Academic Commons News

Ally Awareness Week is a weeklong celebration of Ally, the tool within Canvas that helps instructors improve course accessibility and offers learners alternative file formats to download. 

The contest encourages educators to make “fixes” to their content and win prizes! There are three winning categories: 

• most fixes in a single course

• most fixes overall

• biggest increase in accessibility for a single course

The winners will each receive a Jefferson-branded sweatshirt. Fixes will be posted anonymously on our Fix Your Content Contest Leaderboard the week of January 13. 

Where can instructors find information about how to use Ally?
Check out the Ally Quick Start for Instructors and visit our Ally Resources page for written guides and self-paced learning modules on the tool. 

Where can students find information on Ally?
View our Using Ally in Canvas student guide to learn more about alternative file formats that are available to download in Canvas. Also, check out the Ally Quick Start for Students guide.

Jump into 2025 with 25 new eBooks that range in topics from nursing leadership to recycled concrete. Scan the list of new additions below or browse our complete eBook collections at Dixon Library (on the Thomas Jefferson University – Dixon Campus), Gutman Library (on the Thomas Jefferson University – East Falls Campus), and Scott Library (on the Thomas Jefferson University – Center City Campus).

Are you interested in writing poetry, fiction, or non-fiction for the Theresa and Charles Yeo Writing Prize, but you need a kickstart? Join writing experts on Monday, December 9, at a brainstorming and writing session. 

Session 1: 12-1pm
200a, Scott Memorial Library 

Session 2:  5-6pm
200a, Scott Memorial Library

All are welcome to attend and registration is not required. You don’t need to attend to submit to the contest. See our flyer or check out the website for information about the Yeo Writing Prize.

We hope to see you there. 

Drop by the Brain Break Lounge (in the Learning Instruction Space on the Main Floor of the Paul J Gutman Library) and take a break from studying for finals to relax, engage in de-stressing activities, and win prizes! Free coffee and snacks are provided. 

Brain Breaks will run from Wednesday, December 4, to Friday, December 13, on the East Falls Campus in the Gutman Library. If you are a student on the Center City Campus, check out what's going on at Scott Memorial Library. 

Jump into December with 25 new eBooks from the Jefferson Libraries. Explore the list below or browse our entire eBook collection at the Dixon Library (Dixon/Horsham campus), Gutman Library (East Falls campus), and Scott Library (Center City campus). 

• 50 Studies Every Occupational Therapist Should Know
• Basic Information and Tutorial Exercises for Medical Parasitology
• Clinical Kinesiology and Biomechanics: A Problem-Based Learning Approach
• Cost-benefit Analysis and Dementia: New Interventions
• Documentation Manual for Occupational Therapy
• Falls in Older People: Risk Factors, Strategies for Prevention and Implications for Practice
• Flesh and Bones: The Art of Anatomy
• Graff's Textbook of Urinalysis and Body Fluids
• Health Colonialism: Urban Wastelands and Hospital Frontiers
• Health Equity in Hospital Medicine: Foundations, Populations, and Action
• Human Parasites: Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention
• Infant and Child Feeding and Swallowing: Occupational Therapy Assessment and Intervention
• The Misdiagnosis Casebook in Clinical Medicine: A Case-Based Guide 
• Occupation-Centered Intervention Assessment (OCIA)
• An Occupational Perspective on Leadership: Theoretical and Practical Dimensions
• A Physiotherapist's Guide to Understanding and Managing ME/CFS
• Pocket Guide to Emergent and Serious Adverse Events in Psychopharmacology
• A Practical Guide to Kinesiology Taping for Injury Prevention and Medical Conditions
• Public Health 101
• Quintessential Occupational Therapy: A Guide to Areas of Practice
• The Reproduction of Inequality: How Class Shapes the Pregnant Body and Infant Health
• Rethinking the Aging Transition: Psychological, Health, and Social Principles to Guide Aging Well
• Statistics as a Resource in Medical Research
  
• Textbook of Female Urology and Urogynecology

• Transforming Cognitive Rehabilitation: Effective Instructional Methods 

Feeling the end-of-semester crunch? We know how intense this time of year can be, so we've got just the thing to help you unwind and recharge: Brain Breaks at the Scott Memorial Library on the Center City Campus.

During the weeks of December 2 - December 16, we'll host a series of stress-relieving activities to give your brain a much-needed breather. Whether you're cramming for finals or just need a moment to chill, we've got something for everyone. If you are a student on the East Falls Campus, check out what's going on at the Paul J. Gutman Library. 

Visit the 2nd floor of Scott for coloring books and puzzles, and check out our leisure collection of cookbooks, nonfiction books, and fun fiction titles.  

Check out what else is in store:

Chair Massages
Wednesday, December 4
4-7pm, Library Cafe (1st floor)

Animal Documentary Films
Tuesday, December 10
drop in between 1-3pm, 200a

Breakfast Bars & Hot Drinks
Thursday, December 12
9:30-11:30 am, 2nd floor

Therapy Dog
Thursday, December 12
2-3pm, 2nd floor

Collage Making
Tuesday, December 17
drop in between 1-3pm, 200a

Collage Making
Thursday, December 19
drop in between 1-3pm, 200a

So, mark your calendars and make sure to take advantage of these awesome Brain Breaks. Remember, taking care of your mental health is just as important as acing those exams!

Senior and key personnel applying for NIH grants or filing progress reports starting in May 2025 will need to transition their biosketches to the forthcoming Common Forms that ask for their Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID iD). NIH-funded researchers, If you haven't already, create your ORCID iD and link it to your eRA Commons personal profile.

Scholarly authors at any career stage, discipline and funding status can create their ORCID iD. It is a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you throughout your career from other authors across name, location, and institutional affiliation changes. In addition to the NIH, many funders and publishers use it, making it easier to auto-fill information from one system to another. For example, Jefferson faculty can update their publications in Interfolio from their ORCID record.

Learn more:

• Update on Linking ORCID To Implement Persistent Identifier Requirements While Reducing Burden and Improving Transparency
• Securing your scholarly identity

On the second floor of the Scott Memorial Library on the Thomas Jefferson University - Center City Campus, students borrow anatomical models to study and learn from. In our collection, we have over sixty models from head to toe and all in between.  To see what is available, check the catalog. Are you a student at Thomas Jefferson University - East Falls Campus? The Paul J Gutman Library also has anatomical models you can borrow! Check the Gutman Library's catalog of available resources.

When borrowing these materials:

• students need to trade in their Jefferson student ID at the second floor Access Services Desk
• students can only borrow models when the Access Services desk is open
• Models can be borrowed for four hours at a time
• Models are not permitted to leave the library

Browse our catalog to find the anatomical model you'd like to borrow. Want another model? Think a model needs to be replaced? Have an idea we should hear? Email us at lrc@lists.jefferson.edu.

There is an updated process for masters' students on the Jefferson - East Falls Campus looking to get their theses bound. The Paul J. Gutman Library oversees thesis binding, so we want to make sure all students are aware of the steps involved for a smooth process. 

What You Will Need

Students will need to provide the Gutman Library with the following: 

• At least one printed copy of your thesis on acid-free paper
• A completed Master's Thesis Approval Form (provided by your academic department) with signatures from your thesis committee and college dean
• A completed Master's Thesis Binding Form
• A signed personal or cashier's check for the total dollar amount corrseponding to the number of printed copies desired. Make checks payable to the Paul J. Gutman Library and see the Master's Thesis Binding Form for cost details

Once you have all four of the items listed above, visit the Gutman Library's Checkout Desk on the Main Floor. The friendly staff there will help you submit your materials. Visit our thesis binding FAQ for more information about the process. 

This month, the Jefferson Libraries is adding 25 eBooks to our digital shelves. Scroll below to view the list of new additions, or visit our complete eBook collection at the Jefferson - Center City Campus/Scott Library, Jefferson - Dixon Campus/Library, and Jefferson - East Falls Campus/Gutman Library.

• Advanced Statistics for Physical and Occupational Therapy
• Antidiabetic Medicinal Plants: Applications and Opportunities
• Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare: The Impact of Algorithmic Bias on Health Disparities
• Atlas of Liver Pathology
• A Beginner's Guide to Evidence Based Practice in Health and Social Care
• Best Practices for Acknowledging and Addressing Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities in Medical Education
• Colorectal Cancer: Disease and Advanced Drug Delivery Strategies
• Colorectal Disorders and Diseases: An Infographic Guide
• The Complex Interplay Between Gut-Brain, Gut-Liver, and Liver-Brain Axes
• Functional Exercise Prescription: Supporting Rehabilitation in Movement and Sport
• Human Physiology in Extreme Environments
• An Introduction to Medical Teaching: The Foundations of Curriculum Design, Delivery, and Assessment
• Occupational Group Therapy
• Occupational Therapy for Older People
• Occupational Therapy Placements: A Pocket Guide
• Recovery Through Activity: Increasing Participation in Everyday Life
• Redefining Retail: 10 Guiding Principles for a Post-Digital World
• SAS Programming in the Pharmaceutical Industry, Second Edition
• Sport Injury Prevention Anatomy
• The Sports Rehabilitation Therapists' Guidebook: Accessing Evidence-Based Practice
• Statistical Reasoning for Surgeons
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Case-Based Collaborative Learning (CBCL)
• Sustainability for Retail: How Retail Leaders Create Environmental, Social, & Cultural Innovations
• Therapeutic Exercise for Children with Developmental Disabilities
• Writer/Designer: A Guide to Making Multimodal Projects