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Educational Media

This three-times-a-year newsletter is published by the  Renton Technical College    Library. It is intended to spotlight issues regarding the use of  educational media—videos, DVDs, audiotapes, software, and other electronic resources. If you have any questions or suggestions for topics, please call the library at  (425) 235-2331, or  email  Laura Staley at  lstaley@RTC.edu .

The library is located at: 3000 NE Fourth St, Renton, WA 98056

Most teachers have had the experience of reading an assignment and realizing with dismay that the paper probably isn’t the student's work.  But how do you  prove  that it’s  plagiarism? 

One way is to find the source they plagiarized. When students copied from books, it was often time-consuming and difficult to prove. Today however, students are more likely to copy from the Internet or online magazine articles. These sources make it both easier to cheat, and easier to catch the cheater. Searching the RTC Library databases my help find the original source of plagiarized material.

To search for the original source, pick a phrase or two that seem least likely to be the student’s work.  An unusual combination of words works best.

Then chose a database. The RTC Library  EBSCOhost  databases are useful if the article on a medical topic.  ProQuest and eLibrary are good for all topics.   (It doesn’t hurt to try several databases.  ProQuest and eLibrary’s cover medical topics, too.)

Enclose the phrase in double quotes “like this”. Search for the phrase.  Make sure that you search the document text, not just the citation and abstract.  If you find an article that use the phrase,  you may have found the student’s source. 

If you don’t find it in an online database, try searching Google. If you still can’t find it, consider contacting an RTC Librarian. We may be able to help you find the copied work, as time permits.

Exhausted by trying to figure out if your student is attempting to cite a book or a magazine article?  Tired of having to teach them how to accurately cite web sites and encyclopedias?  Introduce them  to NoodleBib, on the RTC Library’s database page,  and take the hard work out of proper APA or MLA citation.

When you use NoodleBib, you simply choose the correct citation style (APA or MLA), select the right citation (for web pages, books, articles, and all combinations of the above) type in the information for each item, and let the program do the spacing, italicizing, and parentheses for you.

NoodleBib will even save the list for up to 12 months if you register,  or allow you or your students to share it with anyone you designate.

NoodleBib is available through the RTC library online databases page: http://www.rtc.edu/library/database.htm.

The library offers instruction in using NoodleBib.  If you’d like to schedule your class for a workshop, please call Debbie Crumb at (425) 235-2331 or X5678. 

Did you know there’s probably an RTC Library web page devoted to your program?  Go to the Library website (http://www.rtc.edu/library/) click on Program Links, and then click on the name of your program, and see what we have.

We’ve tried to collect between 10 and 20 useful links for each discipline. We looked for websites of professional organizations, where your students can find job leads and information about continuing education; for glossaries of industry terms;  and for links to information about safety and health on the job. And of course there’s a link to the official RTC pages with information about your program and your contact information. If we know of an additional program web page, we included that, too.

We also link to the professional bulletin boards that exist for almost every discipline.

There is often a link search  the RTC Library catalog and show you lists of videos or books on your subject. You may also find lists of industry journals and magazines  we carry for your program.

We’d like your help to make these pages better. You are the subject expert: if you know of a site that you think should be listed, please let us know.