and forth is which version is the most updated version? Yikes! Has this ever happened to you?! With Google Docs it’s a one stop shop with editing happening in the same virtual spot, so no worries about which and who has the latest version!

Zotero I need to get better equipped on. I’m especially interested in the ability to highlight online articles and make comments. I love how the citations are done and the documents are stored. This is a tool I would like to become well versed in.

Assignment: Experiment with a research or collaboration tool you have not used before and write about it in your journal.

I thought this was a fun assignment and discovered the Director of Open Access Journals. This is easy to use and they ensure these are credible by using a “quality control system to guarantee the content”. This is a directory of journals that are free and you can search by topic or by journal. Most of their journals you can search by article as well. I am utilizing this directory to assist with the extra credit portion of the web assignment as well as for some research I’m doing in HSP 402 for a paper. You should check it out!

So how did I find the DOAJ research tool? I first found the “Global Foresight” website that has a whole list of research and collaboration tools! I’m including this link too! Have the best day!

http://www.globalforesight.org/page/Research+and+Collaboration+Tools+and+Databases – Link to Global Foresight website
http://www.doaj.org/ - Link to Directory of Open Access Journals

Mentee Update: My mentees have not seemed to need me since I looked at each of their papers, was it two weeks ago? My plan is to keep reaching out and I think I’m even going to give each of them a phone call over the weekend for fun. If they don’t answer I will leave a voice mail stating that I hope their quarter is going well and reminding them they can call, text or email me if they need assistance.

I think Kristina in our class really had the right idea from the beginning. She set the tone with her mentees of expectations. From both articles we read this week, I felt they were very informative and mirrored a lot of what we have talked about in class in our own struggles and progress and lack of progress with our mentees. I liked the expectations suggested from (Hodges, B., 2009) in the Paediatric Nursing (I know this spelling looks weird like it should be Pediatric - but that is how it’s spelled on the article) journal article we read about having and using “learning contracts, formulation of ground rules…and discussion of expectations of the mentor and mentee at the outset”. I feel that for the next class these tips should be incorporated. This class, our class, totally rocked the suggestion of providing students with support, information and awareness on library systems and methods of research. The other article (Hodges, A.M. et. al, 2008) was very helpful and validating in our experiences this year. I also found it quite affirming and encouraging that this type of investment in university students is effective beyond recruiting students and provides “support and retaining of new students”.

Book Report – It has become apparent through this course that in mentoring university students effectively, we need to have the tools and resources to help them including: increased skills regarding research tools, finding articles effectively and reviewing and commenting on papers. I’m finding it fascinating to learn more about methods and ethics in research and know it will help me in my future educational endeavors and any opportunities I may have to help others in their academic pursuits.

Beautiful snowy day – enjoy and stay safe everyone!