NoodleBib is NoodleTools's star tool. It is, according to the website, "The Web's most comprehensive and accurate MLA and APA bibliography composer with a fully-integrated note-taking component." And, it seems to live up to that billing if one is to use the amount of schools, colleges, and universities that subscribe to it! Many, many of them include this tool in their library's offerings to students. Just take a look at The University of Texas at Austin's library website--http://www.lib.utexas.edu/noodlebib/. They are just one of the many you will find using this tool. If interested, you can take a tour of NoodleBib's features and get a tutorial at http://www.noodletools.com/bibtour. Click on "Citing Sources."
There is, however, more to take note of here. If you want to have access to all of NoodleBib's features, you must get a subscription for it. Individual subscriptions are available for as little as $4, while school/library subscriptions are "based on enrollment." If you are willing to settle for a piece of the pie, then you can get a free NoodleBib MLA starter account, which is designed for grades 1-5 and ESL.
I am quite disappointed that I do not have full access to all of NoodleBib. It is not very expensive, but I would have liked a trial run before I sign up for a subscription. Based on the large number of libraries that use it though, I will use some of my library funds to get a subscription for students at my school. My students have a very hard time doing citations and need all the help they can get.
What do you think? Based on what you've seen at the site, will you consider getting it?
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Article Response
After reading Oblinger and Ruby's article, "Accessible Technology Can help Colleges and Universities Remove Barriers to Education," I am much more aware of the problems that students with disabilities face when trying to get an education in today's technological environment, and I have a better sense of what it will take to address those problems. I must admit that I was oblivious to many of these issues, even after teaching in a community college environment for several years.
Oblinger and Ruby's article explains why accessible technology is needed on college campuses around the country. Technology is changing the world, and for many of us it's a simple matter of adapting to those changes. For the students with disabilities, though, those adjustments are more monumental and critical. Oblinger and Ruby say that a lack of accessible technology on college campuses put students with disabilities at a further disadvantage, whereas accessible technology "empowers people, and the independence they gain from it changes them, makes them better. Empowerment and transformation is the true purpose of education." As an educator, I must agree with that statement. Students with disabilities, just like other students, must have the tools that will make them independent, successful citizens of this society and of the world. If that means that colleges have to rearrange their budgets so that money is put in the right coffer, then so be it. They should not let administrative red tape get in the way of providing resources for the students.
According to Oblinger and Ruby, there are benefits for the colleges too. The authors state that a college can make itself more marketable and can create a more diverse student body by having accessible technology in its environment. But that, I believe, should not be the selling point for the colleges. It's about the students' need to get a good education!
All levels of educational institutions should have accessible technology. Even though as Oblinger and Ruby's article points out, students with disabilities in the K-12 setting "are used to having individualized education plans. . . with the students and their teachers, parents and rehabilitation professionals to ensure their specific needs are met," there is a serious lack of suitable resources in this setting too. I know that there is a lack of adequate resources at my school and many others. We do not have any special resources in the library and if we have them in the school at all, they are not being utilized (at least, as far as I can see). And, like the colleges, budget and administrative red tape always get in the way. I am not sure what can be done or how quickly it can be done, but we need to do a better job of providing even the simplest resources for our students.
Oblinger and Ruby's article explains why accessible technology is needed on college campuses around the country. Technology is changing the world, and for many of us it's a simple matter of adapting to those changes. For the students with disabilities, though, those adjustments are more monumental and critical. Oblinger and Ruby say that a lack of accessible technology on college campuses put students with disabilities at a further disadvantage, whereas accessible technology "empowers people, and the independence they gain from it changes them, makes them better. Empowerment and transformation is the true purpose of education." As an educator, I must agree with that statement. Students with disabilities, just like other students, must have the tools that will make them independent, successful citizens of this society and of the world. If that means that colleges have to rearrange their budgets so that money is put in the right coffer, then so be it. They should not let administrative red tape get in the way of providing resources for the students.
According to Oblinger and Ruby, there are benefits for the colleges too. The authors state that a college can make itself more marketable and can create a more diverse student body by having accessible technology in its environment. But that, I believe, should not be the selling point for the colleges. It's about the students' need to get a good education!
All levels of educational institutions should have accessible technology. Even though as Oblinger and Ruby's article points out, students with disabilities in the K-12 setting "are used to having individualized education plans. . . with the students and their teachers, parents and rehabilitation professionals to ensure their specific needs are met," there is a serious lack of suitable resources in this setting too. I know that there is a lack of adequate resources at my school and many others. We do not have any special resources in the library and if we have them in the school at all, they are not being utilized (at least, as far as I can see). And, like the colleges, budget and administrative red tape always get in the way. I am not sure what can be done or how quickly it can be done, but we need to do a better job of providing even the simplest resources for our students.
My Visit to Bookshare
I was very excited when I read the description of this site--"Bookshare.org gives print disabled people in the United States legal access to over 33,000 books and 150 periodicals that are converted to Braille, large print or text to audio files" (www.Bookshare.org). It can help individuals who are blind, those with severe vision problems, and those whose mobility is limited and are unable to turn the pages of a book. It also has over 1,000 books in Spanish. I immediately thought that this would be a great way to get free resources for my library to serve my students with disabilities.
I was right to some extent. Bookshare.org allows anyone to freely download "public domain books" (books that are out of copyright) in various formats. Many classic works of literature are available here, and you can also download software that will read books aloud to you. I browsed several pages on the site and was able to listen to a demo of a passage from Little Lord Fauntleroy. I must say that the quality could be improved. Some of it was a little hard to understand as it was being read.
However, if one wants to get copyrighted material from this site, one has to register with Bookshare and pay for a subscription. I was disappointed to find that schools had to pay what I consider to be hefty subscription costs ($75 per new student and $50 renewal every year after). I know that I will not be able to afford this type of fee, so I will only use the public domain books on this site. I have bookmarked it and will pass this information on to all teachers, especially the ones in the special education department of my school.
Just out of curiousity, I tried to scan this website with WebXact, but could not. It seems that the site blocks that from happening because I got this message, "This link is a server redirect." Hmm. . .
I was right to some extent. Bookshare.org allows anyone to freely download "public domain books" (books that are out of copyright) in various formats. Many classic works of literature are available here, and you can also download software that will read books aloud to you. I browsed several pages on the site and was able to listen to a demo of a passage from Little Lord Fauntleroy. I must say that the quality could be improved. Some of it was a little hard to understand as it was being read.
However, if one wants to get copyrighted material from this site, one has to register with Bookshare and pay for a subscription. I was disappointed to find that schools had to pay what I consider to be hefty subscription costs ($75 per new student and $50 renewal every year after). I know that I will not be able to afford this type of fee, so I will only use the public domain books on this site. I have bookmarked it and will pass this information on to all teachers, especially the ones in the special education department of my school.
Just out of curiousity, I tried to scan this website with WebXact, but could not. It seems that the site blocks that from happening because I got this message, "This link is a server redirect." Hmm. . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)