"Dream" Research Tools

This issue features next generation, “dream” research tools…tools that other tools should emulate! What makes a research tool dreamy? The ability to personalize, interact, portable-ize (my new word), and store content…but that’s just my opinion…take these babies for a whirl and see what you think!

1) HubMed
HubMed is a fantastic new tool for the health sciences community and the avid and serious health sciences researcher in particular. It is definitely a dream to use! HubMed searches the massive PubMed medical literature database and provides you with a wealth of tools to interact with the content. HubMed allows you to save your searches as a feed (so you can be notified instantly of new research published in your area), save citations to a clipboard to later export and view citations in relation to other related research in the PubMed database. The �TouchGraph� feature is particularly interesting. Try a search in HubMed and then click �TouchGraph� under any citation. Your current citation is then displayed accompanied by related citations all in a graphical format. This is very useful if your current search was unsuccessful but one citation stood out. The TouchGraph finds other citations closely related to that one gem. Another outstanding feature is the biolog. Click on �biologging� and you are linked to a community web site for biomedical researchers. Create your own store of abstracts and see what other researchers have stored�compare notes! You can also download a HubMed bookmarklet and add it to your browser�s Favourites. The next time you find a citation or research topic, simply click on the bookmarklet and enter your search in the pop-up box�you are linked instantly to the PubMed database. There are many, many more features (too many to mention here) so I recommend taking it for a whirl�you�ll be amazed!

2) Nextaris
Nextaris has been touted as the �next generation� of web tools by other people besides me (so that must make it true!) It promises to be your all-in-one web tool and its laundry list of features is definitely ambitious: it searches the web, stores content, allows you to share files and photos, blog, message and network�all for free! It offers 100 MB of storage space when you register and also offers a mobile version for those who wish to access using mobile devices.
Similar to other web tools, you can download a bookmarklet so that you can add content to Nextaris on the fly. There are bookmarklets for adding web pages, clippings and photos. And like other tools, Nextaris encourages sociability! You can share your content with others and see what others are doing! You can also mount your own web site using Nextaris�.store your web pages on the Nextaris server and Nextaris supplies you with a URL to share with others (Nextaris dot com, slash, and then your username.) Where could you use such a full-bodied tool? Nextaris is the ideal platform for team projects. Throw all of your team documents, emails, and web pages in one spot for easy access!

3)Map.net
Map.net is a visual search engine and one of the best out there IMHO. It shows your search term in relation to others in a graphic format. The graphic format allows you to see the size of the information available…the larger the block, the more information for you to find. Information is also presented in a sidebar if you are not fond of pictures. The database behind Map.net is the Open Directory, one of the largest human-edited directories on the web. You can log in and save your searches (free) and save what are “landmarks” on the visual display. I also like the use of the word “teleport” (used for returning to a search)…this wins big points for sounding Trekkie. Check out the Flash interface…it is useful and fun at the same time. Beam me up, Scotty!

4) e-learning newsletter
Every now and then I come across a tool that isn�t flashy or super technical but that offers great content. The University of Calgary has a nice e-learning newsletter called Best Practices in e-Learning that fits this description. It is issued monthly and features a tool of the month, book of the month and interesting articles to keep you up to date on the latest e-learning developments. Yes, most of it is University of Calgary-centric but there are also some great articles of a more generic nature such as this month�s article on Environment Canada�s new e-learning technology called Kstream and conference presentations on peer coaching online, etc.

5) RSS Redux
I just know that you haven�t had enough of RSS yet, so I�ve prepared a brief tutorial on RSS and how to set up your own reader.
You might also be interested in a great tutorial Rich Hoeg at Honeywell if you use Bloglines as your reader.

The April issues of BRAIN_blog will be written by my lovely and talented colleagues e-L and Gaye�welcome to e-L and Gaye!

Win a DVD Player, Liven up Lunch and Furl It

1) Win a DVD player and more!
Did you know you could be entered to win a DVD player, memory stick or copy card just for taking 10 minutes to fill out a survey? Yes, it�s true! The Library is inviting everyone at Mohawk to fill out the LibQUAL+� survey to let us know what you really think of us. LibQUAL+� is a survey developed by the Association of Research Libraries. The purpose of the survey is to provide libraries with an effective method to measure the quality of library service based on the perceptions of students, faculty and staff. You have until March 18th so hurry on over to the web site! Or come on over to the Rotunda tomorrow (Wed., March 9th) and grab some pizza while you fill out the survey during our Snack ‘n Survey event.

2) Liven Up Your Lunch Hour Again!
The Library continues its lively lunch hours with 2 sessions tomorrow (Wednesday, March 9th) during Common Hour: Unravel the Mysteries of APA (Room A108) and Unravel the Mysteries of MLA (Room A106). Grab your lunch and fasten your seatbelts for a fast and lively tour of these bibliographic formats! More info

3) Fun with Feeds Continues
The Library�s electronic book database Safari Tech Books Online, now offers RSS feeds of new titles. Simply mosey on over to Safari Tech Books Online and click on the orange RSS button (bottom centre of screen) to add this feed to your feed reader. Every time new content is added to the database, you�ll be the first to know!

4) New Campus Technology Newsletters and Blogs
Want to keep up with the latest news in instructional technology? Check out 2 new news sources from leaders in the field at Syllabus Campus Technology and EDUCAUSE. Syllabus offers a �News Update�, �IT Trends� and �Technology-Enabled Teaching�, all email newsletters that you can subscribe to at their web site. EDUCAUSE, meanwhile, has launched a series of blogs on a huge array of topics. Read what others have to say or contribute youself. The EDUCAUSE Community Blog Service is currently in beta. Admittedly, this blog space can be a bit confusing as blogs are organized by contributor name, topics, comments and recent entries and there are 41 blogs on this one site. However it is worth the effort to dive in and start reading as the content is interesting, varied and positively bubbling with exciting ideas!

5) Furl It!
Last issue I promised some info on Furl.net, a fanstastic, free web management and social bookmarking tool. What can Furl do for you? Furl is like Favourites in IE or Bookmarks in Netscape but on steroids. You can save web sites just like you can with Favourites/Bookmarks by clicking a �Furl It� link on your toolbar. But in addition (brace yourself, this is the exciting part), you can categorize your links under various topics, add descriptions and ratings, share your list of links with others, access your links from any computer, subscribe to other peoples� list of links, let other people know when your list of links has been updated, see what links other people have been collecting, and generate an APA or MLA-formatted list of your links instantly! Okay, maybe a bit much for the average surfer. But handy if you have many research links that you want to share with your class. Also handy if you want to encourage your class to look for research links and share them. Here are a few steps to get you started:
1. Go to: http://www.furl.net/
2. Click on the orange �Create Your Free Account� button.
3. Once logged in click on the My Tools tab.
4. The options for saving the Furl It button or toolbar are displayed. If you�d like the �Furl It� option to appear in the menu when you right-click on a web page, click the �Furl-It.reg� link to download this tool. If you�d like Furl It to appear in your Favourites, right click �Furl It (complete)�, and choose �Add to Favourites� from the menu. Say �yes� to the next screen that appears.
To save a web site with Furl:
1. Right click and choose Furl It or choose Furl It from your Favourites.
2. Login.
3. The Furl It-Save Page box opens. The title of the page and URL automatically appear. Other options for you to fill in are: topic, rating, comments and a clipping from the page.Click the Save button and you’re good to go.
Next issue’s featured information management tool will be: Nextaris!