Matariki – Pipiri 28 June 2014

In celebration of Matariki, the beginning of the Māori new year,  here’s a short waiata or song from Delma Rae in which you can learn  the Māori names for the  seven stars in this cluster more commonly referred to by its Greek name Pleiades.

The Māori online dictionary says the following about Matariki : “the brightest star is aso known as Matariki (Alcyone). The other six stars are: Tupu-ā-rangi (Electra), Waipuna-ā-rangi (Taygeta), Waitī (Maia), Ururangi (Pleione), Tupu-ā-nuku (Atlas) and Waitā (Merope). ”

Matariki  is known in many other cultures. Just read  Wikipedia’s article called Pleiades in folklore and literature to see the many others.

If you want to know exactly where to find it in the night sky then Manatū taonga: Ministry for  Culture and Heritage has well presented information and links on this topic.

If you want to teach yourself an even simpler waiata  to remember the star names in Māori here is a simple action song to sing to the tune of “Twinkle twinkle little star” . Listen to it at BA Productions website for pronunciation and timing of the kupu or words.

 

Tirama tirama Matariki                                 Twinkle Twinkle Matariki

me ana [nga] tamariki                                     and her children

Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi,                                 Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi

Waiti, Waita,                                                       Waiti, Waita

Waipunarangi e                                                  Waipunarangi      

Ko te pōtiki ko Ururangi.                                   The youngest child is Ururangi.

 

 

 

How to embed a You Tube video into Powerpoint 2013?

Today a student wanted to embed a You Tube video in his powerpoint presentation and found the usual method of inserting a video no longer works. I looked on Google and found that Terry Gray at Palomar College  gives the steps to embed You Tube video in Powerpoint with an explanation why this is not working correctly at the moment.

Here are my modified steps based on Terry’s guide. Basically I have just drawn a rectangle and ignored the ratio information for simplicity but it is possibly important to know if my shorter instructions don’t work.

1. Open Powerpoint

2. Right click in the Powerpoint ribbon and select Customise ribbon

3. Under main tab place a tick next to Developer

4. Select the tool icon in the Developer tab.

5. Select Shockwave flash object . (Note: This means the computer you show your powerpoint on does require Flash player)

6. A plus sign appears. Use the + sign to draw a rectangle on your powerpoint slide which might look like below.

7. Right click within this rectangle and select Property sheet

8. Next to Movie paste your You Tube URL (Note: do not use the share or embed codes)

9. Edit this URL as follows:

a. Remove watch? and the =

b. Replace the = with /

Your new URL would look like this.

10. Close the Properties box

11. In Powerpoint select the Slideshow tab

12. Select  From beginning

The slide where you placed your embedded You Tube clip should be ready to view. e.g.

14. Now SAVE your powerpoint presentation so you don’t have to repeat all these steps again!

For more tips be sure to visit our FAQs.

 

 

Suffering from end of term itis or exam stress?

Want support and advice on how to cope with exam stress or improve your time management skills? Then you might want to take advantage of the assistance and resources available from our upstairs neighbour –  Learning Services. They have Study Skills tips available online or you can pop in and see the friendly learning advisors.

Kevin, from Learning Services says, “The end of semester can be a stressful time for students. Some students are realising they have covered a lot of content and should have started their programme of revision earlier. Others have end of semester assignments due and know that they should have done more earlier in the year.

If you are feeling anxious or stressed about last minute study strategies or assignment completion, NOW is a good time to seek support from the team at Learning Services. They have a range of resources to guide you in self-study, including how to prepare for tests and exams. They are available right now to help you get organised so you can complete your course work successfully. Do ring on 940 8005, or pop in on Level 2 of the Library, if the Learning Services team can do anything to support your study”.

The Library also has many books available on improving study techniques including: Study smarter, not harder and College Success Guide.

Take a couple of minutes and watch Managing Stress, by Brainsmart, BBC for tips on keeping stress under control.

 

Help! I’ve knitted a … thing

Anyone who’s ever tried knitting has them – the projects that just didn’t work. Whether it’s a scarf that’s only 2 inches long, or one that’s twice as wide in the middle as it is at the ends. Whether it’s a jumper that you could fit into twice, or one that might possibly be used as a hand puppet, or that didn’t make it all the way to jumperness at all (odd sleeves, anyone?). That shawl where you lost the pattern. That baby sweater for the ‘baby’ who’s just celebrated their 21st.

My very first piece of knitting was, well, ‘khaki’ is a nice way of putting it (personally, comparisons with nasal excretions seemed better). It was also scratchy, so tight it stood up on its own, twice as wide at the end as at the beginning, and cast off in a different colour because I ran out of the scratchy khaki yarn. Sadly, I have no pictures of this.

Much later, when I thought I had the hang of things, I made a cardigan for a 4 year old friend. It seemed a bit big, but I persisted. Needless to say, it was too big. She is now nearly 14, and it is still too big. Still no pictures.

I also have a large (and growing) collection of projects begun and abandoned, ranging from 1-and-three-quarters of a pair of socks, to half a sleeve of a jumper I’m not sure I like any more:

       

(Photos courtesy of my friend Farah, since I apparently don’t photograph my knitting ever)

Next week is World Wide Knit in Public Week, and CPIT Library would like to help you with your own knitting dilemmas. Bring along your abandoned/broken/forgotten projects and we will do our best to resurrect or repurpose them. Or, if you are a more dedicated knitter with no UFOs*, bring along your current project. We will be knitting in the library from 12-1, from Monday 16 June to Friday 20th June – we look forward to seeing you there.

*UFO = Unfinished Object

 

 

Selfies in the Library

 

The library is VERY proud to announce our first Selfies in the Library event.  Over the next three weeks we would like students and staff to get snapping around CPIT’s library, post the photo onto Facebook with the tag #library selfies, along with your name, and be in it to win one of three very scrummy boxes of chocolates.  Remember to like our Facebook page too!

As you can see some of the library staff have started it off, but we know you all can do so much better.

Selfies in the Library is a worldwide thing, with New York Public Library getting in on the act and Columbia College Chicago Library showing off their selfies on their Facebook page.

So, don’t be shy, show us your best Blue Steel and get snapping!

 

 

APA made easy! Really? Yes Really!

(Graphic above supplied by Leonard in Learning Services! )

1. Find this tool on the Learning Services website on their Referencing page under Useful online referencing tools or copy and paste this URL into your web browser’s address bar –  http://www.noodletools.com/login.php 

2. Once you’ve clicked the link select APA to begin

3. Then select the type of resource you are referencing or “citation type” and click “Create citation”

4. Fill in the areas as applicable

For example here is part of the entry for a chapter in a book

5. Then click on Submit:

6. Your reference is created.

For example:

 Now you can:

a. Copy and paste your citation into your reference list.

b. Click a  “parenthetical (in-text) reference” to see how to write your in text citation for this reference.

c. Start another citation for your reference list.

7. Once you’ve created your Reference List it’s a good idea to check your entries against the  CPIT APA Referencing guide  or …

8. … you are welcome to ring or email or drop in to Learning Services upstairs in the Library to make an appointment with a Learning Advisor to check over your reference list for extra assurance!

9. Their contact details are below: