Curriculum Mapping

The TCTC library subscribes to a database called AccessScience! This database provides a wealth of information to both students and faculty members. For faculty members, curriculum maps were recently created. Curriculum maps are designed to guide faculty to highly relevant and engaging content for college courses. They take popular subject matter, for example chemistry, and break it down into subtopics. 

Each subtopic then links to information within AccessScience! Tables, graphs, diagrams, photos, animations, and videos are linked via these curriculum maps for faculty members. Presently, AccessScience! has curriculum maps for the following topics: Astronomy, Biology, Chemistry, Computing Databases, Discrete Mathematics, Engineering Structural Analysis, and Physics. A sample curriculum map can be found at this link http://www.accessscience.com/for-faculty/biology . Direct links can be created for students from this database, to provide easy access to the content. 

The demands of providing quality content to students, in a manner that is attractive, requires the usage of databases that present information in fun, informative ways. AccessScience! is aware of the demands required by both universities and students. Its curriculum maps are one resource now available to faculty members, as they develop lessons that are both informative and attractive for today’s college students.

By Michele Gregg

Library Hours and Closed Dates for 2014

Library closed
January 1, 2014	New Year's Day
January 20	MLK
May 26	Memorial Day
July 4	Independence Day
September 1	Labor Day
November 4	Fall Break
November 27-28	Thanksgiving
December 23-Jan 1	Christmas
Library Open 7:45  to 5 (Branches closed)
Jan 2 and 10, 2014	End of winter holiday
February 25	Professional Development Day
March 17-21	Spring Break
July 3	July 4th holiday
July 28 to Aug 18	No Classes
October 7	Professional Development Day
November 3	Fall Break
November 26	Thanksgiving holiday
December 8 to 23	Winter break

Learning Express Library 3.0

Spring semester started with a new and improved version of LearningExpress Library. LearningExpress Library 3.0 provides access to practice exams for test preparation, courses, and ebooks on many vocational and academic topics. Enhancements to the product include easy-to-use navigation, timed and untimed test modes, and individualized study plans. It is also touch-enabled and tablet-ready for tablet users. In preparation for the new 2014 GED Test, this product will also be updated to meet the new specifications. To take full advantage of what this wonderful tool has to offer, a user must create his free account. All that is needed is a valid email address. A personal account creates a storage space for an individual collection of selected learning materials. A user with his own account can return to his materials via his personal account again and again and continue where he left off.

Written by, Kultida Dunagin

Don't Panic!

For any readers who are Douglas Adams fans, the words “Don’t Panic!” will bring a smile of recognition. The phrase is an integral part of the “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series of books published beginning in the late 1970’s, but it is very fitting to use at this point in Fall Semester as well.

Library staff don’t really need to look at an academic calendar to know what week it is, since student traffic in the library is a reliable indicator that “it’s midterm” or “it’s the last week of classes” and students are frantically working to complete assignments and write papers. Many of these are (supposedly) semester-long projects, assigned by instructors weeks or months ago, but ignored by students till now. Instructors vent their frustration with students to us, wondering why students don’t see the benefits of working on something intermittently throughout the semester. Students also vent to us, wondering why instructors are so thoughtless and inconsiderate when making so many assignments due at the end of the term.

My advice to students is always some version of “Don’t Panic!” Often they just need someone to listen to them talk about feeling overwhelmed. Others need some organizational assistance, which might be the question, “Okay, what do you need to do first?” and some suggestions for what to include in a research paper. Still others realize, after hearing it come out of their mouth, that they are the ones to blame since they really have had fourteen weeks to work on the project and then, feeling sheepish, they buckle down and get it done.

My hope is that students remember this terrible panicky time NEXT semester, when the assignments are made and they think, “Hey, that’s not due till April! PLENTY of time!” Time management is one of those things learned in college that has wider applications than cell division, polynomial factoring, or the date and impact of the Magna Carta.

By, Sue Andrus

Remote Student Assistance

While many students come to the library for research assistance in person, we also assist students in a variety of remote ways. The most frequent of these is through our chat box, located on the TCTC library’s website http://library.tctc.edu/. Many students submit questions via this tool each day. For our students, who are immersed in the digital world, this is a quick, easy way to ask for help. The types of questions we receive through the chat box range from topics related to an English 101 or 102 research paper to general questions about the college, such as when exams take place. We are happy to provide this service to the students at TCTC.

Students in the English distance learning courses are being encouraged to submit emails to the Embedded Librarian, as they progress through their research requirements. Many DL students are using email to obtain help and guidance, in regards to the library’s resources and research. This is an effective way to meet the research needs of students who are remotely taking classes. Providing research assistance to DL students through email contacts also provides a personal connection for students who are not on campus but have the same research requirements/expectations as students taking the same English courses on campus. Research is difficult for many students. It is important that the research needs of DL students be addressed and special assistance is offered to that student population.

Lastly, the library still receives the occasional phone call for assistance. Students who have questions about research or our general services can pick up the phone and speak with someone in the library department. This form of research assistance is happening less and less but it is still a viable option for students who would like to verbally ask a quick question, related to their research project!

Michele Gregg

Transformers

The Tri-County Tech Library faculty and staff members pride themselves on being a consistent beacon for student success. Known for our exemplary customer service, we make every effort to meet students where they are! This means that sometimes we may have to console them during an anxiety attack, assist them when they’ve waited until the last minute to perform research, or to simply provide them with a kind word or smile when their having a bad day. While this may not be a part of our initial job responsibilities, we are well aware that all of these things fall under the ‘other duties as assigned’ part of every college employees’ job description. We are all (as Tech employees) in a great position to transform the lives of every student that entrusts us with their education. Have you made a transforming gesture today? If not, check yourself and make adjustments…

Written by, Alydia Sims

New Resources!

Through PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries) and lottery funds, the library now has access to three new databases in the area of Healthcare and another collection of ebooks. They are;

• Anatomy and Physiololgy Online This database covers all a student needs to know and learn for a 2 semester Anatomy & Physiology course.
• AAFP Conditions A to Z  A handy patient-information tool that has been written and reviewed by physicians and patient education professionals at the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
• MedCalc 3000 A collection of over 520 calculators, clinical criteria sets and decision trees that are indispensable to anyone practicing, teaching or studying evidence-based medicine.

All three databases are powered by StatRef!, which is a premier e-source in the area of healthcare.

We also have access to ebrary, which is a collection of 100,000 ebooks from trusted publishers. Ebooks from ebrary cover all subject areas and can be searched by the usual keyword, title, author and subject. It can also be searched by document type, document language and publication year. Books from ebrary can be read online, on an iPhone, an iPad or and an iPod touch with ebrary app.

There are links to these new e-resources on the library homepage http://library.tctc.edu/ and all subject specific pages.