Durham College Adventure! Oct 26, 10

Starting from the Campus Bookstore located in the Gordon Willey building in room A125 you will walk to the B-wing on the first floor on your left. Once you get there you will go out the doors across from the Security and Parking Information desk and continue walking along the sidewalk, passing a large circular monument on the lawn. Eventually you will reach an intersection and will turn left. Continue walking straight until you reach the Founders 1 parking lot and within the parking lot there will be the Simcoe Building. There will be a construction zone on the right side. You will walk along the construction zone, but please be cautious and careful. There will be a set of doors with a wheel-chair accessible entrance which you will enter. Congratulations! You have reached the K-wing of the Simcoe Building, please proceed down the hallway and you will reach room K9.

Hope you had a safe trip!

I outlined your trip in magenta for a visual reference.

Learning is GOOD! Oct 20, 2010

Today we were taught how to properly use MLA style referencing and why we should reference in the first place.  Referencing gives credit to ideas, work, or innovations of the creator. It makes you and your work look more professional and credible to the reader and allows you to avoid plagiarism or fraud. There are two places where you can obtain referencing information depending on the material, which can be located within the text body known as Parenthetical references (in text citations) or a Works Cited page which is a thorough list of all sources used. Many people find it challenging to know when and what you are supposed to cite within your work. But in today’s class we learned that you do not have to cite common knowledge and if you’re unsure if you should cite information or not you always should just in case to avoid plagiarism. Lastly we learned that there are many resources available when trying to cite information such as the MLA Guide at the DC/UOIT library, on the online MLA library guide, the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers in the bookstore and library, and also SALS (Student Academic Learning Services) has Writing Specialists available to help students with their future references!

SALS- Student Academic Learning Services. -October 12/13, 2010

If you are having difficulty or find you are struggling with homework, assignments, or studying for tests the Student Academic Learning Services also known as SALS is a great place to help you accomplish your goals. As a student at Durham College you are eligible to register for a peer tutor, have 15 hours of tutoring per subject (which you are allowed 2 per semester), and only costs you $5 for registration fees. SALS also offers workshops throughout the semester to help students, if you cannot make it to a workshop or it is full you can make an appointment, and you can even ask for a workshop yourself. At the SALS centre they try to provide a quiet and productive learning environment in hopes to ensure students reach their maximum learning potential. They also have various learning tools or guides posted available for your use such as tips sheets, outlines, and bibliography or works cited help sheets. SALS is full of great resources and their most valuable resource would be the people there to help. Leslie Linstrom who is a Writing Specialist, Eric Gustavsen an ESL Specialist, and John Hayes a Learning Skills Advisor are just a few to mention who are there to guide you and answer any questions you may have. So please don’t hesitate when you need assistance, all you need to do is ask and help will be provided in one way or another.

- If any extra information is needed please feel free to read my previous blog post and visit the SALS website.

http://www.durhamcollege.ca/EN/main/places_to_go/places_to_study/student_academic_learning_services.php

To Write or Present? That is the Question! - October 4&5, 2010

Writing a research paper has many pros and cons which should be taken into consideration before deciding to use this method to share your information. The negative aspects of writing a research paper include; word limit/restriction, structure requirements and small issues such as spelling and grammar. However there are positive aspects to this which are; there is no need for memorization of material, nor is there any need for visuals or additional work other than the paper and the research itself. In the case of presentations the cons would be the creative measure that has to be taken in order to captivate the audience and keeping them engaged and involved. The pros are; there isn't an extreme need for writing and sentence structure, and for those who are "people persons" they have a chance to interact with those watching the presentation. If I had the choice I would choose to write a research paper. This is because I feel as though I am a more effective writer than speaker. I don't have enough confidence in my public speaking abilities therefor I don't think I could put together an appealing visual display of my research and present it effectively.