Library hours during the June examination period

The North Campus Library of the NMMU will stay open for an additional 2 hours per day during the June examination period (3-21 June 2013):

Mon-Thurs: 08:30-22:00
Fri:              09:00-22:00
Sat:             09:00-19:00
Sun:           14:00-20:00

Please note that the library will be closed on 16 and 17 June 2013.

Students: strategies on revising for the exams

ILS Matters published Tips on revision and also added the following two links which may help:

Study skills advice sheet (University of Worcester): Revision and exam skills.
Revision techniques - the good, the OK and the useless by Deborah Cohen (Health Check, BBC World Service).

Having trouble with memorising?

With exams around the corner, students may be interested in the piece written by staff writers of the OEDb - Open Education Database called The Memory Toolbox: 75 Tips and Resources to Go from Amnesic to Elephantic. In brief, quoting from the blog, the main points are:

• Be in the Moment
• Create a Learning Environment
• Use All Your Senses
• Use Mnemonic Devices
• Organize
• Overlearn
• Retain a Positive Attitude
• Exercise Regularly
• Manage stress
• Other Good habits

Motivational links at the start of the 2nd term

Welcome back to staff and students at the start of the 2nd term! Here are a few motivational links to help you through the 2nd term:

11 Ways Successful People Start Their Mornings
Quoting from the article, the main points in brief are:

• Get an early start 
• Review your Focus list
• Review your TO-DON’T list
• Exercise
• Eat a healthy breakfast
• Kiss your partner goodbye
• Practice 15 minutes of positive visualization
• Put first things first
• Eat that frog
• Connect with the right people
• Stay informed  

Don't Let Your Strengths Become Your Weaknesses by Robert B. Kaiser and Robert E. Kaplan  (HBR Blog Network)

7 Timeless Tips That Will Supercharge Your Body, Mind, And Soul
From the article, the main points are:

• Drink Water
• Eliminate Sugar
• Gluten-Intolerant?
• Mini-Exercises
• Breathe
• Socialize
• Release

7 Productivity Links Worth Your Time (Copyblogger)

3 Tips for Dealing with Disappointment
The main headings are:

• Trust
• Release
• Expand

How to Use Temptation to Strengthen Your Willpower (HBR Blog Network)

How to Beat a Bad Day Before It Starts (Lifehacker)
From the article, the main headings are:

• The False Start
• Awareness is Key
• Believing the Unbelievable
• Some Bad Days Cannot Be Beaten

Don't Sabotage Yourself (HBR Blog Network)

From the article the main four steps to overcome self-handicapping:

• Watch for the warning signs. 
• Use "what-ifs" and "if-onlys" to help you generate goals instead of excuses. 
• Recognize and manage your negative emotions. 
• Go for mastery. 

The bad news about Google Reader

If you have been using Google Reader to read RSS, you probably know by now that it is going to shut down on the 1st of July 2013. In case you have not yet decided on what to do with your feeds or how to migrate your feeds to a new reader, here are some links to help you:


Google To Close Google Reader On July 1 by Danny Sullivan

3 Great Alternatives To Gooogle Reader and How to Transfer Your Feeds Before The Shut Down by Ellyssa Kroski

RIP, Google Reader: How To Export Your Feeds, Plus 5 Alternative RSS Readers by Adriana Lee

So Long and Goodbye: Google Will Discontinue Google Reader This Summer by Gary Price

Alternatives to Google Reader - OJB comment call (spreadsheet of alternatives listing pro's and con's, etc.)

Google Reader Is Shutting Down; Here Are the Best Alternatives by Whitson Gordon (Lifehacker)

Google Reader – what next? by Karen Blakeman

What’s the Best RSS Reader Not Named Google Reader? by Casey Chan

Google Reader Retires July 1st: Options for When Google Sucks by Stephen Abram (a good list of links)

20 Alternatives to Google Reader by Phil Bradley

Moving from Google Reader (back) to Bloglines: How-to by Michael (The Travelin' Librarian)

Engineering and ICT students: interested in a free course?

Have a look at the Free Online Engineering & Computer Science Courses. OEDb (Open Education Database) lists nearly 10,000 free courses that covers many subject areas (Free Online Open Courses). "Download these audio & video courses straight to your computer or mp3 player."

Free trials available

Lectures have started today and I want to wish all NMMU staff and students all the best for the year!

Maney Publishing has provided free online access to all journals in the Materials Science & Engineering Collection until 18 February 2013. The feature is called ‘Free Access 14.’ To sign-up for this access you can do so here. Login details will be emailed to you. 

NMMU libraries currently have a free trial to the following from EBSCOhost:

• Audiobook Collection 
• Academic Search Complete eBook Collection. This is a companion collection to the Academic Search Complete journal article database. The package contains a large selection of multidisciplinary eBook titles. 
• eBook IT Core Trial
• eBook Engineering Core Trial

The trail will last until the end of June 2013. Access is available in EBSCOhost on the same web page where databases can be selected.