Create a Reference Page in Microsoft Word

Citations and references are a key component of academic writing. Keeping track of citations in a paper and then providing a reference page are basic requirements of most college- and graduate-level writing assignments. Style guides exist as useful resources for the most common formats–such as the American Psychological Association, the Modern Language Association, and the Chicago Manual. Ashford University uses the APA Style Guide (6th Ed.) as the model for its writing assignments

Microsoft Word has many features that make writing documents easier: creating headers and a Table of Contents, mail merging, footnotes, and others. Word also allows a writer to manage sources, insert citations, and create a reference list. This topic covers how to create an APA-style References Page using Microsoft Word.

Learn it!

You start in the References Ribbon using the Citations and Bibliography group.

[Image Source: Microsoft Word]

Watch this screencast (http://screencast.com/t/wEWHNfw4k) about using the buttons in the Citations group to:

1. Insert a Citation
2. Add/Edit Sources
3. Create a References page

[Transcript – Managing Citations in Word]

You can also refer to the Microsoft tutorial or another screencast video (from KnowledgeWave, 2012).

Do it!

Try it out for yourself. Open a previously-created paper and replace the hand-typed citations by inserting new citations and adding your sources. Then, create a “Works Cited” bibliography in Word.

Compare this bibliography with the guidance provided by your accepted Style Guide.

• Where does it match?
• Where does it need editing?
• What document type or fields should you enter for each source type?

Consider:

[Image Source: Microsoft Word]

The computer is not always right! Word might not create your citations or references perfectly so you might have to edit them (e.g., changing the heading “Works Cited” to “References”). The accepted style guide–for Ashford University, that means APA 6th Ed.–is the final word on what “perfect” means.

You can edit the bibliography easily by changing it to static text. Click inside the bibliography, then the books icon on the left, and click on “Convert bibliography to static text”.

In closing…

• Use the Citations & Bibliography group on the References Ribbon
• Insert Citation to use an existing source or add a new one
• Manage Sources to edit your list of sources, for a document or the Master list
• Insert Bibliography to add a References list of works actually cited
• Edit to match your accepted Style Guide

 

 

 

Blogging for Learning

Blogs (aka, web log) have become an integral part of the connected world of the Internet. The blogosphere has become so ubiquitous in our daily lives that it has, almost unnoticed, taken over all ‘traditional’ media, from news and sports to politics, food, and fashion. Every conceivable topic/interest/fringe/niche has blogs (plural!) with a community devoted to discussing it.

In the education field, blogs have long been adopted by teachers and trainers, to share ideas and learn from each other. Recently, they have been introduced into the classroom for students to use as a part of their learning. So, how do blogs best contribute to a student’s learning?

The network of concepts around blogs, a concept of the internet network…is that a palindrome? I need to go lie down now…

Interpretation

A blog-writing assignment requires, just as a formal paper or essay would, students to do research and report on what they’ve learned after integrating it with their own ideas (Glogoff, 2005). They have to practice close reading for comprehension (Downes, 2004) as well as evaluate a variety of sources to judge the authority and reputability of its information (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2015), an important skill in the 21st Century.

Communication

Writing, whether ink-on-parchment or online, is a tool for communicating ideas to more than just another person in a conversation. In order to do this effectively, a student must develop their argument, develop their position, and write to their audience (Wheeler, 2011).  Blogging—like any writing exercise—helps students improve their writing, not just in grammar and usage but for comparison and persuasion (Lampinen, 2013).

Expression

When students have freedom to express what they’ve learned, they are more engaged in taking ownership of their own learning (Edyburn, 2013); these two principles form the core of the Universal Design for Learning approach.  The ability to think creatively and develop new ideas is a critical skill for the 21st Century (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, n.d.).

This shouldn’t be completely free expression. While students are more engaged when they have a large degree of control over what they write (Lampinen, 2013), simply blogging to complete a tightly-controlled (i.e., assessed by a teacher with a rubric) assignment is just the same as writing a paper (Downes, 2004). Educators who want to use blogs for learning should use a student-centered approach, where they act more as a facilitator, guiding students rather than just directing them.

Connection

Blogging allows students to use hypertext; the ability to link to the vast array of useful resources on the web (Downes, 2004) greatly expands the tools available when writing (for example, all the hyperlinks in this blog!). Students can use hyperlinks and multimedia as ways to back up their opinions and interpretations, giving them a deeper understanding when crystalizing their ideas (Wheeler, 2011).

Since they’re on the internet, blogs connect students to a larger community—not only to other students in their class but to the world at large (Downes, 2004). This leads to a great deal of peer learning but it also means students must understand the etiquette of internet communication when composing content that could be construed as not meaningful, constructive, or even ethical (Stewart, 2011)

Discussion

Today, blogging means more than just posting an article online. As a Web 2.0 technology, it incorporates a social media aspect that allows interaction and discussion using comments. This enables a learner-centered feedback and dialogue where students are learning more from each other than just the instructor (Glogoff, 2005). The asynchronous nature of comments and discussion threads means that students can reflect on the material, process what they’ve learned, and collaboratively build each other’s understanding (Hrastinski, 2008).

References:

Downes, S. (2004, January 1). Educational blogging. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/educational-blogging

Edyburn, D. (2013). Inclusive technologies: Tools for helping diverse learners achieve academic success [Electronic copy]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUEDU620.13.2

Glogoff, S. (2005). Instructional blogging: Promoting interactivity, student-centered learning, and peer input. Innovate, Journal of Online Education. Retrieved from http://studentcenteredlearning.pbworks.com/f/Instructional+Blogging.pdf

Hrastinski, S. (2008). Asynchronous and synchronous e-learning. Educause Quarterly, 4, 51-55. Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eqm0848.pdf

Lampinen, M. (2013, April 8). Blogging in the 21st-Century Classroom. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blogging-in-21st-century-classroom-michelle-lampinen

Lever-Duffy, J., & McDonald, J. (2015). Teaching and learning with technology (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). Creativity and innovation. Retrieved from P21: http://www.p21.org/about-us/p21-framework/262

Stewart, M. (2011, June 20). Fostering student creativity and responsibility with blogging. Retrieved from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blogging-in-the-classroom-meredith-stewart

Wheeler, S. (2011, July 5). Seven reasons teachers should blog. Retrieved from http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2011/07/seven-reasons-teachers-should-blog.html