My First One-To-One Session
Am not sure who was more nervous for this – me or them! It was my first time meeting with students for a pre-arranged session, and they really needed someone who could actually help.
My initial thoughts were that this was going to be OK because they are doing Criminology and so am I, so that should sort it. But in the end, we never discussed the subject because that wasn’t where the issue lay. Like most students, they knew what they wanted to say – they just had difficulty finding the information, and then putting their ideas down for others to read. So I didn’t need to know the subject, just how to point them in the right direction and give them some new skills and this was something I could do. So here are my Top 3 Tips:
1. Looking for resources click through the following:
Portal — Learning and Library Resources — E-library (save to favorites) — Login to Ebrary
Input a Keyword to search for and bring up a book using the E-Reader function
THEN JUST PLAY
This is an invaluable tool that will search books for terms, let you highlight, put in notes, store in a Bookshelf for you and much more.
2. Plan your essay using Inspiration. It is easy to use and is on all Library computers. You brainstorm at it in the Mind Map application, add notes and then switch views and you have an interactive essay plan. You can move things around, add bits and pieces and then export to word. It makes life so much easier.
3. Use Claro-read (again on all computers in the Library)!!!!! It will read your work back to you through headphones so you can see if there are punctuation and grammar issues easily. This is a boon to lots of DART students. It will also convert PDF files to interactive word documents and that is just the start!
So, have a play around, and if you would like some help, or a one to one session of your own, email pals@lincoln.ac.uk and arrange to meet with one of us.
Yours
Amanda
