Google/YouTube Records Court Case

A US court has ruled that Google must divulge the viewing habits of every user who has ever watched any video on YouTube. The decision comes as part of Google’s legal battle with Viacom over allegations of copyright infringement.

Click here to see the BBC FAQ on what it means for you.

Read more about the case here, here and here.

Internet Resources Newsletter - Issue 163 July 2008

A-Z of new, nice and interesting websites, RSS feeds, blogs and Internet books from the Heriot-Watt University.

Internet Resources Newletter - Issue 162

A-Z of new, nice and interesting websites, RSS feeds, blogs and Internet books from the Heriot-Watt University.

Internet Detective - Free Internet Tutorial

You can use the Internet to search for information every day - but are you finding quality sites that are suitable for your coursework?

This Intute Wise Up to the Web tutorial gives you the tools you need to find reliable, accurate information online while staying on the right side of copyright law.

Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor have also translated the site into Welsh. Please contact LibeRaCe (by leaving a comment below this post) for the zip file to convert the tool.

 

 

Open University Blogs

     

The Open University’s Open2.net blog portal is a wealth of information and news on a huge range of subjects. Posts are topical, current and written by OU lecturing/teaching staff.

There are also links back to BBC OU programmes (some are even hosted on the BBC iPlayer if you missed them), with upcoming show lists and some free learning resources available.

Internet Resources Newsletter - Issue 161

Issue 161 - May 2008

 

 

IRN - Internet Resources Newletter - Issue 160

The free, monthly, newsletter for academics, students, engineers, scientists and social scientists edited by Heriot-Watt University Library.

View the A-Z of new and notable websites, interesting blog, book reviews and more ……

More Free eBooks

 

There are more sites than ever providing free access to online text and audio books. Many of the books are older classics that are “in the the Public Domain” as they are no longer covered by copyright law, however some sites may be hosting material illegally. Check the authenticity of host/editor of the site before you download.

The Online Books Page (hosted by Univeristy of Pennsylvania)- over 30,000 free ebooks from classics to more modern titles. Good subject coverage.

Etext Centre (hosted by the University of Virginia) - one of the original ebook libraries on the web, includes staff recommended lists.

Many Books (uses a similar database list to Project Gutenberg) - modern and classic titles, with good subject coverage.

Microsoft Reader (not all books are freely accessible) - good for free dictionaries to download in multiple languages.

Classic Reader (Public domain books) - Includes books, plays and short stories with some author biographies and portraits. Over 3,400 titles too choose from with easy author/title search function.

There are other sites such as Page By Page Books  which also have free ebook access to classic titles but their editors or hosts cannot be ascetained.

Audio book sites covered by a Creative Commons License (a non profit organisation that provides free tools for authors, artists, and educators to mark their creative work with the freedoms they want it to carry) inlcude -

 Telltale Weekly (free perfomances released five years after their first appearance here or after a hundred-thousand purchases of the recording, whichever comes first. These recordings will be freely available for download at The Spoken Alexandria Project) - covers mostly classic literature.

Literal Systems (professional actors re-tell classic stories) - smaller number of classic books available but quality of recordings makes up for this. Older material is cleared to make room for new titles. Shakespeare’s sonnets may be relisted if demand arises.

 

Word Up! - Help with giving presentations

 

The Learn Higher Centre, part of Brunel University, has created a section within their Communications module on “Preparing and Giving Presentations“.

Helpful hints cover all aspects of giving a presentations including:

• Identifying its purpose                                
• Considering your audience                                     
• Content creation
• Structure
• Visual aids
• Rehearsing
• Delivery
• Evaluating your performance

 

 

 

Short videos accompany each section to highlight specific areas such as tone of voice, asking direct questions and overcoming nerves.  

Student Competitions! - ICT

The Higher Education Academy subject centre for Information and Computer Sciences is running 3 competitions for students this year - but tutors benefit too!

1. Student Essay Competition:  ”What makes a good Lecturer?” - Closing 28th March 08

900 - 1,100 word essay with a prize of £250 for the winning essay and it will compete against the other subject centres and possibly win a Toshiba laptop

 2.Reusable Learning Objects Competition - Closing 31st March 08

Student prepares a program for reuse, for example to aid a process or a student’s understanding of a topic, and this program can be transferred into a Moodle. The prize for this competition is £700 to the winning student and £300 for the supervising lecturer.

3. Student Video competition: ” A Week in the Life” - Closing 1st February 08

is where the student records themselves in response to the question and talks about their experience coming to University. Group submissions are acceptable. £250 prize - see the previous LibeRaCe post from 25th October 07.