Guest Blogger Post – Research Made Easy: Top 5 Online Citation Tools

Whether you are writing a college paper in APA, MLA or another format, there are many rules to abide by when citing sources. Luckily, there are online tools that can help you to create proper citations and bibliographies. By using the sites below, you can focus more of your time and energy on actual research and composition.

 

1. BibMe – This is a fully automated, free bibliography tool. By simply entering a book’s title, author or ISBN into the search tool, BibMe will create a bibliography. You can even choose between APA, MLA, Chicago or Turabian formats.
2. Citation Machine – This is one of the oldest citation tools on the Web and is commonly used by students and educators worldwide. Here, you can easily create proper bibliographic and in-text citations for free. It supports MLA, APA, Chicago and Turabian formats.
3. NoodleBib – This is both a note-taking software and bibliographic composer. NoodleBib is considered to be one of the most comprehensive MLA and APA citation tools. However, it is only available to paid subscribers.
4. Citation Creation Machine – This free MLA and APA citation tool from StudentABC is user-friendly and makes Website citations particularly simple.
5. Zotero – This open source Firefox extension allows users to collect, manage and cite references while conducting online research. The tool is integrated with your Web browser for maximum convenience.

 

Even the most seasoned researcher can make the odd mistake when citing references. Some standards even change from time to time, making the tools above even more valuable. A reliable bibliographic and in-text citation builder will save you time and give you more confidence in your research papers.

  

Heather Johnson is a freelance writer as well as a regular feature contributor for Distance Degrees.com, a website which helps students in getting distance learning degrees. Heather invites your writing job inquiries as well as comments and questions at her email address: heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

Legal Education at a distance

We tried out Adobe Connect today.  Several students from the Legal Profession class took their laptops and headphones and went into another room to attend class.

It worked!! The professor connected a USB microphone to her laptop, logged into her site and elaborated on her PowerPoint slides.  This was set up through Adobe Connect.

We even recorded the presentation for those students who were absent from class:  http://connectpro56767280.acrobat.com/p59164443/

UChicago Law Turns Off Internet in Classrooms

I read about this in a post on the Above the Law blog – http://www.abovethelaw.com/2008/03/hey_teacher_leave_those_kids_a.php but more interesting are the 123 comments to this post.

Many of the students seem to point the finger to the professors who, according to them, are boring and do not engage the students and the students have to resort the Internet.

Comments?

Students on their laptops in class.

 

Go Green!

I convinced a prof today to use TWEN instead of handing out a in-class practice essay exam and having students write their answers and pass them in.

I uploaded the question to the TWEN course site where it would appear during class. Students just had to bring their laptop to class to answer the question, save it as a .doc. and then go to the Assignment Box and submit it.  In addition, the question was projected onto the screen while they were working.  The professor now goes into the TWEN gradebook when he has access to the submissions.  He records a grade for the essay which is emailed to the student.

NO PAPER!!! Yeah!

How Professors Are Using Technology: a Report From the Trenches

There was an interesting article (http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i30/30b02101.htm ) last Friday in The Chronicle on Higher Education – This is the intro:

When it comes to how to use technology in the classroom, professors and administrators aren’t always on the same page. Nor are professors themselves always in agreement. At The Chronicle’s Technology Forum, a panel of faculty members from several Florida institutions (including Stetson University College of Law) spoke about their IT frustrations and successes. Jeffrey J. Selingo, editor of The Chronicle, and Goldie Blumenstyk, a senior writer, served as moderators. Following are excerpts from the discussion.