M A N T E X N E W S L E T T E R Number 67 - early April 2002 eLearning - Exam Help - Design ------ ISSN 1470-1863 ------ 0----- 'The Online Educator' Colleges and universities everywhere are rushing to put their courses on line. It makes sense - but it's not easy to get right. Marguerita McVay Lynch has written more than forty such courses, and in her new book she lays out valuable advice on all aspects of making online learning effective. She takes you through the entire process, from planning a course, putting together its parts and making them suitable for consumption via Web delivery. This book is a must for anybody involved in the writing, managing, or production of online learning. Highly recommended. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/lynch-2.htm 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - 1 What is a spinney? 0----- "When you come to a fork in the road - take it." Yogi Berra 0----- 'Student's Guide to Exam Success' Exams will be here sooner than you think! Everybody knows what this means. Revision, stress, nerves, anxiety, and tears. And that's just for the teachers :-) Eileen Tracy has a new book which offers support and encouragement to students. It's based on an approach which is reassuring and features time management, stress reduction, and relaxation. Her book is full of checklists, mind maps, and guidance notes. Suitable for anybody, from school level to undergraduates. Details and full review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/tracy.htm 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - 2 What colour is angelica? 0----- "Some guy hit my fender the other day; and I said unto him 'Be fruitful and multiply'. But not in those words." Woody Allen 0----- 'DSOS1 Designer Shock' If you like whacky fonts and design, this is the book for you. In fact it's not only pages full of weird alphabets and logos - there's also a CD which gives you free access to the designers' bank of tools and resources. This allows you to download the fonts - but you can also customise them using morphing software. Not one for the faint-hearted - but a very interesting concept. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/dsos1.htm 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - 3 What is a poinsettia? 0----- "When angry, count to four; when very angry, swear." Mark Twain. 0----- 'Getting Hits' - web promotion Would you like to get more people to visit your web site? Of course you would - but how can this be done without a lot of expense, technicalities, or trouble? Don Sellers has a beginners' guide which explains the basics of search engines and how to use them, free promotional services, and tips for maximising the 'visibility' of your site. This one will appeal to beginners, because it doesn't have all the over-technical guff which often surrounds discussion of search engines and their algorithms. Details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/sellers.htm 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - 4 What is the opposite of a neap tide? 0----- "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on." Sam Goldwyn 0----- Omniglot - FREE Fonts This website provides a guide to over 150 different alphabets, syllabaries and other writing systems including a few you will find nowhere else. It also contains details of many of the languages written with those writing systems and links to a wide range of language-related resources, such as fonts, online dictionaries and online language courses. What is a writing system? Alphabetic writing systems Syllabic writing systems Logographic writing systems Alternative writing systems http://www.omniglot.com/ 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - 5 What name is given to the pack of 78 cards used for fortune telling? 0----- "Ramsay McDonald could squeeze less thought into more words than anyone else I know." Winston Churchill 0----- FREE software - Space Odyssey v2.0 Windows applications litter your hard drive with junk that serves no purpose. This junk can cause your PC to slow down and even cause problems. Space Odyssey fixes and prevents errors in Windows 95/98/2000 and Windows NT by finding and cleaning error-producing and space-wasting garbage files. These can be temporary files, IE cache files, and duplicate files. Once these files have been found, you can delete them or move them elsewhere. http://www.ultrasoft.ro/page_so.htm 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - 6 Which bird is India's national symbol? 0----- "If we aren't supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?" Anon 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS What is a spinney? ANSWER: a small wood What colour is angelica? ANSWER: green What is a poinsettia? ANSWER: a flower What is the opposite of a neap tide? ANSWER: a spring tide What name is given to the pack of 78 cards used for fortune telling? ANSWER: The Tarot Which bird is India's national symbol? ANSWER: the peacock 0----- THE PUB QUIZ - A correction! What is the chief Belgian airline called? ANSWER - Sabena WRONG! Sabena went bust a few months ago. (They were a partner/daughter of Swissair, who could not pay their dues any more.) Part of the old Sabena is going on under a new name: DAT (Whatever that means, but at least it is better than SABENA, which stood for Such A Bad Experience Never Again.) Many thanks to - Karel van der Waarde 0----- COMING SOON 'Toothpicks to Logos' [Design] 'Back to the User' 'Blown to Bits' [e-Commerce] 'The Non-Designer's Web Book' 'Flash for Cartooning' 'Dreamweaver 4 in a Nutshell' 'Innovating in Higher Education' (c) Copyright 2002, MANTEX All Rights Reserved PO Box 100 Tel +44 0161 432 5811 Manchester Fax +44 0161 443 2766 M20 6GZ UK www.mantex.co.uk If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues. New subscribers should register at the following address -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm FREE BACK ISSUES featuring news items, reviews, and product details are available at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm Please retain the copyright and subscription information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and subscription information remains. If you have any requests, observations, or items you would like to be included in our next issues, just mail us at -- news@mantex.co.uk You receive the MANTEX newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you wish to unsubscribe, go to -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm News-67-April-2002 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library