Poll Everywhere, including Madison!

 

Looking for something to give a creative boost to your end of semester presentations? Poll Everywhere offers a great resource for anyone looking to stand out with a unique way of engaging audiences. Poll Everywhere is an online application that allows you to create poll questions for students or audiences and display responses in real time. It has many great editing features so you can customize visual appearances, display themes, font and color options. It is totally free for up to 40 responses at a time, which makes it a perfect resource for class presentations, discussions, and group meetings. Poll Everywhere allows for multiple methods of response, from texting, to on the web, and even twitter. This helps make Poll Everywhere very accessible and feasible in most educational settings.  

Poll Everywhere can be utilized in many different capacities, such as opinion questions, tests of knowledge, and determining an audience’s wants or preferences. It is a great way to incorporate technology into a classroom because it can be fun, entertaining, and even help encourage a lively debate. Because responses are recorded immediately, there is a tangible result to actions taken in the classroom, helping it to be a good tool for grabbing and keeping the attention of participants. Poll Everywhere can incorporate pictures, and even has the capability of being integrated directly into a PowerPoint presentation, making its use easy and seamless. It even has a fantastic Poll Everywhere User Guide to help you along the process. 

Poll Everywhere offers a great way for students to improve their class presentations, instructors to engage their students, and is a great alternative to costly clickers. It is truly a versatile resource that allows creativity to open the door to almost limitless possibilities. 

Steenbock Library is offering a Poll Everywhere Tech Talk on February 20 at 12 pm. Poll Everywhere is the perfect way to enhance your presentations and teaching opportunities. Tech Talks are completely free and take just 30 minutes, so it’s the perfect time to stop on by and learn something between classes. Steenbock offers many instruction opportunities and we encourage you to check out the Steenbock Workshop Schedule. We hope to see you at one soon!

A special thank you to Information Specialist Internship Program student Lucas Nicholson, for writing this guest post and designing the PollEverywhere workshop! 

Madison Reads Leopold, 2014

Visit the UW Arboretum for a special (9th annual) reading from Aldo Leopold’s seminal treatise on life in the natural world and conservation ethos, A Sand County Almanac, among other essays and inspired performances, Saturday, March 1 (beginning at 9:30 AM).

Consult the site for a complete schedule of essay selections and featured speakers from campus and community.   The "Madison Reads Leopold" events are free and open to the public.  The Arboretum Visitor Center is located at 1207 Seminole Highway.

For general information about this and other events, phone the UW-Arboretum Visitor Information Desk (608-263-7888) or visit its Website.

For related interest and inspiration, do review photos and text from the digitized Aldo Leopold Archives (UW Digital Collections)!

Grants Information Collection

Need funding to support your research or study?!  If so, we invite you to become acquainted with the Grants Information Collection as it celebrates its 30th Anniversary. 

The Grants Information Collection, housed in Memorial Library (2nd floor Reference,  Room 262 D/E), supplies access to print and online resources for finding information about fellowships, grants, scholarships and other funding opportunities for individuals, student organizations, and non-profits. The collection also has information on private and corporate foundations and federal funding agencies.  While the print collection does not circulate and must be used on-site, many of its online resources can be accessed from home, library, or office (off-campus access to licensed databases is restricted to registered students, faculty and staff).

The Grants Information Collection can also be used by the general public. Visitors to Memorial Library can obtain a day pass from the entrance desk.  For additional assistance or referral, speak with your Steenbock librarians, consult with Grants Collection Librarian, Ellen Jacks, or attend a Grants Collection workshop.

Visit the selection of library "Research Guides" dedicated to features and resources from this collection.

Garden Expo (Feb 7-9)

Plant, tend and harvest with the annual Garden Expo! The Expo will be held at the Exhibition Hall of the Alliant Energy Center, February 7-9, 2014. The Expo features exhibits, seminars and hands-on workshops for the gardener and landscaping enthusiast. Many of the presenters and hands-on consultants are staff with UW-Extension, Cooperative Extension.

Ticket prices, on-site, are $8.00 for a single day, $12.00 for two days and $17.00 for three days (advance ticket savings and a discount coupon are available from the Website). Admission proceeds support Wisconsin Public Television. See what’s new for 2014--including a special "beer-tasting and pairings event" with cookbook author, Lucy Saunders.

Among the featured presenters this year are gardening expert and author, Melinda Myers, and historian and author, Jerry Apps (look for their books in campus library collections).   "Garden Talk" host, Larry Meiller, and Horticulture Educator, Lisa Johnson, will entertain your gardening questions, on-stage.

Factor Steenbock Library into your garden planning. The library receives seed catalogs that can be found and browsed near the first floor vending area. Additionally, the library maintains an extensive collection of books about gardening, organic gardening, landscape design, composting, floriculture, and pest management, among other related topics. Consult with library staff for assistance locating and using these collections.