Google Cultural Institute

Google Cultural Institute features art and historical exhibits and collections from archives and museums around the world. In addition to digitized materials, Google Cultural Institute offers World Wonders, which uses Street View technology to allow you to virtually navigate modern and ancient world heritage sites, such as Borobudur and Mont Blanc.

If you’re looking for primary sources, a research topic, or a virtual field trip, Google Cultural Institute is worth a look.

Find more primary source collections (including archival newsreels, local collections, maps of Illinois, and more) on the BenU Library’s Academic Databases: Primary Sources page.

Create a My EBSCOhost Account

Why set up a My EBSCOhost account?

With a My EBSCOhost account, you can save articles and organize them into folders, save searches, and set up search and journal email alerts. More than 30 library databases live on the EBSCOhost platform, including Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, ERIC, Business Source, MLA, Newspaper Source, PsycARTICLES, and SPORTDiscus.

How do I set up an account?

1. Access any EBSCOhost database (e.g., Academic Search Complete) via the Library website.
2. Once you’re in the database, click Sign In up in the top blue bar.
3. Click Create a New Account and follow the prompts.

Need some help? Ask a BenU Librarian

Visualize government data with the new Data USA

Data USA is a new visualization engine that aggregates public government datasets from various US departments and educational institutions.

Search by location, industry, occupation, or education field. You can share, embed, or download visualizations.

Data USA is a project of Deloitte, Datawheel, and Cesar Hidalgo, Professor at the MIT Media Lab and Director of MacroConnections. The visualizations in Data USA are powered by D3plus.

Data USA automatically generates visualizations–and they can be useful (and fun) to explore. If, however, you’re looking for raw US Government datasets for research or to create your own data visualizations, check out Data.gov.

Save time with 20 lesser-known PC keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to increase precision and productivity. Chances are you already use a few, such as CTRL + v to paste, CTRL + z to undo, and CTRL + s to save. But there are plenty of lesser-known Windows PC shortcuts that you may find just as useful. Below are some of my favorites:

(Image: CC0 Public Domain)

General shortcuts

• Alt + Tab – Switch between open applications
• Windows key + L – Lock your PC
• Windows key + Right arrow – Snap a window to the right side of the screen (Windows key + Left arrow – Snap a window to the left side of the screen)
• Windows key + Up arrow – Maximize a window (Windows key + Down arrow – Minimize a window)
• Windows key + m – Minimize all windows (Windows key + Shift + m – Restore all minimized windows)

Web browser shortcuts

• CTRL + f – Find
• CTRL + t – Open a new browser tab
• CTRL + Shift + t – Restore the last browser tab you closed
• Alt + Left arrow – Back (Alt + Right arrow – Forward)
• CTRL + Plus key – Zoom in (CTRL + Minus key – Zoom out)
• CTRL + 0 – Return to 100% zoom
• Home key – Jump to top of page (End key – Jump to bottom of page)
• CTRL + d – Bookmark a page

Microsoft Word shortcuts

• Shift + Arrow – Highlight text (To select entire words rather than individual characters each time you press the arrow key, also hold down CTRL)
• CTRL + f – Find
• CTRL + k – Insert hyperlink
• CTRL + scroll up with mouse wheel – Zoom in (CTRL + scroll down with mouse wheel – Zoom out)
• CTRL + Backspace – Delete entire word to left of cursor
• Shift + F7 – Open thesaurus
• CTRL + Shift + g – Check word count

Find more >>

Jerusalem.com Apps for Easter

                  

With Easter just around the corner, here are two apps that present a new way of “visiting” a few of the sites most closely associated with the holiday. The Gethsemane 3D and Garden Tomb 3D apps, both produced by Jerusalem.com (the company has created a number of other apps related to important sites in the Holy City) allow one to take a walk-through tour, at either a brisk pace or a leisurely stroll. As on a real tour, one can stop and learn more about each part of a site, including background on the significance of various locations to Christians worldwide. Adding to the “you are there” feeling is the level of visual detail, such as wear-and-tear on rocks and chips in paintings. The apps could provide more historical background on life in Jerusalem during the first century. Also, a recreation of these locations as they may have appeared during the time of Jesus would enhance the educational value of the apps. That having been said, the Jerusalem.com apps effectively meet their goal of transporting the user to the sites, an experience that is particularly valuable, as it is becoming more difficult to visit these places in person due to the ongoing turmoil in the region.

Mount Rushmore Virtual Tour app

In honor of Presidents’ Day and Lincoln’s Birthday, here is an app offering a virtual tour of the most famous presidential monument, Mount Rushmore. The Mount Rushmore Virtual Tour presents a photographic overview of the monument’s construction, including the scale model upon which the monument was based. There are also interesting facts about the construction process, such as that more than 800 million pounds of stone had to be removed in order to carve the presidents’ faces, or that it took over 400 workers 14 years to complete the monument.

The app goes beyond just the monument itself, however, to give a “walking” tour of the entire national park, from the Avenue of Flags at the park’s entrance to the Presidents’ Trail that runs in front of the monument. For those who yearn to know what it feels like to stand on Mount Rushmore (the monument itself is off-limits to the public), the app provides stunning views from the cliff leading up to the presidents’ faces and from the very top of the monument,conveying a sense of the size and grandeur of Mount Rushmore, something that is not as easily captured in a photo from a distance. Unlike most apps, Mount Rushmore Virtual Tour actually explains the methods by which such stunning images, including 3-D laser scans, are captured. (In this case, the images were taken by rappellers who scanned the monument as part of a digital-preservation project.) Although this app does have a tendency to crash, that it is free and offers a stunning visual overview of the monument and its park more than compensates. This is one app that truly lives up to the “Virtual Tour” part of its name.

Super Bowl app

Just in time for the big game, here is an app that has the official program of Super Bowl XLIX. While the program is intended largely for fans who are actually attending the game (there is a section devoted to pre-game events in the Phoenix area), there is still plenty for those watching from home. The app has basic information on the Patriots and the Seahawks, including team rosters and statistics, and one can take a bird’s-eye view of how the teams’ offense and defense will line up on the field. There are also in-depth features on key players, in addition to the coaches and owners. For those interested in historical background, the app includes a discussion of great Super Bowl teams, and programs from the previous 10 Super Bowls are available as in-app purchases.. This app has something for all Super Bowl watchers, both casual fans and serious ones. Interestingly, this year’s game is being played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, just down the road from Mesa.

Jewish Holidays app

In the spirit of the holiday season, and in that of intercultural relations from yesterday’s staff-development event, here is an app that covers the major Jewish holidays.  The app includes not just Hanukkah, of course, but also Yom Kippur and Purim, among others.  The focus of the app is not so much on the activities during the celebrations as it is on the spiritual significance of the traditions.  More importantly, the app does not treat each holiday in isolation, but instead ties them into the broader Jewish spiritual philosophy.  To this end, the app has detailed video and written commentary by Kabbalah expert Dr. Michael Laitman.  If one wants additional information, one can peruse Dr. Laitman’s blog.  While “The Spiritual Meaning of the Jewish Holidays” app does require an understanding of Jewish spirituality–there is no glossary or other aid to provide background–the app goes beyond just a generic overview of Jewish holidays and introduces one to deeper perspectives on the holidays’ religious significance and Jewish spirituality in general.

Vatican.va app

This is the official app of the Holy See.  The app is streamlined and easy to navigate, although there is much overlap between the app and the Vatican’s website (http://w2.vatican.va/content/vatican/it.html).  The app does, however, have some additional multimedia features.  These include a photo gallery of Pope Francis.  The app’s strong point is a virtual tour of the Vatican City that includes stunning 360-degree images of various locations in St. Peter’s Basilica and Square.  What adds a “you-are-there feel” not found in other apps is that the panoramas are taken while people are actually visiting the locations, instead of when they are empty; this does not, however, obstruct the sharp views of the artwork and architecture.   The downside to this app is that news and other official releases are not available in English.  (Translated versions of the same documents can, however, be found on the Vatican’s website.)  Also, the virtual tour of St. Peter’s does not include descriptions of the locations and artwork.  Despite these drawbacks, the Vatican.va app is a useful way to orient one’s self with the documents and other resources available on the full website, in addition to enjoying the virtual tour.

“Wonders of Italy: Pompeii” app

The “Wonders of Italy: Pompeii” app (the series has apps for Rome and Florence, also) presents a photographic tour of the ruins of that city. The app includes background on each set of ruins, including their probable use. The ruins cover a range of public buildings, from amphitheatres to eateries. From a multimedia perspective, this is a fairly worthwhile app to peruse. The photography is sharp, and the 360-degree panoramas of the ruins are give one a “you are there” feeling. There are also close-up views of artwork and other interesting features of the ruins.

There is not much on the history of Pompeii itself, however, nor is there much detail on the excavation and preservation of the ruins. A reconstruction of the city as it appeared before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, and maybe even an animation of the eruption itself and the resulting burial of the city in ash, would have enhanced the educational and entertainment value of this app significantly. As it is, there is information on only eight sets of ruins to peruse, giving a piecemeal approach to understanding the city and its history. While the app does give a nice introduction to some of the ruins of Pompeii and the related history, it doesn’t really go into the depth that one would expect, especially given the archaeological value of the site and its popularity as a tourist attraction.