Video Views Skyrocketed in 2020!

Thursday, Apr 15, 2021

We've all been watching more videos since the beginning of the pandemic, but none more so that our students! The Library provides access to all sorts of films, from educational documentaries to independent films. But did you know that behind the scenes, the Library is also involved in supporting videos posted in Blackboard, especially eReserves items? You can find all sorts of MacEwan create videos at streaming.macewan.ca.

 

Most professors have been creating and uploading instructional videos, and we can see, at a glance, how those videos are being used (don't worry, we haven't collected any personal information!). For instance, over eleven million minutes have been viewed since February 2020! That's a lot of (educational) screen time. And, these minutes have been viewed by over 19,000 unique viewers. We're reaching a lot of people.

Years worth of views: 11,000,000 minutes viewed, 19,000 unique viewers

But which video has reached the most people since the pandemic began? It's "Finding and Accessing Your Blackboard Courses," with 5,432 plays.

The most viewed video: "Finding and Accessing Your Blackboard Courses" by eLearning at MacEwan. 5,432 plays!

Even when the pandemic winds down, we'll continue to offer video content and support. Let us know what you think! library@macewan.ca 

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Getting Feedback on your Writing

Monday, Mar 22, 2021
Writing Tutors, Writing Centre

What is it like to get feedback from the Writing Centre?

Your paper doesn't have to be finished to receive feedback; we accept work at any stage of the process. The Writing Centre does it’s best to return submissions within three business days. As you’ll see, we provide a lot of information for you to consider and integrate, so we encourage students to plan ahead and submit their paper early.

When you submit your work, please share a few concerns that you have about work. This will help us tailor our feedback to support you!

Screenshot of question when submitting paper for feedback: "What specific things would you like your tytor to work on? Grammar, and I think how my sentences are organized kind of needs work"

The tutor will review your paper keeping the concerns you have raised in mind. They will also see if there are any other areas you will want to revise in your work.

Screenshot of tutor feedback on a paper: "I understand that you would like some help with sentence flow and grammar. You have chosen some important aspects of your work to focus on, and I will talk about one strategy that you could use to improve both your sentence flow and your grammar. However, since your instructor wants you to write a persuasive essay, I also want to talk about some ways that you can make your argument more clear and more convincing."

The feedback you receive will be in two parts: First, the tutor will explain their concerns for each area they focus on, in Areas Needing Improvement. They will then provide specific strategies and resources in Next Steps.

Your feedback will outline Areas Needing Improvement and provide specific strategies and resources in Next Steps.

Screenshot of Areas Needing Improvement section of a submitted paper. "Sentence Structure. Mostly, you write pretty well, but there are a few grammatical errors here, especially sentence fragments. A whole sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it is a complete thought. A fragment lacks one of these three things: it is a broken or incomplete sentence. Sadly, fragments make your writing less clear, and they disrupt the flow of your sentences. It shouldn't be too hard to clean them up, and, once you do, your essay will be more clear and appealing to your reader."

Screenshot of Next Steps section of feedback on a submitted paper. Examples of next steps include providing an example of a sentence fragment taken from the paper, instructions for how to fix the sentence fragment, additional tips for checking the flow of sentences by reading them aloud, a link to an addition resource for revising sentence fragments.

Finally, the tutor will leave embedded comments in your paper. These might ask you questions to help expand upon an idea, call your attention to patterns in your writing you might want to address, or compliment a particularly effective piece of writing!

Next, the tutor will leave embedded comments in your paper. These might ask you questions to help you expand upon an idea, call your attention to smething in need of revision, or commend you for a particularly effective passage!

A screenshot of a submitted paper showing a tutor comment right next to the sentence/paragraph that needs to be addressed.

Submit your paper here: library.macewan.ca/wls and check our other services, we hope to hear from you soon!

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From the Archives: Parking Lot Hockey in 1982

Tuesday, Mar 16, 2021
Archives

Another gem from the archives!

 

Old photograph of students playing hockey in the Cromdale campus parking lot. Article text is included in the description below.

 

The Cromdale Challenge

 

Millwoods Campus has its humongous gym, Jasper Place also has a gym along with racquetball courts. And Cromdale Campus has its parking lot. 

 

Parking lot? Yes, parking lot. On Friday afternoons Cromdale students can be found scurrying around the asphalt shooting and hitting, hooking and slashing. Ball hockey of course. At present a team made up of Journalism and Ad and PR students are calling themselves college champions. If you are interested in challenging the college champs call Cromdale and leave a message for Rich in the student association office. A team of four is all that is necessary. (Source: Intercamp, vol. 2, no. 2, 1982)

 

For other stories from our past, visit the University Archives.

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Virtual Late Night at the Library - March 18th

Friday, Mar 12, 2021

We’re virtual again for this term’s Late Night at the Library event! Join us online on Thursday, March 18th for some productivity time and make some progress on those big assignments. We've added a few more events this time including SAMU Study Buddies and Games Night with Student Life! 

What to expect:  

Drop-In Writing Tutor Sessions 4:00-8:00 p.m. 

  • An opportunity to ask our Tutors about your grammar, developing a thesis statement, and more!  

Virtual Game Night with the Student Life Team 5:00-6:30 p.m. 

  • Destress and play some games with the Student Life Team 
  • They've got prizes! 

SAMU Study Buddies 5:00-7:00 p.m. 

  • Set goals and get some work done with SAMU volunteers 
  • A chance for prizes here too! 

Live Chat with a Librarian 5:00-10:00 p.m. 

  • Ask our Librarians about finding sources for assignments, using our databases, and more! 

Research Essentials workshop 8:00-8:50 p.m.  

  • Bring your research paper topic and leave with sources!  
  • Joan, our English Librarian, will share expert tips to search for scholarly articles  

Study Tips  

  • The Writing Centre has collected some excellent resources and tools to help you prepare for your exams. We recommend trying the Pomodoro technique!  

Destress and Concentration Videos  

  • Check out some movies and short films we recommend for a much-needed mental break  
  • Watch some “Study with Me” videos to get you in a productive mood!  

Virtual PAWSS Dogs Videos 

  • Who doesn’t like seeing 13/10 good doggos?! 

Join us online live during the event, or check out our productivity and destress resources early. 

 

Questions?  

Library@macewan.ca 

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SAGE Open Access Agreement for MacEwan Authors

Tuesday, Mar 9, 2021
Open Access, Scholarly Communications

MacEwan University Library is pleased to announce a new open access publishing option as part of the university’s membership in the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN).

As of January 2021, MacEwan corresponding authors publishing in over 900 SAGE Choice journals can make their accepted works open access at no cost.

Corresponding authors publishing in fully open access SAGE Journals have the option to receive a 40% discount on article processing charges. 

Making published works open access can increase the visibility and impact of research since anyone can freely access it online.

For more information on publication discounts, visit the library’s web page on Open Access.

Questions? Contact Robyn Hall, Scholarly Communications Librarian (hallr27@macewan.ca)

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Digital Book Display: Pride Week

Monday, Mar 1, 2021
Book Displays

In celebration of Pride Week, we’ve gathered some insightful books, plays, and films from our collection, many of which are available online! We love getting recommendations for more titles so let us know by suggesting a purchase. 

Books: 

 

Plays:  

 

Films and Documentaries: 

 

View the full reading list in our catalogue to check the status of our print materials.  A green checkmark next to an item in our reading list means it’s available to borrow. A blue checkmark means you can read/watch online. 

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Digital Book Display: Black Films

Monday, Feb 22, 2021
Book Displays

In the final week of Black History Month, join us in watching a selection of noteworthy and entertaining films and documentaries featuring Black actors, directors, writers, and stories. Most of these films are available to watch online.  

Documentaries (all online): 

 

Films (mix of online and in the library):  

View the full reading list in our catalogue to check the status of our print materials.  A green checkmark next to an item in our reading list means it’s available to borrow. A blue checkmark means you can read/watch online. 

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Digital Book Display: Black Feminism 

Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021
Book Displays

In our third installment of our celebration of Black History Month, we’ll be exploring Black Feminism. From notable authors to memoirists to scholars, join us in examining this timely and critical topic.  

 

Prefer to read online? Try these ebooks:  

 

View the full reading list in our catalogue to check the status of our print materials.  A green checkmark next to an item in our reading list means it’s available to borrow. A blue checkmark means you can read/watch online. 

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Digital Book Display: Black Voices and Authors

Monday, Feb 8, 2021
Book Displays

In our second week celebrating Black History Month, we’re featuring a selection of recent and time-honored Black authors. We have a vibrant and extensive collection of fiction and non-fiction books written by Black authors, which are available in print on our shelves or as ebooks. This is only a sampling of the titles we have in our collection and we are actively purchasing more. Know of a book you wish you could borrow from us? Suggest a purchase! 

 

Looking for Canadian authors?: 

 

Interested in local perspectives? Watch these Human Library recordings from the MacEwan Human Library project (part of MacEwan’s Black History Month events):  

 

You can also register to atttend our live Human Library readings: 

 

View the full reading list in our catalogue to check the status of our print materials.  A green checkmark next to an item in our reading list means it’s available to borrow. A blue checkmark means you can read/watch online. 

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From the Archives: Straight to the Top in 1981

Tuesday, Feb 2, 2021
Archives

Straight to the top is where the college’s Griffettes volleyball team and coach Ed Reddon are headed in the new college bus. The $25,000 reconditioned bus was donated to the GMCC Foundation by the Kinsmen Club of Edmonton. Information Office photo by Linda Mueller (Source: Box 1796, vol. 2, no. 3, 1981).

Photograph of the women's volleyball team from 1981 and their coach sitting on top of and around a bus.

 

This is one of many treasures from MacEwan's past that the archives collects and preserves. For other stories from our past, visit the University Archives.

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