GC LITC Celebrates National Library Week by “Giving a Hoot!”

GC LITC Celebrates National Library Week by “Giving a Hoot!” National Library Week begins on April 8, 2012 and continues through April 14, 2012. This year’s theme is “You Belong @ Your Library.” The Georgia College Library & Instructional Technology Center will celebrate National Library Week by co-hosting a question and answer session with a New York Times bestselling author and by giving away t-shirts and a finals week “survival basket.” The LITC would also like to congratulate Vanessa Whited, a mass communications major who created the winning design for the 2012 LITC t-shirt! Whited’s submission features a wide-eyed night owl, because of the “late nights studying in the LITC [that] are an inevitable part of life at Georgia College.” Whited states that the slogan “‘I give a hoot about my library,’ highlights the fact that whomever wears the design sincerely cares about the LITC and the services it provides to campus. Even if the wearer isn’t a ‘night owl’ who studies into the late hours of the night, he or she can still acknowledge that they are appreciative of the LITC, and that they truly give a hoot!” Follow GCSU LITC on Facebook and be the first to answer a library-related question correctly for a chance to win a t-shirt or a basket of goodies guaranteed to help you through long nights of studying. T-shirts will also be given away during a drawing on Wednesday, April 11th, from 12pm until 5pm, on the second floor of the LITC. Co-hosted by the Georgia College Honors Program and the Library & Instructional Technology Center, Graphic novelist Robert Venditti will be available for a question and answer session on Tuesday, April 10th from 7:30pm to 8:30pm in the Pat Peterson Museum Education Room in the Georgia College Museum located at 221 N. Clarke Street in Milledgeville.

Bestselling graphic novelist Robert Venditti to speak with campus and community

Bestselling graphic novelist Robert Venditti to speak with campus and community Meet the renowned author of The Surrogates and Percy Jackson and the Olympians novels. The Georgia College community welcomes renowned graphic novel author Robert Venditti to campus. Co-hosted by the Georgia College Honors Program and the Library & Instructional Technology Center, Venditti will be available for a question and answer session on April 10th from 7:30pm to 8:30pm in the Pat Peterson Museum Education Room in the Georgia College Museum located at 221 N. Clarke Street in Milledgeville. Robert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author who has written graphic novels such as the Homeland Directive and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. His popular series, The Surrogates, was adapted into a feature film starring Bruce Willis. Venditti will meet with the students of Dr. Hank Edmondson’s “Politics, Comics and the Graphic Novel” class and the question and answer session at 7:30 is free and open to the public. Please contact Dr. Steven Elliott-Gower at (478) 445-1467 or steve.elliott-gower@gcsu.edu for more information.

Apple iBooks 2: Revolution in type, or further evolution in the transition to electronic text?

Nothing sets techies—and increasingly, the rest of the world— abuzz like a product announcement from Apple. With its penchant for secrecy and over–the-top product rollouts, Apple aficionados and the similarly tech savvy alike wait with baited breath to see if the California-based computer, software and mobile device manufacturer is unveiling its next iPad or simply an update to its Macintosh Operating System, OSX.

In January, Apple announced updates to its iBooks iPad application and a new iBooks Author application that will allow anyone with an Apple computer to create electronic books for distribution on Apple’s iBookstore. Combining these announcements with news of product partnerships with publishing companies Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and Pearson to bring inexpensive, auto-updating textbooks to the iPad and iBookstore, many commentators suspect Apple wants to light a fire under the textbook publishing industry the same way its iTunes store made the company a player in music distribution. 

“Now you can be the publisher,” education blogger, Nick Provenzano (TheNerdyTeacher.com) exclaimed in a column for Edutopia. “I'm most excited about this development. As an English teacher, I now have the ability to put together the stories, lessons, notes and links that I want and share it with my students. I can upload it to the iBookstore and even save it as a PDF. Students can have access to everything I want them to without having to deal with the excess material that I do not use in our textbook.”

Giving voice to what the announcement could mean for higher education, Georgia College’s own Dr. Frank Lowney writes that the tools afforded educators through the iBooks Author application could do more than simply remove heavy textbooks from students’ backpacks.

“For the first time in history, colleges and universities fully control the means of eTextbook production, start to finish, inception to delivery,” he writes on his Thinking About Tomorrow blog. “They need no help in producing world class eTextbooks. The seeds of revolution are in hand.”

But Lowney, who has spent years working on and writing about the transition to electronic publishing, says the electronic textbook revolution will not take place unless it firmly implants itself into the minds of would be revolutionaries:

Having in hand the means of production is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for this revolution to actually occur. [Subject Matter Experts] are essential to this process and have had opportunities to dis-intermediate the publishing industry before but didn't do it. Why didn't that happen and why might that not happen in the near future? The answer and therefore the enemy of this revolution, is institutional tradition.

Lowney contends that the ability to create iBooks does little to implement etextbooks as a classroom standard without a corresponding set of standards for incentivizing content creation. The iBookstore model improves the revenue sharing model for authors—70% of sales instead of 25% royalties—but that won’t foment a revolution of electronic textbook publishing should institutions of higher education decide not to recognize these self-published etexts when considering their authors for promotion and tenure.

To that end, Apple’s iBook announcement does little to address the challenge at the heart of the transition to electronic texts: There is no shortage of platforms on which audiences can consume information, but there is yet to be the quality content that turns one platform into a standard and makes that platform a necessity for the consumer. 

The invention of the printing press did not force monks to lay down their pens; it was the popularity of the Gutenberg Bible that set history in type.

The partnerships Apple announced with top-shelf publishers in the education marketplace show that the company knows consumers will not use these tools if there is no quality content to be had using them. But Apple has never made any claims to be content provider; they simply perfect the tools content creators must have to make their next masterpiece. 

If you’re curious about the platforms the readers of the future will be using to enjoy their favorite texts, the Georgia College Library offers a number of ebooks through GALILEO and EBSCOhost. And the Instructional Technology Center has 50 iPad 2s available for checkout to Georgia College students. So, read your next novel or textbook in electronic format and let us know your thoughts on the future of the book in the comments section below.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss and Read Across America Day!

First Guest Blogger- The Career Center!

Making the Most of Career Fairs

Our GC Career Expo and Interview Day will be on Monday, March 5 at the Student Activities Center – Magnolia Ballroom. The Career Expo portion of the event offers open networking time to all students and alumni from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.   Pre-scheduled interviews will occur from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. with companies such as GEICO, Sherwin Williams, Peace Corps, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Waffle House, Northridge, and Bulk Chemical Services.  Most interview schedules have been filled through Career Connection; however, YMCA Camp Lakeside will schedule interviews for summer camp counselors as they talk to students during the career fair.

Job fairs, such as the Career Expo, are an excellent opportunity to meet recruiters from various companies and industries in one location. Whether you seek employment or internships, part-time or summer jobs, or just career information, preparing for a career fair is just like preparing for a job interview. So, before you go to the GC Career Expo, here are some important tips to help you succeed.

Before the Fair:

1.       Research. Find out what organizations will be attending. You can see a list of participating organizations by logging in or registering in Career Connection at www.gcsu.edu/career.  Review the types of positions they are offering. Visit their company’s website and review their mission and vision statement, and any other pertinent information to help you develop a clear picture of what they are about. Use Google to search for additional information on your companies of interest.

2.       Identify your skills. When reading job descriptions, be able to decipher your skills and qualifications, and how they match up with the skills needed for the position.

3.       Develop open-ended questions to ask recruiters. Avoid asking “yes” or “no” questions. Sample questions you could ask:

·         What experience might I have as an intern in your organization?

·         What skills do you look for in a candidate?

·         What type of previous work experiences do you look for in candidates?

·         When is the best time to apply for an internship?

·         What are typical entry-level positions for someone with my major, skills and experience?

·         Word of Advice:  Never ask them, “What do you have for my major?”  Instead, be able to tell the recruiter how the skills you have from your major will benefit the company.

4.       Make copies of your resume using resume paper. Also, bring extra copies just in case there are companies who may have signed up to attend at the last minute. Visit the Career Center to have your resume reviewed by our friendly staff.

5.       Develop your 30 second introduction speech. It should include identifiable information about yourself such as your name, major and/or career interests, and class year.  It should also include your knowledge of the company and how your skills and background matches the company’s needs. It might look like, “Hello, my name is Amy Dixon, a junior marketing major at Georgia College. I am looking for a summer internship and I read your website that your organization has an internship program in your marketing department, and I've done some project work that I believe gave me skills related to the internship work.  What skills do you seek in a potential intern?”

6.       Choose your professional attire and accessories. Be sure your shoes are polished and clothes are pressed and clean. Professional accessories like a portfolio pad are good for carrying your resumes, notepad, and a pen.

During the Fair:

1.       Gauge the room. Entering a career fair can be a bit overwhelming and intimidating; so, to ease your nerves, walk around the room. Most career fairs will provide you with a locator map. Highlight your top companies on the map.

2.       Watch your body language and mannerisms. When you approach the recruiter, give him/her a firm handshake and make direct eye contact. Stand up straight, speak up and speak clearly. Don’t forget to smile.

3.       Inquire about the company’s recruitment process. Ask about open positions that you researched through their website, the anticipated time frame for the application process, and any other questions you have regarding employment. Feel free to ask any questions you have prepared regarding the organization. Ask the recruiter if you can contact him/her after the fair to follow up. Don’t forget to take notes!

4.       Gather information, business cards, and promotional materials at each booth. Sometimes companies have goodies such as pens and notepads.  However, be respectful and take materials once you have talked to the company about opportunities.

5.       Have an open mind. You may have your list of ten companies you want to talk to at the event, but, talk to other recruiters who may not be busy. You may be surprised to learn about their opportunities. At the very least, you can continue practicing the art of initiating conversations.

6.       Remember to network. Career fairs are all about networking. Naturally, you will connect with recruiters, but you can also network with fellow job seekers concerning job leads and companies. The more you talk to others about your job search, the bigger and stronger your network becomes.

After the Fair:

1.       Reflect. Assess your experience. How well did you interact with the recruiters and what were the results? Is there anything you could have done differently? Make notes so you can be prepared for the next career fair.

2.       Send a thank you note. Within a week, send a thank you note via email or mail to the recruiter. Reiterate your interest in the company and state you will follow up with a phone call. You can also enclose a cover letter and a copy of your resume.

3.       Check Career Connection at www.gcsu.edu/career about follow-up opportunities.  The company might post a job on Career Connection or set-up a campus interview schedule.

For more information on career fair preparation or other career development topics, schedule an appointment with a career advisor at the Career Center in 132 Lanier Hall or call 445-5384.