You don't need Microsoft Office to be effective...

If you travel a lot, need to work on a collaborative project, or are trying to live a "paper-free" life, then here are two websites for you!

Use these sites to create faux Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents...

http://docs.google.com - you can share documents with other people, track editting, and even save the documents to your desktop as the appropriate Microsoft file. It's magic!

and

http://www.zoho.com/

Zoho offers an even broader array of products, including web conferencing and a planner function.

Yeah for online productivity!

Recommended Search Tool: Stumbleupon

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

The above link is for a site called Stumbleupon. The tool (which you need to download) will help track your searches and find you other websites similar to what you've been looking for.

You can also find people searching for similar topics and keep track of the resources they find. It makes the research process a bit easier.

Don't Know Much About...Plagiarism

Plagiarism can sometimes be hard to recognize. Take a look at these sites to ensure that the papers and projects you take part in are not inadvertently plagiarized.

The Plagiarism Education Site - http://www.plagiarism.org/

Online Writing Lab at Purdue University - http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/

For more information, check out the MLA, Turabian, Chicago or other style manual of your choice.

PowerPoint Is Our Friend...

Here is a great article from Microsoft's Crabby Office Lady that is geared towards high school teachers. It might also provide inspiration to college and seminary staff, so take a look! Many neat ideas...

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/HA101757161033.aspx

Understanding Religions: A Book Club

Here is the upcoming schedule for the Understanding Religions Book Club:

Feb. 28 - I Like Being Catholic: Treasured Traditions, Rituals, and Stories by Michael Leach and Therese Bourchard

Mar. 18 - Rumspringa - To Be Or Not To Be Amish by Tom Shactman

Apr. 17 - First You Shave Your Head by Geri Larkin (Buddhism)

All meetings start at 7:00 PM in the Upper Level of the Library. Please come with your copy of the book and your thoughts, reflections, and questions about the book and the particular religion.

You can join us for one or all of the books. Please reserve your spot by calling 248-706-4211.