Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A new way to use your RSS Reader

"Keeping Up, 2.0 Style" introduces a useful way to utilize RSS Readers, that many may not know about. 

The majority of database vendors (such as EBSCO, ProQuest, and Elsevier) provide RSS feeds that will deliver the most recent tables of contents of journals in their database to your reader.
This means that instead of searching through databases for new search results, as well as keeping up with your RSS Reader, you can incorporate them in one place. The ease of staying up to date just got a little bit easier. While this feature may not be ubiquitous at this time, it certainly has the likelihood of becoming a sought after user request in the near future.  


Like the author of the article, I use Google Reader for my RSS Reader of choice, what do you use? 


Read the full article here

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Finding the right context

"Being Articulate and Finding Context" offers some great thought provoking comments on how important it is to find a way to communicate with people using a context they can relate to, which hopefully piques their interest. There is always this concern about technology and trying to decipher what the best way to communicate it to our patrons, you. One interesting way the author recommends follows, 
I think we have to stop thinking only about the issue itself and start thinking about how to make it relevant to people. We should speak in words that make sense and use them in a context that people understand. Perhaps the answer is telling stories. Stories can be a powerful way to share experiences and raise awareness.
To read more, visit the blog post here


Whether the conversation revolves around java issues, malfunctions, or low batteries -- we strive to put it in a related context!  

Monday, January 10, 2011

Collaborative Writing Project







The Collaborative Writing project from Fall 2010 is complete. We've created a short video to demonstrate how we used Google Docs and Blackboard Vista to accomplish this with Professor McMorrow. This project was intended to fill two class meetings, hoping the students would use the time to engage in team learning by creating a memo that would advise entry level lawyers on legal ethics in a practice area. The areas were determined by Professor McMorrow.

Students were allowed to select their topic of interest and were placed into groups from there by filling out an entry survey created on Google Docs. This collaborative project would simulate the workplace – working with different people, different levels of proficiency, picking up where someone left off, etc… To accomplish this we created a shared space for each group, which also allowed Professor McMorrow access to drop in anytime, through Google Docs. From here the students had an opportunity to review each other’s work by downloading a copy of another group’s memo and then reposting it with comments and feedback by utilizing a Blackboard Vista discussion forum.
Finally, a final evaluation survey, also created in Google Docs, and revision history, another helpful feature in Google Docs, allowed for Professor McMorrow to obtain feedback on the collaboration, technology, and the overall assignment.
If you would like to explore opportunities for creating collaborative workspaces please contact us at lawedtech@bc.edu.



Thursday, January 6, 2011

A legal friendly Adobe Acrobat X arrives soon

Adobe Acrobat X will be available soon. However, this isn't just any typical upgrade. As Lawyerist.com reports there are many enhancements that are specifically targeted for the legal audience. 


Improvements include; Easier interface, Improved redaction, and Metadata removal tools. 


To read the full report see, Adobe Acrobat X Brings New Lawyer-Friendly Features.