Tag Archives: learning

OPL resources: Lynda.com

The Writing Life of a Tadpole
March 23 2020

Many of you have heard of Lynda.com before and if you have, you likely know it as that “IT training platform”. What you may not know is that it has become rebranded as LinkedIn Learning, and depending on how you get to it, you may see different logos. The Ottawa Public Library has an option to log in through their site, for free, you just need your OPL library card and a 4 digit PIN (likely the last four digits of your phone number, unless you changed it).You can find the link through OPL / BROWSE / ONLINE RESOURCES / LYNDA.COM

The main page will ask you for both your library card barcode number and your PIN to let you log in, and then ask you if you have ever had a Lynda.com account before — if you have, you can enter the info from that and transfer all your training history over to your new account.  » Read the rest

OPL resources: Language tools while working from home

The Writing Life of a Tadpole
March 23 2020

For those who are in language training, or who simply want to take advantage of some extra time to work on their language skills, the Ottawa Public Library has some language resources available. You’ll need an active OPL library card for it to work, and if it prompts you for a PIN you don’t know, it is probably the last four digits of your phone number. If you’re not in Ottawa, your local library likely has similar setups.

On the OPL website, choose Browse / Online Resources and then one of the following resources.

A. THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA

While at first glance this may not seem like a “language resource”, it has lots of info about Canada and it is available in both English and French presented at a fairly junior reading level.

I already mentioned in an earlier post (OPL resources: Research tools while working from home) that the library has french and english newspapers and journals too.  » Read the rest

OPL resources: Research tools while working from home

The Writing Life of a Tadpole
March 23 2020

If you are struggling to access decent resources while you’re working from home, here’s a quick overview of some of the resources from the Ottawa Public Library that might be of interest to you. You’ll need an active OPL library card for it to work, and if it prompts you for a PIN you don’t know, it is probably the last four digits of your phone number.

On the OPL website, choose Browse / Online Resources and then one of the following resources.

A. ACADEMIC ONEFILE

Many libraries offer access to online journal databases, and OPL has Academic OneFile. It is produced by GALE, and it is not a full replacement for what you might have from EBSCO or an academic library like Carleton or UOttawa. But it’s pretty good. Let’s work through a couple of examples.

If I search for something like “nudging”, the popular term for the more technical field of “choice architecture”, it finds:

  • Academic Journals  (2,906)
  • Magazines  (4,446)
  • Books  (37)
  • News  (14,843)
  • Videos  (5)

Of course, some of those materials are going to be behind additional paywalls, but most will be accessible.  » Read the rest

AstroBlog 2019, outing #21 – Outing to the Fred P. Lossing Observatory

The Writing Life of a Tadpole
August 29 2019

On Monday, August 26th, Jacob and I headed out to the Fred P. Lossing Observatory (FLO) in Almonte. The land is owned by the Mill of Kintail Conservation Area, but they let RASC Ottawa put an observatory there in slightly darker skies than we have in Ottawa. There is a gate with a lock, a warming room, and a couple of buildings with larger scopes in them. If you get trained on them and pay a small fee each year, you can use the scopes. Otherwise, as just RASC Ottawa members, you can use the grounds to set up your own scope.

While Jacob and I wanted to do some observing, my main reason for going was another member in the club. He and his son (J1 and J2) had bought a new scope, a Celestron Powerseeker 127EQ, and were struggling to see much through it other than the basics. They had not yet managed a polar alignment, nor figured out star-hopping, and were looking for an intro night from someone in the club.  » Read the rest

FtU #02 – MOOC this, universe

The Writing Life of a Tadpole
June 3 2019

I completed a previous MOOC on video game analysis (#50by50 #32 – Complete a MOOC – Understanding Video Games) from the University of Alberta and I started one on Metaliteracy some time ago from the State University of New York (SUNY). But I’ve found the Metaliteracy course a bit challenging for its design.

There are ten weeks, with each week having a mix of videos and readings to consume, and then a couple of online assignments to fill out about what you learned. The previous one had an option for just auditing with little interaction, this one needs that interaction to really work. Which is generally fine, no problem.

Except each week’s “submission” then has to be graded by your peers. Which would work fine if you had any other peers doing the course at the same time, but it has continual intake. People can start and stop anytime, the deadlines can be reset with a click of a button, etc.  » Read the rest