Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Flip through Aesthetica online
Posted on: June 23, 2017
Good news! Our subscription to Aesthetica arts magazine has been renewed.
The magazine has lots of great visual culture including photography, fashion, architecture and fine art. It comes out 4 times a year (‘quarterly’ in librarian-speak). Find it in the LRC on the journals stand.
You can also delve into the online archives any time through our library account. Browse the pictures to your heart’s content and see the world through artists’ eyes (always an interesting perspective!). Find the username and password on VLE under LRC –> eresources (then the eresources book).
Introduction to Science course.
Posted on: June 6, 2017
Welcome to the Introduction to Science students who join us today for 5 weeks.
We will meet with your group this week to show you the many resources held by the Learning Resources Centre (LRC), how to use the library catalogue and give you membership cards.
Next week, we will demonstrate how you can benefit from the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) where you can access a number of eresources and ebooks to help with your studies.
If you would like to recommend useful apps or websites we are always happy to hear from you and if you require help accessing extra materials for chemistry, physics or biology, pop into the LRC and talk to one of the team.
Only 4 Days to Polling
Posted on: June 3, 2017
This week we’re looking at how to find out about your local candidates for the General Election.
You can use the Your Vote Matters Post code search box to find who the candidates are and where your local polling station is. You can also do this on the Who Can I Vote for website which gives you a handy map to find your polling station.
Follow Your Vote Matters on Twitter @YourVote_UK for daily facts on voting running up to and including election day Thursday 8 June. If you are still undecided about the candidates and their political parties take a look at Easy News‘s special General Election Manifesto Special Edition for June. You can download it from their website. We have a copy on display in the Learning Resources Centre.
First News readers have finished voting in their mini General Election. Find out how they voted on their Junior Election Headlines page.
Why not drop into our Learning Resources Centre to see our display on the General Election? And read Easy News‘s special General Election Manifesto Special Edition to make your mind up!
This week we’re focusing on what the political parties in the General Election 2017 stand for. You’ll be glad to hear that they have created easy read versions:
Liberal Party – has an easy read version, an audio version you can download in two parts and a Braille version you can download
Labour Party – has an easy read, Braille, large print and audio version all available on the same page
Green Party – has an easy read version, audio version to listen online. They have also divided up easy read versions to cover the environment, LBTIQA, women and youth and British Sign Language versions
Women’s Equality Party – has a downloadable easy read version
You may be wondering why we’ve not added ones for the Conservative Party and the UK Independence Party (UKIP). This is because none are yet available. Mencap is urging these parties to produce them on their website page General Election 2017 Easy Read Manifestos. They’ve also brought all the easy read ones together on the same page. We’ll update the post when ones become available.
Finally the BBC have a web page General Election 2017: Manifesto Guide on Where the Parties Stand that will guide you to what the parties think on particular issues.
Nose to the Grindstone
Posted on: May 19, 2017
Such phrases that are supposed to encourage hard work sometimes have the opposite effect. For example, being told to ‘put your nose to the grindstone’ could put off anyone for whom self-discipline is elusive, from ever studying again! In the New Scientist this week (Issue 3126, pp. 27-30) is a feature article called ‘Daydream believer’. It looks at what we can do to increase our focus at a long task such as revision, looking particularly at letting the mind wander around a topic.
Several studies suggest that letting yourself daydream intentionally about a topic which you are learning is a more effective strategy than forcing yourself to concentrate over a lengthy period.
So when you’re studying, don’t put your nose to the grindstone – tend to the thought garden. Consider the makeup of the flowers (the interesting parts), appreciate the insects and worms (the causes and unseen elements), imagine the sunshine and rain that will fall in the future (the bigger context and processes). Build up an intentional daydream about your topic of study. Mull things over not only when you’re at a desk or in the library, but when you’re in the shower, walking up from the station or making a cup of tea.
There are tried and tested memory techniques that are based on visualisation of the topic matters for instance in rooms of a “house”.
Your Vote
Posted on: May 18, 2017
The General Election is on 8 June. Our students on the Step Up to Functional Skills and Interviews course have been discussing this in class. As a result we’ve come up with some handy sources to help you vote in the election.
Easy News has created a special issue for April/May dedicated to the election. You can download this for free from the website.
The Electoral Commission has produced 2017 – an Easy Read Guide to Voting in the Election which explains:
- what voting is and how it works
- how to register to vote
- what to do if you want to vote by post
- how to get someone to vote on your behalf
- how to vote at a polling station.
We also get the weekly newspaper First News which makes the news easier to understand. They are running a reader mock general election. Take a look at their General Election page for an easy read on what the different parties stand for.
Register to vote on the UK Government website. You will need your national insurance number. You can also register by post with this form if you live in England/Wales. You need to register by 1159am on Monday 22 May. You can download this form to register for a vote by post if you are away from home on election day. Your Vote Matters website has a handy search engine so you can find your local authority to register to vote in person or send them a form to get a postal vote.
Seeing The Sense of an Ending
Posted on: May 15, 2017
Last week we were delighted to find out that The Real Book Club had won a competition hosted by The Reading Agency. Studio Canal kindly sent us a set of ‘The Sense of an Ending’ and organised tickets for us to see the film version at the cinema. It’s a demanding read, but hopefully having watched the film it will help us visualise the characters and settings. We also have another film by the same director available to borrow in the LRC, called ‘The Lunchbox’. The Curzon Victoria cinema was a treat to visit with lush seats, screens and kind staff. Thank you!
