by Beth Staats
Quick Summary
Once again, October is a busy month for Minitex ROI staff. The first week of October we will be in St. Cloud for the annual MEMO Conference, held at the River's Edge Convention Center & Kelly Inn. The following week we will be in St.
MEMO Conference
Guide on the Side for Hands-on Tutorials
Friday, October 4. 2:00-2:45 p.m.
This session will introduce attendees to Guide on the Side, an open source tutorial software that seamlessly combines guided instruction with hands-on activities. We’ll talk about how and why we're using it and demonstrate the creation of a Guide on the Side tutorial that highlights its unique qualities. Attendees will gain ideas of how this tool might fit into their information literacy instruction.
MLA Conference
Living Banned Books
Thursday, October 10, 10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
Learn about banned books from the books themselves! Celebrate intellectual freedom at this “living banned books” session, where books come to life to explain what they’re about, who wrote them, and why they’ve been banned.
A Rock Band Needs a Roadie: Using Guide on the Side for Tutorials
Friday, October 11, 9:15 – 10:15 a.m.
In addition to growing magnificent facial hair, roadies handle every part of a rock show except the actual performance. They guide the presentation of the show from the sidelines –which is more or less what Guide on the Side helps librarians do for their patrons or students. This session will introduce attendees to Guide on the Side, an open source tutorial software that seamlessly combines guided instruction with hands-on activities. We’ll talk about how and why we're using it and demonstrate the creation of a Guide on the Side tutorial that highlights its unique qualities. Like a good roadie might do for his band, Guide on the Side can help create an environment for your library users to succeed.
Education Minnesota
Electronic Library for Minnesota: Resources for Teachers, Educators, and Students
Thursday, October 17, 2:20 – 3:20 p.m.
When seeking information, we all know that there is an abundance of online information and research tools from which to choose. Whether we do a simple Google search, and have to wade through the fact from fiction, or whether we search the more expensive subscription databases our school or school district has paid for, the choices can be overwhelming. The resources available through the Electronic Library for Minnesota, which is paid for by Minnesota tax dollars, give us a go-to place for current, accurate, and authoritative content for our students and ourselves. The resources in the Electronic Library for Minnesota open up a world of information and research tools for all grade levels including access to thousands of articles, primary resources, reference materials, multimedia and more!
Online Information Literacy – Creating Effective Search Strategies
Friday, October 18, 10:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
In the latest Pew Internet & American Life Project Report, “How Teens Do Research in the Digital World,” 94% of students and 91% of adults turn to Google or another online search engine as the first place for research. Working with AskMN, Minnesota’s 24/7 statewide cooperative digital reference service, we have found that the point at which students go to AskMN for help in finding information is after they have tried and were unsuccessful in finding useful, appropriate, and/or credible information themselves. In this session we’ll look at the successful techniques AskMN librarians employ to help students with their research.
