Weekly Reader wrap-up

Another week, another reader wrap-up ... more to come next week including ruminations on the necessity of revisions and edits on published LibGuides, options for IRC handbook updates, and the thrill of being accepted (with fellow Library Cloud contributor Sara) to present a Cyber Zed Shed session at ACRL this spring. But for today, here are a few posts of interest from earlier this week (sans bullets for a change).

So, Students Don't Learn -- Now What?
"The book and its corresponding report document the findings of research that followed 2,300 undergraduates through four years of college, at 24 unidentified but academically representative institutions, to measure progress in their critical thinking and analytic reasoning skills. The measurement tool was the Collegiate Learning Assessment, which the students took during their freshman, sophomore and senior years." -- Allie Grasgreen, Inside Higher Ed, 1/19/11

The Social Side of the Internet
"The internet is now deeply embedded in group and organizational life in America. A new national survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project has found that 75% of all American adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization and internet users are more likely than others to be active: 80% of internet users participate in groups, compared with 56% of non-internet users." --Lee Rainie, Kristen Purcell, Aaron Smith, Pew Internet, 1/18/11

Student Views on Technology and Teaching
"Today was one of those days that us educators live for. A recent graduate, Lucretia Witte (who is now teaching 6th graders in Bridgeport CT for Teach for America), came back to campus to lead a session entitled "Student Views on Technology and Teaching" at our Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL)." -- Joshua Kin, Technology and Learning, 1/18/11

Service Lets Scholars Check Their Own Work for Potential Plagiarism
"Using iThenticate, a plagiarism-detection software created by the California-based company iParadigms, authors and researchers can now vet their work before submitting it for publication. The service, which previously was available only to publishers, costs $50 for each manuscript up to 25,000 words, with up to five resubmissions of a paper allowed." --Ben Wieder, Wired Campus, 1/18/11

As Wikipedia Turns 10, It Focuses on Ways to Improve Student Learning"
As Wikipedia hits its 10th year of operation, it is making efforts to involve academics more closely in its process. The latest is a new plan to build an “open educational resource platform” that will gather tools about teaching with Wikipedia in the classroom." -- Tushar Rae, Wired Campus, 1/14/11

2011 Notable Children's Books
"Many people viewed the blog post earlier this month which listed the titles discussed as possible Notable Children’s Books for 2011. From the ALA ALSC page, here is a complete list of the 2011 Notable Children’s Books. Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators!" -- Mary Voors, ALSC Blogs, 1/20/11

A Slam Poem for Freshman
"Is there any speech more obnoxious than the forensic that turns every declarative into an interrogative?" -- Mark Bauerline, Brainstorm/The Chronicle, 1/20/11

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.