good information

good information

The Fight Against Fake News Begins with Me

The Fight Against Fake News Begins with Me

, , , outreach
A first person account of the battle for accuracy from a rather unattractive couch I have tried very hard to be a Nerd of Trust. To me, accurate and timely information is a critical need for daily life function, and since 2016 I have worked tirelessly to promote good information literacy while combating fake news.  As someone who has built a reputation of trustworthiness among colleagues, family and friends through fact-checks, online posts about false information and a relentless attack on fake news stories, I’ve earned my Nerd of Trust credentials.  The COVID-19 pandemic was an ideal situation for fake news purveyors.  Through the rise of social media, many Americans have fallen prey to medically-oriented misinfodemics – floods of false … Continued
Educational Resources – Free Online (ERFO)

Educational Resources – Free Online (ERFO)

, , , Frances Yates, Jesse Whitton, Library Resources, Library Services, Research, Website
Providing reliable and useful resources is a large part of the mission of our Campus Library.  This includes numerous databases, e-books, and media that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars that are paid to aggregate vendors, producers and publishers. More and more resources are becoming “open access,” meaning they are publicly accessible and free to use. However, much content needed by academic library users still comes with a cost. That situation is changing, in an interim response to the coronavirus pandemic.  Many formerly subscription-only resources are temporarily open access, some through April, some until June and some open-ended. To help our users discover newly-free resources, we have created a resource guide with access information: https://iue.libguides.com/ERFO/College. We will continue to update … Continued
There’s an OER For That: Looking at Affordable Learning Options

There’s an OER For That: Looking at Affordable Learning Options

, , , , Programs, Website
With the success of our Scholar’s Book Fair last week, we received some feedback from faculty that the OER (Open Education Resources) and IU Pressbooks stations were two of the most valuable topics covered during the event. And with OER Week coming up in less than a month (March 2-6), it is a good time to discuss in more detail what an OER is and how can IU Pressbooks contribute to OER creation. What is an OER? Open Educational Resources (OER) are any teaching, learning, and research resources (textbooks, syllabi, courseware, assessments, lesson plans, test questions, etc.) that are freely available and shared under an intellectual property license that allow others to download, reuse, adapt, edit, retain, and redistribute the … Continued
New Year’s Resolution: No More Memes

New Year’s Resolution: No More Memes

, , , Research
Angry women and smug cats.  Tiny green Jedis.  Gummi bear challenge.  2019 was full of memes both irritating and ingratiating, and as usual we as a public could not get enough of them.  Easily shareable, graphically enticing, sometimes inspirational, memes spread rapidly across all social media platforms.  For something so fun and silly, what could be the harm? Well, it turns out those memes may not be entirely innocent.  According to the work of Clemson University professors Patrick Warren and Darren Linvill, those memes may be the work of Russian trolls.  The Russian Internet Research Agency (IRA) played a role in the 2016 election by promoting false information on social media.  While fake news stories remain a major problem mostly … Continued
Primary Sources

Primary Sources

, , , , Library Resources, Matt Dilworth
“The whole modern method of historical research is founded upon the distinction between original and derivative authorities. By original authorities we mean either statements by eye-witnesses, or documents, and other material remains, which are contemporary with the events which they attest. By derivative authorities we mean historians or chroniclers who relate and discuss events which they have not witnessed but which they have heard of or inferred directly or indirectly from original authorities.” – Arnaldo Momigliano, Studies in Historiography, 1966 When conducting research, you will often need to find and use specific types of resources.  That could include peer-reviewed work, or to use a book or a video as a reference.  One common and very important type of source students … Continued