Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning

Online learning - for students and teachers - is one of the fastest growings trends in educational uses of technology as it provides more flexible access to content and instruction at any time, from any place.

According to a new meta-analysis released by the US Department of Education online learning has definite advantages over face-to-face instruction when it comes to teaching and learning. The meta-analysis found that, on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.

The findings presented here are derived from:

• a systematic search for empirical studies of the effectivness of online learning.


• a meta-analysis of those studies from which effect sizes that contrasted online and face-to-face instruction could be extracted or estimated.

A narrative summary of studies comparing different forms of online learning is also provided.

The future of eBooks

The future of e-books and e-publishing. Two experts discuss a new way of reading and a new way of viewing books in the digital age. Text adapted from Australian PolicyOnline. Find out more and listen to the podcast here.

Student transfer at a glance.

An interesting short report about students who transfer between vocational education (VET) and university study. Results indicated that students may transfer early in their careers or at a later stage when this change may be related to a new career direction. Text adapted from The National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER). Read the full report here

Library Tips for Residential Schools

*Bring your student card with you. This will be needed to borrow from the Library and to access certain rooms outside of business hours, such as the 24 hour Computer Labs and Learning Commons.

*Top up your credit. To print or use the internet, you will need to have credit in your printing and internet accounts. Credit can be organised online, by paying at the cashier's office or by faxing your credit card and payment details to the cashiers office. You can find more information from the DIT page. All of the Library’s student access computers are connected to a networked [black & white] A4 printer in each library. To print, students must have credit in their CSU printing account. Printing costs: Black and White; $0.13 per page. Colour printers are available in the Student Computer Laboratories

*Library Opening Hours. Check here for the Residential School and Vacation opening hours. Also note that there are a certain number of laptops that can be borrowed overnight if borrowed in the last half hour of closing time.

Enjoy your time at Residential School !

Do you have some spare time now for reading?

There are lots of lists of favourite or classic books around. We've chosen Australia's Favourites, as voted in an ABC poll a couple of years ago.

1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein

2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

3. The Bible (Various Contributors)

4. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

5. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton

6. Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (Book 5) by J. K. Rowling

7. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

8. The Hitch Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams

9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown and Catch 22 by Joseph Heller

10. A Fortunate Life by A.B. Facey

You can see the rest of the top 100 here.

Picture of Australia's Children 2009

This report provides the latest indicators of child health, development and wellbeing. But rates of severe disability and diabetes are on the rise. Too many children are overweight or obese, or are at risk of homelessness. Text adapted from AustralianPolicyOnline. Read the full report here.

Library News @ CSU

The latest edition of Library News @ CSU is now available exclusively through the CSU Library Homepage.

Inside this edition you will find out exactly how much is costs to subscribe to academic journals, info on the new Database, Subject Support and Online Reference web pages, a look inside the new Thurgoona Learning Commons, and much more!

So check it out, and let us know what you think by filling in the Newsletter Feedback Form.

Tweet Tweet

CSU Library is now part of the Twitterverse!

Follow CSU_Library on Twitter today for all the latest.

New eResource: Primal Pictures Dentistry

Primal Pictures is an online interactive resource that provides a multimedia overview of human anatomy.

Primal Pictures Dentistry, also called 3D Head and Neck Anatomy for Dentistry, is the Dentistry module of Primal Pictures, and includes 3D modelling of more than 100 views of the key anatomy for dentistry. Views include oral and nasal cavities, dentition, individual teeth in 3D and cross section, nerves, larynx and pharynx, sinuses, the eye, and the brain.

The resource also features MRI images, photographic slides, movies and animations, and specialised clinical content which includes 3D views of progressive dental conditions such as caries and gingivitis, and interactive 3D nerve views of intraoral injections.

A clinical text section covers a range of subjects in a subject guide format under the headings of embryogenesis, examination, teeth, dental anaesthesia, spread of infection, face, joints overview, and pterygopalatine fossa.

Please note:

• CSU’s listing of Primal Pictures Dentistry links to an introductory Ovid screen which lists the various modules of Primal Pictures. Look for and click on the Dentistry heading in the right column, marked by a green tick.

• If you have previously used Primal Pictures (the full resource), you might find that the link to Primal Pictures Dentistry takes you to the full resource. You will need to clear cookies to resolve this.

SmartSkills is changing names

The Library’s self guided information literacy tutorials currently known as SmartSkills will be undergoing a name change in accordance with the results of usability testing of the Division of Library Services web site. The new name will be InfoSkills@CSU and will come into effect on Monday 15th June 2009. The library website will use the name SmartSkills up to the 15th June 2009.

New Database Additions

CSU Library has made some recent additions and changes to its lists of online databases.

The Cochrane Library has been added to all health-related database listings. This includes: Allied Health, Biomedical Sciences, Dentistry and Oral Health, Health (General), Medical Radiation Science, Nursing and Pharmacy. The Cochrane Library is a collection of 7 databases, which is free (in Australia) and contains Evidence-Based Medicine materials.

The CAB Abstracts database, previously an index only, now includes more than 36000 full-text journal articles, reports and conference papers. CAB Abstracts is a multi-disciplinary database, which covers subject areas such as Agriculture, Animal and Vet Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Food and Nutrition, Health, Leisure and Tourism and Plant Sciences.

Both these databases can be accessed from the CSU Library Journal Database home page.

2009 CBCA Short List

The Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Shortlists for 2009 have been announced, and you can find most of them within CSU Library's collection.

Book of the Year - Older Readers

• Monster Blood Tattoo Book Two: Lamplighter by DM Cornish
• Into White Silence by Anthony Eaton
• A Rose for the Anzac Boys by Jackie French
• Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta
• Kill the Possum by James Maloney
• Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

Book of the Year - Younger Readers

• The Wish Pony by Catherine Bateson
• Polar Boy by Sandy Fussell
• Then by Morris Gleitzman
• Audrey of the Outback by Christina Harris
• Perry Angel's Suitcase by Glenda Millard
• The Wizard of Rondo by Emily Rodda

Book of the Year - Early Childhood

• How to Heal a Broken Wing by Bob Graham
• Leaf by Stephen Michael King
• Special Kev by Chris McKimmie
• Applesauce and the Christmas Miracle by Glenda Millard
• Tom Tom by Rosemary Sullivan
• Puffling by Margaret Wild

Book of the Year - Picture Book

• Sunday Chutney illustrated by Aaron Blabey
• Collecting Colour illustrated by Kylie Dunstan
• Home and Away illustrated by Matt Ottley
• Nobody Owns the Moon illustrated by Tohby Riddle
• Captain Congo and the Crocodile King illustrated by Greg Holfeld
• The Big Little Book of Happy Sadness illustrated by Colin Thompson

Book of the Year - Eve Pownall Award

• The Word Spy by Ursula Dubosarsky
• Simpson and his Donkey by Mark Greenwood
• Alive in the Death Zone by Lincoln Hall
• The Workbook Series - The Story of Chicken in Australia by Catriona Nicholls and Janet Paterson
• Tuart Dwellers by Jan Ramage
• Every Picture Tells a Story: Adventures in Australian Art by John Ross and Anna Booth

Click on the title of the book to borrow.

EndNote MasterClasses

Library faculty liaison staff will be conducting a series of EndNote MasterClasses in 2009, for academic staff and postgraduate students. These workshops are intended for current EndNote users who want to ‘do just a bit more’ with EndNote, and will include:

*what's new in X2?
*using term lists to improve consistency and accuracy of information in your
library, and manage abbreviated journal names
*managing in-text citations with CWYW
*formated vs unformated references
*combining chapters in a thesis
*creating or modifying referencing styles
*options for collaboration with other researchers
*using OpenURL links (SFX) to locate the full text of journal articles
*EndNote web

The first sessions will be conducted at Thurgoona and Bathurst as follows:
Thurgoona - Tuesday 16 June 11-12.30pm Thurgoona Learning Commons
Bathurst - Wednesday 17 June 9.30-11.00am Bathurst Library, Computer Lab., Room 404/405

There are limited places available for these hands on workshops.
Please RSVP to Greg Fry gfry@csu.edu.au by Friday 12 June.

How People are using Twitter during Conferences

This publication by V. Hornung-Prahauser and M. Luckmann aims to show how Twitter can be used during conferences, and furthermore how different people are using it. ...the paper gives evidence on how Twitter can enhance the knowledge of a given group or community'. Text adapted from AustralianPolicyOnline. Read the full report here

New Database Collection: Informaworld

CSU Library now has access to over 1000 full-text eJournals through the Informaworld platform, with citations from hundreds more journals.

Expanding on the Informaworld Education collection, CSU Library now has access to a much wider collection of journals, covering a greater range of discipline areas such as:

• Anthropology & Archaeology
• Arts & Humanities
• Behavioural Science
• Business Management & Economics
• Chemistry
• Criminology & Law
• Engineering, Computing and Technology
• Environment & Agriculture
• Geography, Planning, Urban & Environment
• Library & Information Science
• Mathematics & Statistics
• Media, Culture & Communication Studies
• Physics
• Politics, International Relations & Area Studies
• Public Health & Social Care
• Sociology & Related Disciplines
• Sport, Leisure & Tourism
• Strategic, Defence & Security Systems

Informaworld can be found on the CSU Library Database Webpage.