Dan Matthews

MVCCPOV: Voices from the Valley presents Chapter 2, episode 2 where we attend the Arab Student Union’s Scholarship Dinner. We got a chance to catch up with current ASU studetns, ASU alum, and community members that support them. The people in this episode get a chance to talk about how ASU has grown over the years and how it has impacted them. You’ll hear a sit down conversation with the ASU students hosting the event and on the spot interviews with community members and ASU students and alumni.

Check out the episode here!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

We’re excited to debut a new podcast from the library! MVCC:POV is a podcast about authentic discovery of social justice conversations on topics related to equity, inclusion, and diversity. Throughout the series, we hand the mic over to members of our community to let their voices be heard.

In our first season, we’ve connected with two student groups on campus: the Muslim Student Association and the Arab Student Union. Over the next coming weeks we’ll be featuring each episode through this blog.

Chapter 1 -Episode 1 features the Muslim student association. During the episode they discuss what it means to them to be Muslim. Each student in the club takes a turn in voicing how they relate to Islam as an individual.

Also, the group starts each meeting with a “Positive of the Week” which you’ll get to hear interspersed throughout the episode.

We hope you enjoy this first episode and look back to this blog next week where we’ll feature episode 2!

Here’s the link to the featured episode: Chapter 1 – Episode 1

For more episodes check out the MVCC:POV Homepage

Feeling the pressure of final projects and studying for exams? Check out the library’s less stress week! We’ll have a number of activities each day to help you relieve some of stress and anxiety of finals. From 10am to 3pm, Monday through Thursday, there will be presentations to attend and tables to stop by for an activity. Here’s a rundown of what’s happening.

Monday – Meditation and mindfulness with presentations at 10am and 2pm.

Tuesday – Yoga and stretching with sessions at 10:15 am and 1pm

Wednesday – Board Games from 10-3

Thursday – Origami and coloring

Student Life will also be around with snacks!

Come learn and try different ways to reduce stress while prepping for your finals. Reducing stress and anxiety around finals will help keep you focused and be better prepared for the task at hand. See you next week!

An article is circulating today that highlights some essential information literacy concepts.  A group of journalists and scientists got together to do a study that purposefully created some bad information regarding the use of chocolate as a weight loss aid, and then succeeded in getting that bogus information published.  As students and faculty, we are serious information consumers.  We are taking in an increased amount of information, and consequently need to be able to assess and dismiss bad information.  The article that’s linked here highlights some of the flaws in ways that our information can be created and ultimately produced.  As information consumers, we must be aware that not all of our conventionally scholarly resources, like peer reviewed journals, are 100% credible every time.  It is important that we remain critical of the information we find, specifically in how it was created.

The articles outlines the process of how bad information can be created, and what kinds of steps people can take to sidestep traditional peer review practices.  Read the article, and then have some chocolate to balance out the feelings of sadness.  Science shows that chocolate makes you feel better, right?

http://io9.com/i-fooled-millions-into-thinking-chocolate-helps-weight-1707251800

We have an exciting new addition to our collection at MVCC Library!  If the picture didn’t give it away, we now have a Zumba kit for check out!  If you’ve ever wanted to give the dance based workout craze a try in the privacy of your own home, now’s your chance!  The kit includes everything you’ll need to get the full Zumba experience, aside from the classroom environment of course.

• 5 workout DVDs,
• A program guide that offers some insight into how to best use the Zumba workouts,
• 2 Zumba Toning Sticks.  (These produce a rattling sound, so you can feel like you’re making music while you’re working up a sweat)

The program guide outlines: tips and techniques for doing Zumba safely and correctly, a weekly workout planner, appropriate stretches, and some recipes for healthy eating.  While the guide does offer advice for working out safely and eating healthy meals, you should consult with a healthcare professional before starting a serious workout routine or making big changes to your diet.  This is especially true if you are new to exercising and/or if you are unfamiliar with creating a healthy, nutritious diet.

The DVDs have a range of intensity and skill level.  The most basic workout is called “Step by Step” which will walk you through the basic Zumba movements during the workout, followed by “Activate”, “Exhilarate”, “Zumba Toning”, and finally “Mix”.  The workout planner shows examples of how to mix up your workouts throughout the week, and when to take breaks.

The end of the semester is a great time to try something new, or pick up a hobby for the summer!  You can check out the kit in the library from our circulation desk to start shaking up your summer!

Don’t be like Kitteh! Finals can be a tough time, but there are definitely ways to help make them a bit easier!  With final exams starting in a couple weeks (You can find the final exam schedule here), it’s time to start thinking about how to get ready.  Of course you’ll be studying quite a bit, but you should also plan to take breaks from that studying to keep fresh.

A study from the University of Illinois posits that taking a break during your study time can help keep you focused and increase your overall productivity.  The University of Illinois states “This study is consistent with the idea that the brain is built to detect and respond to change, Lleras said, and suggests that prolonged attention to a single task actually hinders performance.”  With this in mind, be sure to prepare for some distractions from your intense studying.

At this point, you may be wondering “What’s the most efficient way to set myself up to study and take short breaks?”.  Well, the best place to do that is the library!  You’ll likely be here to study anyway, but we have a number of ways for you to take a meaningful break.

One of them is our gaming collection.  If you didn’t already know, we have added a new collection of board games to the library, and they make the perfect distraction during your finals studies.  Currently, we have Settlers of Catan, Blockus, Ticket to Ride, Tsuro, Carcassonne, and Hey, That’s My Fish!  Many of these games are easy to learn and quick to play.  Just the diversion you’ll be looking for!

We’re coming up on the end of the semester, which can be a stressful time. BUT!  Your library can help. As always, you can come in and work with us to get help finding those resources and understanding your assignments.  Also, you can come in to the library to combat that stress by unwinding with one of our games in our new board game collection!  We’ve been running a series of posts highlighting our collection, and this post will feature Carcassonne.

Some consider Carcassonne to be a “Gateway” game.  The rules are fairly simple, the gameplay is fast, and players are never removed from play.  If you’ve not played many board games before, this one might be a good entry point for you!

In the game, you take turns placing tiles to create a midieval landscape.  Each tile represents a different entity of a typical midieval kingdom.  Players compete to build cities, cloisters, roads, and fields by connecting the tiles.  Each side of a tile represents either a road, field, city or cloister and must be matched up with sides of other tiles that match.  The walls of a city must match up with another and a road must connect with another road, for example.

To score points, you must claim parts of the map with your followers as it is being built.  As you place your tile, you must determine if you intend to place your follower on a portion of it.  As cities, roads and cloisters are finished, the the players who have claimed them gain points.  You must anticipate your opponents strategies to claim territories for yourself and keep them from scoring.

Come on over the MVCC Library and bust some stress by putting your planning and strategy skills to the test with some of your friend!

In case you missed some of the previous posts, we’ve covered Settlers of Catan, Hey, That’s My Fish!, Tsuro,  Ticket to Ride , and Blokus

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=8255

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=8019

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=7993

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=8338

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=8412

You already know that the MVCC Library is awesome, but here’s another reason to add to the list of why.  We have a new game collection that is available to you in the library.  Just come to the circulation desk to check them out!  We’re highlighting each one in a series of blog posts, and this one is dedicated to Blockus.

If you are familiar with the game Tetris, Blockus will seem familiar at a glance.  However, it gets much more complicated.  The board is a grid of 400 squares that fit your pieces.  You will get a set of 21 tiles that are based on free polyominioes, meaning that you’ll have pieces made up of squares.  These will be made up from one to five squares, each in a unique formation.

The gameplay is turn-based.  On your turn, you play one piece.  That’s it!  Simple, right?  Not exactly…  Your piece must connect to one of your other pieces, but only at the corner.  No two squares on any piece of the same color can be side by side.  You can, however, put those squares next to another color.  If you can’t fit a piece on the board, you’ll have to pass your turn.  The game ends when no more pieces can be played.

The scoring is based on how many squares in the individual pieces are left off of the board.  Each square is a negative point, so a piece made up of four squares is negative four points.  You’ll have to plan your strategy while reading your opponents moves to be able to get all of your pieces to fit on the board. Put those Tetris skills to the test!

In case you missed some of the previous posts, we’ve covered Settlers of Catan, Hey, That’s My Fish!, Tsuro, and Ticket to Ride

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=8255

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=8019

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=7993

http://searchtips.lib.morainevalley.edu/searchtips/?p=8338