Tips and Tools on Security, Brainstorming, and Citing to Share

Happy Friday, dear readers! I suppose at my campus we can no longer live in denial that the craziness of fall quarter is almost upon us. Yesterday we had our annual on campus conference to start the new school year on a good foot and classes start on Wednesday. So in honor of going back to school, I have some links to share that may be useful to your students (and yourself) this coming year.

I think about online security a lot, especially as we move to integrate more and more online applications and social media into our teaching at my university. I want students to be fluent in using these new technologies and also be aware of security and privacy issues. That’s where Lifehacker comes to the rescue. First, check out the How Secure Are You Online?: The Checklist, then increase your security by checking out the tips and also using a password manager. Personally, I love KeePass (and you can load it on a thumbdrive for easier access).

If you are teaching students, patrons, family, and friends this fall anything having to do with tech, you might want to check out 10 simple things every computer users should know how to do. Plus the fun list of 10 more Google shortcuts to improve your searching.

Also, because back-to-school time seems to signal an increase in meetings, no matter whether you are in the educational field or not, check out the great list of 25 reasons why nothing happens after a brainstorming session posted by Stephen Abram. Then, after you are done reading, figure out how you and your team can actually make brainstorming sessions useful. Not to go to far into jargon-land, but having concrete, actionable items with responsible parties clearly listed always seems to help whenever I’ve been in brainstorming sessions.

Also, finally, I love this infographic by Kate Hart on A Magical Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism. An absolutely fantastic use of Harry Potter and great for information literacy classes!

Have a great weekend full of relaxation, good reads, and good company. I’ll be back next week with more on tech, libraries, and archives. Allons-y!