Dr. Theresa M. Mastrodonato

Dr. Theresa M. Mastrodonato (Center) is pictured with her Dissertation Committee Members (Left to Right) Dr. Kelly Hall (Chair), Dr. William Childs, Dr. Suzanne McCoskey, and Dr. Lea Messman-Mandicott. 

Theresa successfully defended her dissertation: Perceptions of Academic Librarians Regarding Supporting Distance Education Students and Meeting National Standards November 17 to partially meet program requirements for the Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership degree with specialization in Higher Education Leadership that will be conferred at December’s Commencement.

If you see Dr. Mastrodonato in the Ort Library, please congratulate her. 

New Guide for Distance Online/Distance Students

The Lewis J. Ort Library would like to introduce a new resource for students who are in online only programs (distance students). A new guide has been created to provide one place for online students to find information about accessing the library.

Even though students may not be able to physically come to the library, we want everyone to know that the Ort Library is still available by providing access to resources and services students will need to complete their studies. The library provides resources and services that distance students can access from anywhere that works best for them.

Students who attend at a distance can access:

·         OneSearch and Subject Specific Databases

·         E-books

·         Online Periodicals (scholarly/peer-reviewed, popular magazines, newspapers)

·         Online Encyclopedias (Credo Reference and Gale Virtual Reference Library)

·         Interlibrary Loan

·         Reference and Research Assistance (phone, e-mail, 24/7 chat, in-person)

·         Tutorials

This guide can also be used for anyone who works from off-campus. It provides information on how to access resources and services from off-campus, including how to log into OneSearch and other databases with your 14 digit barcode.

The guide can be found at the following link: http://libguides.frostburg.edu/distancestudents

You can also access the guide from the library’s home page. The link for this new guide is under the Quick Links section of the home page, under the link Distance Ed Students.

If you have any questions, please contact Theresa Mastrodonato (tmmastrodonato@frostburg.edu or 301-687-4425) or the Reference Desk (libref@frostburg.edu or 301-687-4424).

Symposium Held At Virtual Ort Library in Second Life!

On Dec. 3, the "other" Ort Library on the FSU BobCats Islands sim in the virtual world of Second Life was the venue for the symposium Virtual Expanses: Expanding Virtual Education. The symposium was organized and hosted by Peace Dragovar (Dr. Minnie Ladores, FSU Educational Technology Coordinator, Education Professions Dept.) and Florian Blaisdale (Dr. Sean Henry, Library Webmaster/Coordinator for Library Instruction). Among the thirty attendees were several FSU undergraduate and graduate students studying Educational Technology and Online Instruction.



The Symposium featured lively, interactive presentations by three inspiring leaders in the field of virtual education:

1. Lyr Lobo (Dr. Cynthia Calongne, Professor and Chair of Emerging Media at Colorado Technical University) - Lyr presented strategies and resources for gaming in education. Many of Lyr's recent presentations can be viewed at http://www.slideshare.net/lyrlobo/presentations.
   
   
2. Diantha Petrov (Lori Wahl, Instructor of Clothing, Textiles and Design at the University of Idaho Consultant) - Diantha spoke about successes and strategies with Second Life for distance education, and disccussed future ideas and the challenges of creating immersive learning environments.
   
   
3. Spiff Whitfield (Andrew M. Wheelock, K-12 Educator, Leader in the International Society for Technology in Education's Special Interest Group for Virtual Edication, and Founder of Virtual Pioneers) - Spiff shared his adventures as a "Virtual Pioneer,"visiting historical sims and reimagining how history can be taught in virtual worlds. A video of his recent keynote address at the 2013 Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education Conference is accessible at http://youtu.be/XutJqb5F9QQ

In addition to the stimulating presentations, Florian Blaisdale hosted a trivia game with linden cash prizes for attendees in the Game Tent outside the Library. The Symposium came to a sparkling conclusion with dancing to beautiful music provided by FSU's own Dhrua (Dr. Sally Stephenson, Associate Professor of Education Professions).

The Virtual Expanses Conference on FSU's Second Life BobCat Islands was an astounding success, but just wait until next semester!