Resources - February 2015
Welcome to our resources section.
We’ll be discussing a lot of useful resources for you to check out at Student Hub Live so we’ll be posting them here for you to go back to. If you have a useful resource that you think we should post here let us know in the live chat.
Links from the Q&A session:
Scratch - http://scratch.mit.edu/
Cleveret - http://cleveret.net/?page_id=29
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Links for the International Development session:
OpenWASH - https://www.open.ac.uk/about/international-development/ido-africa/develo...
HEAT Programme - https://www.open.ac.uk/africa/heat/
TESS-India - https://www.open.ac.uk/about/international-development/ido-asia/TESS-India
Lassa fever research podcast - http://podcast.open.ac.uk/pod/Lassa
iSpot - http://www.ispotnature.org/communities/uk-and-ireland
Research at the OU - https://www.open.ac.uk/research/main/
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The Open University
Find out more about The Open University.
OU Brainwave app - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ac.uk.openuniversity.brain...
OU Annotate - http://learn1.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=6244§ion=1
OU Facts and figures - https://www.open.ac.uk/about/main/strategy/facts-and-figures
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For loads of hints and tips to help with your study, visit the following pages:
- Skills for OU Study
- Library training and events
Library: Images and sound - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/library-resources/images-and-sound
Library: Biographies - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/library-resources/biographies
Library: Selected resources for your study - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/library-resources/selected-resources-for-...
The following resources will be discussed in the Study Skills Hub Live sessions:
Writing in your own words:
• StudentHome Help Centre http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/help
Search or browse for answers to a wide variety of questions to do with being an OU student.
• Skills for OU Study: Writing in your own words http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/skillsforstudy/writing-in-your-own-words...
Find out how to paraphrase - an essential part of writing university assignments. Includes an activity that gets you to paraphrase an extract from Jamie Oliver’s book, Jamie’s Italy.
• Library video: avoiding plagiarism https://www.open.ac.uk/library/library-videos/avoiding-plagiarism
Bob discovers what plagiarism is and how Library Services can help him avoid it!
• OU Harvard guide to citing references https://www.open.ac.uk/libraryservices/resource/lil:x443&f=27318
This guide provides practical advice and examples to help you create references for information sources using the Open University (OU) Harvard style.
• Being digital: avoiding plagiarism pathway https://www.open.ac.uk/libraryservices/beingdigital/pathways/13/6
Learn to recognise what plagiarism is, the forms it can take and how to avoid it by developing your skills. Includes a quiz to test your knowledge.
• Facebook Live Q&A on referencing
https://www.facebook.com/events/1541469582774747/
• Developing Good Academic Practices: Writing in your own words http://learn1.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=6573
Listen to OU academic David Mayle outlining his expectations of students writing in their own words.
• Developing academic English http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/help/developing-academic-english
These brief tutorials are specifically aimed at students looking for support and guidance to improve their academic English. It focuses particularly on how to enhance your writing skills.
Ebooks - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/library-resources/ebooks and Understanding ebooks - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/help-and-support/understanding-ebooks
Bibliographic management - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/help-and-support/bibliographic-management
Library helpdesk - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/help-and-support
SCONUL access - https://www.open.ac.uk/library/help-and-support/libraries-near-you
Setting yourself up for study:
• StudentHome https://msds.open.ac.uk/students/
• StudentHome Help Centre http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/help/
• Are you ready? Checklist http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/new/orientation-ug/are-you-ready-checkli...
• Developing Good Academic Practices http://learn1.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=100043
• Being Digital https://www.open.ac.uk/libraryservices/beingdigital/
• Library Training sessions https://www.open.ac.uk/library/training-and-events
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Use Student Home as a central hub to view your course module and find resources such as the careers advisory, library services, study support and more.
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OpenLearn gives you free access to learning materials from The Open University. We launched OpenLearn back in October 2006 thanks to a grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. It started with our shared vision of free online education, open to anyone, anywhere in the world. OpenLearn is the result and we have since reached over 23 million people.
Order your free print items - https://www.open.edu/openlearn/get-started/order-your-free-print-items
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FutureLearn, launched by The Open University, is a platform for MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). It enables people from the UK and around the world to have access to some of the country’s top universities. You can choose to study from a range of courses for free.
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Find out more about the Rosetta mission on our Rosetta research page.
Watch Monica Grady’s reaction when it seemed that the Philae lander had touched down safely on the comet http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30022765
The discovery last week of the smallest known moon, orbiting an asteroid that passed close to the Earth http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4459
Meet Dave Rothery and his research on Mercury https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/meet-the-academi...
Mythbusting moons https://www.open.edu/openlearn/moonmyths
Lunar Mission One http://lunarmissionone.com/
LM1 podcast - http://bit.ly/1IMR9Ik
European Space Agency - http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Rosetta
FutureLearn: Moons - https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/moons
David Rothery http://science-people.open.ac.uk/d.a.rothery
Mahesh Anand https://www.open.ac.uk/planetarygeology/
Moon-inspired music on Spotify - https://play.spotify.com/user/futurelearn/playlist/0yYFqDop3sxO1lPU1QMGKD
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There are lots of online groups where fellow OU students get together to chat. Have a look at some of the following links:
- The Open University - Social Sciences
- Arts Faculty
- The Open University
North East Social Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/SocialCafeNorth/
East Midlands Social Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/OuEastMidlandsSocialGroup/?fref=ts
Disability Support Group- https://www.facebook.com/groups/133259070084251/
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The OU Computer Club recommends the following free programs. These have been tried and tested by existing students, but as always, when downloading from the internet please ensure your internet security is up to date before downloading anything.
- Cloud storage - Dropbox www.dropbox.com/gs
- Malware scanner - Malware Bytes www.malwarebytes.org/mwb-download/
- Office package - Open Office www.open office.org/
- Office package - Libra Office www.libraoffice.org
- PDF Reader - Foxit www.foxitsoftware.com/secure_PDF_Reader/
- e-books - bookboon www.bookboon.com
- Mind mapping software - Freemind www.freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/mainpage
- Reference manager - Mendeley www.mendeley.com
- Task Manager - Wunderlist www.wunderlist.com/
- Multimedia Player - VideoLAN www.videolan.org/vlc/index.en_GB.html
- Universal library card - Sconul Library card www.sconul.ac.uk/sconul-access
- Study planner - My study life www.mystudylife.com/
- Facebook Group: Open University Computer Club
- Facebook Page: OUSA Open University Computer Club Page
- Website: www.ousa-computerclub.org
- Twitter: ITsupport_OU
OU Computer Club Links:
