Library Week Poetry Competition Winners Announced
Last week, the Library announced the three best submissions for the Library Week Poetry Competition. The aim of the competition was to write a poem relating to the Library or libraries in general. The overall winner was Ahmet Uçar (CHEM), whose poem "Dört Duvar Bir Tavan" was selected by a panel of judges from the Library and members of the Departments of English Literature and Turkish Literature. Second and third places went to Mustafa Fasih Odabaşı (THM) and Ceren Turan (CS). Two of the three winners were awarded certificates in a ceremony at the Library on April 3 (Mustafa was unfortunately unable to attend), and Ahmet received a D&R gift certificate and read out his poem. These three poems will be published online on the Library's blog.
On Wednesday this week, the Library will host the second Library Lunchtime Lecture for the spring semester. The speaker is Robin Turner from the Faculty Academic English program, who will give a talk entitled "What Educators Can Learn from Games." In recent years "gamification" has become a buzzword in education, business and social activism. While much gamification is superficial and poorly designed, educators can benefit by studying the characteristics of games that make them enjoyable and even addictive -- notably clear goals, constant feedback, enhanced self-image, "flow" and the balance of collaboration and competition. In his talk, Mr. Turner will examine how teaching can be enhanced not only by introducing games, but more importantly by gamifying existing activities and learning from game mechanics while designing courses. The lecture will take place on April 10, at 12:40-1:30 p.m., in the Main Campus Library Art Gallery. It will be in English, and lunchtime refreshments will be provided.