Improve your communication skills

Communication forms the basis of human interaction. Our relationships, our education, our employment, our business transactions and our entertainment all rely on communication in one form or another. 

Therefore effective, unambiguous communication is a fundamental skill; everyone should try to master it, particularly when applying for jobs.

Career specialist website MindTools.com have compiled a collection of articles that give some good advice on developing your communication skills. They cover a wide topic area such as communication in person, communicating in writing, communication in meetings, presentations, cross-cultural communication and negotiation.

Talk quietly in the library!

 

Libraries mean different things to different people. To some it is just the place they go to pick up the books they need for an assignment and then leave again; to others it is a place to go to use the computers and to many others it is  the place to go for some quiet study time.

Unfortunately the library is not always as quiet as one would expect it to be. The traditional books-only library is now home to computers, photocopiers, self issue machines and patrons who carry mobile phones and laptop computers with them. However, the single biggest challenge to maintaining quiet is people talking.

Libraries are not the place to be if you want to have a chat and a laugh with a group of people, nor is it the place to have loud group discussions.

The library in ITB has 3 noise zones.

The Green area allows for collaboration among students; but this does not mean students can shout at the top of their voices and laugh their heads off  here. This area is for productive collaboration among students at a reasonable volume; it is not a social area to be used like the pub or the canteen.

The Orange zone is a quiet area. This means students must work individually and keep any talking to an absolute minimum i.e. a low whisper. There are computers in this area, but only one student can use it at a time - no group work is allowed. 

The Red Zone is a separate room in the library where students must work in absolute silence

Please respect the library for what it is; a library.

Students who do not co-operate will be asked to leave the library

Ever wished someone would read your notes to you?

We all learn in different ways – some of us prefer to read information, some of us prefer to listen to it.  If you learn best by listening, then you should know about a tool called Speech Maker, which is a feature of Read and Write Gold software!

Available on all the PCs in the library, Read and Write Gold software is an easy-to-use toolbar that supports all students in their reading, writing and research.  When you double-click on the Read and Write Gold icon on the desktop, it launches the toolbar that sits at top of your screen until you need it!

One of the more nifty tools is called Speech Maker.  This allows you to highlight text (from a Word document, a PDF, a webpage etc) and convert it into an audio file (like a music track, only with spoken words).  This file can easily be transferred to your MP3 player or listened to via your laptop or PC.  Have a look at this video to see just how easy it is! 

 

Questions about your rights or entitlements?

The Citizens Information Centre can provide you with many of the answers you need.......

and they will be on campus tomorrow (foyer of C Block from 11am – 2.30pm)

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/

Have a look at their website to see the type of information they provide - matters such as education, housing, social welfare, health, consumer affairs and family law.

You can also visit them, at their Blanchardstown office, on Snugboro Road…

For those of you doing ECDL.....

...Or those of you who just want to improve your computer skills...

Teach-ICT.com is a good free source of tutorial and course guide material

http://www.teach-ict.com/ecdl_home.html

Here you’ll find  course material and test questions to supplement your preparation for the ECDL exam.

The materials here were developed for syllabus 4.0. and there is now a syllabus 5.0. Whilst some of the materials are out of date, the tasks for modules such as Word Processing, Spreadsheets and Databases are still relevant.

Even if you are not doing the ECDL Course, or you are just technically challenged...the site is a useful place to find out stuff about computers...

It's National Libraries Day!

Today would be a good day to:

• browse the fiction books
• borrow a DVD for the weekend
• plan your next break with a travel book
• read the biography of your favourite star
• mull over a newspaper or magazine

Your library.  Use it.  Love it.  Join it!

Printing PowerPoint slides

Students often ask about how to print off PowerPoint slides from their lectures. Usually, they will want to print more than one slide per sheet.

Here is how to do it!

Open the PowerPoint Presentation.

You may need to enable editing before you can print it. This will appear in a yellow bar at the top of the screen, If this appears, click 'Enable Editing'


Go to the File Menu

Click on Print

From main window, under Settings, from the section Handouts, select number of slides per page as required

When you have chosen the required amount, click Print in the left hand column. You will then get a printout of multiple slides on one sheet.