Web Surveys and Vocabulary Games

Yahoo Groups Help Build Community in Emergency Dispatch

Computer Network Technician Students at CNTPRO.com

Web Site Tutorials! Free! On the Web!

RTC Library Videos on Building Web Sites

The library has over 1300 videos and DVDs covering the RTC curriculum. Want to know if we have anything for your RTC program? Call us at (425) 235-2331.

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

“Caution, you are about to enter the incredible World of Accounting!”  The RTC Accounting program’s webpage greets you with a drawing of a smiling man and the warning that “Once you enter, you may never speak normal English again”.   By offering links to everything from syllabi to practice exams, the program tries to ensure that their students will indeed leave being able to speak the language of finance.

The page, created and updated by instructor Curt Holman,  began as an effort “to put up information students want. I started with a relatively small page and expanded virtually every time I heard a student request. As a consequence, it’s now pretty large.”

The links cover almost every possible student  concern. For the potential student, there is information  about the various certifications the program offers, the program costs, and information about visiting the classroom. For the new student, other pages offer tips on study skills, test taking techniques, tutoring, class schedules and chapter notes.  For the soon-to-graduate student, there are links to articulation agreements, posted jobs, and job search help. 

The Accounting page URL is: http://www.rtc.edu/instruction/Accounting/welcome_page.htm .

Trivia:  A recent study found that online students in “humor-enhanced” courses were more likely to post comments on the class  discussion boards.

The latest version of the RTC Library website debuted in September, 2003.  To date, it has received over 130,000 visits. 

It offers information about the library,  its staff and services, links to the library catalog and databases (and the ability to access these databases from off campus), and information on a variety of related topics.

The majority of pages on the site, however, are subject or program pages. These are web pages with links to sites the Library thinks students will find useful. A page has been compiled for almost every program.

For example, the page for the Surgical Technology program offers links  to the Association of Surgical Technologists (where they can keep up on industry news and training), to a page that has certification information, to an online medical dictionary, and to a page that offers useful forms and brochures for operating room managers.

Other features that may appear on  the program pages include a list of relevant journals that the Library carries, a link that runs a search in the RTC catalog for books and videos on the discipline, and perhaps a link to a “Hot Topic” page, a page that lists materials on topics the students will be researching. 

One “Hot Topic” page covers occupational hazards operating room personnel face.  It offers lists of books, articles and web links on surgical smoke, needlesticks and other OR dangers.  The Hot Topic pages may originate from an instructor request or when the library staff notices a reoccurring assignment topic.

To see the list of program page links, go to http://www.rtc.edu/library/ProgramLinkPg.htm .

A few of RTC library’s books on web sites include:

Homepage usability : 50 websites deconstructed. A look at the details that make an effective web page: graphics, color combinations, link placement, language, etc. Call Number: 025.04 NIELSEN 2002  

Cascading style sheets for dummies.   A quick way to give your web site a consistent style.    Call Number: 005.72 DEAN 2001 

Teach yourself visually FrontPage 2002. Excellent guide to FrontPage, with hundreds of screenshots and illustrations. Call Number: 025.04 MARAN 2001.

Learning web design : a beginner's guide to HTML, graphics, and beyond.  Good basic introduction, with an excellent section on web graphics. Call Number: 005.72 NIEDERS 2001

 XML for dummies.  Format web documents so they can be read on many software applications.  Includes  Call Number: 005.04 TITTEL 2002