Final reactions

Last week there was a student teacher in the library with the supervising language arts teacher.  They were preparing to have eighth grade students write persuasive essays and wanted to know if I would have adequate resources for the project.  I showed them Sirs Researcher and how it shows pros and cons for hot topics.  They were THRILLED and said it was just what they needed to meet their objective.
Because of this online challenge, I had the proper resource ready and at hand.
What a good feeling.

Heritage Quest

I used PERSI to look up Prairie County in Montana, which is where I grew up.  I found a list of military records in the Journal of the Little Big Horn Associates.  When I selected one article, I was prompted to fill out a request form.  I did not go any further.  I can see that this would be useful for someone who will take the time to complete serious research.

I did another search using US Serial Set.  I found 165 articles in a search for Pomeroy.  However, when I opened an article I couldn't find the name Pomeroy anywhere in the text of it.  I'm not sure why the article was selected with my search criteria.

Ancestry Library

When searching for my exact name, I didn't find any results.  When I took out my middle name and took changed exact match to the default settings, I found over 31,000 results.  I sorted the results by category and looked at the category for U.S. Civil War Soldiers.  It was quite interesting to see the records of the soldiers.

I did a search for my father's name.  I found information about his birth and death in the Social Security Death Index.  It was a little scary that this information is listed and so easily accessible.

When I looked at the census information for my father it sort of sends tingles up my spine.  I've never really been interested in genealogy, but it is very cool to see information just pop up that relates to my family and even who their neighbors were.  I can see how a person could lose track of time and spend hours exploring.

When I searched photos and maps, I found over 3,000,000 results.  I opened one photo of a person who was from South Dakota, but the photo was taken during World War I.  I am anxious to do more searches and see what I find.  This could be addictive.

CAMIO

I found pictures of several items made by Paul Revere and even a few by his son.  OK on closer look, the birth dates for Paul Revere Jr. and Paul Revere are the same, so I guess they are one in the same person. There is quite a variety of items.  I looked at the drawing and at a spoon.  Wouldn't it be cool to own a spoon created by Paul Revere?  Is this where Revereware originated?  Now I'm rambling, or should I call it blogging?  I really enjoy this site.  The tea set is exquisite.

When I looked up Sioux, I narrowed the search to Lakota.  The items are very colorful and interesting.  Some are quite old and some (the baby bonnet) are fairly modern.

I looked up Picasso since I really don't have a favorite artist.  The results were very interesting.  This is a great way to experience his unique style.

I am anxious to share this resource with the art teachers.  I looked up masks since one art teacher does a unit on them in collaboration with social studies classes and she often sends students to the library to find images in books and on the internet.  This could be a great resource for her.  It would be very easy to create a slide show to share with students using the favorites feature.

ArchiveGrid

There was good background information in the notes and summaries for the autograph card of Sitting Bull. The information is quite brief and easy to read.  It would be interesting to see the actual autograph card.  I clicked on the link to Cornell University Library and I could see the record for it, but not the actual autograph cad.  I had hoped since it was digitized, it might be visible, but all I see is the record for it.

I also looked up George Armstrong Custer.  The materials listed look fascinating!  What a great way to find primary resources.  Just knowing that such records exist is pretty cool.

WorldCat

I looked up Mew Mew as a title phrase.  I wanted to find Tokyo mew mew. Volume One, and I did!  It is located in 381 libraries worldwide.  The library at the top of the list is Ames Public Library.  The call number for the book at this library is YA MANGA TOK V1.  Linking to the author's name brought up more books in the Tokyo mew mew series.  I linked to the subject Heroes--Juvenile fiction--Comic books, strips, etc.  This found two more books.

When I conducted a search using OAIster, I did not see where to select "Subject Phrase."  I did the search using the keywords South Dakota and I found over 8,000 results.  I opened a few of the links, but I'm still not sure what I am looking at.  I'm going to wait and see what other people post about this source.

OK.  Thanks for the help with this source Timmi and Jane.   I made sure I was in advanced search mode and had better results.  I really like using this Blog and feeling like we have our own support group :)

Ebooks on EbscoHost

1.  I started with a search for the book How Full is Your Bucket? since I recently attended a district inservice that referred to that particular title.  I did not find the exact book, so I repeated the search using quotation marks around the search terms.  I did not find the book.  I then altered my search using the term positive attitude.  I found 5 pages of results with the most current being from 2001.  I selected The Idiot's Guide to Motivating People.  I liked that it showed the pages most relevant to my search, so that I could see right away if the book was useful.
2. When I looked up the constitution of the United States, I found 66 results.  The books were very academic looking.  An indication of reading level would be helpful in choosing a book to use.  I used advanced search to narrow the search and I chose to search for the subject constitution of the United States.  I only found 3 articles.  They were less relevant than I had hoped for.
3.  I searched for Nebraska and found 56 results.  The books listed look very interesting, but I can see that a person using this database needs a good foundation of searching skills.  That was pretty cool, so I tried South Dakota.  I didn't find any results.

GVRL

1.I have not used GVRL before, so this was a new experience.  I looked at the book DRUGS AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS.  I was interested in information about heroin because I know that our book in the library is very outdated.  When a student recently checked our book out, I commented on how old it was.  If that happens in the future, I may recommend that the student use the resource available through GVRL.

2.  I couldn't get an article to read to me.  Help?

Proquest

Proquest is my favorite database to use for personal searches.  I think it is such a bargain.  I will search for consumer information whenever I am planning to make a major purchase.  I also have used Proquest to finish an article I may have started reading in a Dr. waiting room and didn't have time to finish.  I use it to look up book reviews.
Occasionally, I show students Proquest and tell them to share it with their parents.  We will do a math exercise by having them look at the cost of a print issue of the magazine and then multiply it by the number of issues available in the database.  They have to figure out how many issues are published per month and multiply by the years, etc.  I haven't done this recently due to lack of time, but it is a fun activity.  Then we look at how many titles are under just one letter of the alphabet.  I don't think middle school students are as impressed as I am, but I wish I could have their parents here for a day :)

Sirs Issues Researcher

1.I looked at the information about global warming.  I could really see the issues researcher as being a useful tool with language arts students who are practicing persuasive writing.  I plan to show it to the 7th and 8th grade teachers when I have an opportunity.

2. In Curriculum Pathfinders, I chose language arts and looked at articles related to fairy tales.  It was interesting to see the different articles.  I could possibly use this to show 6th grade students why it is still valuable to know about fairy tales.  There are issues in modern literature and even in movies that do not make sense unless they are familiar with the original fairy tale.

Sirs Discoverer

1.I like the ease of use when looking up information with Sirs Discoverer.  I use this with middle school students even though it is intended for an elementary audience.  I use it because it is easy to point out the differences between using a database from the state library and using Google to search the entire internet.  I like the color and the symbols because it is easy to show students that these articles are specially selected for their reading level.  Also, the information about the source for the article is very clear where it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint the source when an article is found directly from the internet.  I recently had students complete a four square grid to show the advantages and disadvantages of using Sirs Discoverer versus using Google as a search engine.  It allowed an opportunity to discuss currency, relevancy, and other factors involved in evaluating information.

2.The Country Facts feature would be useful for 7th grade research.  However, our 7th graders currently use the CIA World Factbook and I'm curious to see if it is more current.  I'm going to do a search and find out.
The CIA World Factbook entry for Switzerland as found using Google had been updated Jan. 12, 2012, so it is more current.  I do like the layout of the entry in Sirs Discoverer better.

Since the maps in the Maps of the World are printable, I assume students could use them without worrying about violation of copyright.

I also used the Biographies feature.  I wish there was a way to browse alphabetically when students (or me for that matter) don't know how to spell the name of the person they are looking for.  It would also allow students to browse for a topic when they have to research about a person and they're not sure who to choose.  OK,  I found the browse feature after I tried to look up a person's name.  I found Bow Wow ( a rapper) but no Justin Bieber.

Learning Express Library

2. I have demonstrated using Learning Express Library with middle school students.  I promote it as a risk-free way to practice taking tests and as a self tutorial.  I like that the tests not only tell which answers are correct, but that they give an explanation of why the answer is correct or incorrect.
3.  I chose to explore the resume writing course.  This is very useful and also timely since I haven't updated my resume for 20 years!!  I have gotten through a few pages of it, and will continue at a later date.  I'm enjoying it so far and will keep you posted as I progress.  OK, I worked a little more on creating a resume.  I am excited about using this to update my resume.  What a great tool for someone in search of a job.
4.  I downloaded the book Reading in 15 Minutes a Day.  I'm impressed that it had a fairly current copyright date (2008).  It appears quite good.   Once again, what a bargain for new and experienced teachers.  I try to spread the word about Learning Express Library, but most people I know don't want to take the time to explore.  I need to keep it at the front of my brain so I can mention it when teachers are asking for resources.

Using World Book School Edition

1.Using World Book Kids, I looked up "elephant."  It was not as easy as I thought it would be.  Finding a picture was easy, but finding the habitat was not so easy.  I repeated the search using "elephant habitat."  This found one article about animals in general.  I think a young child would get frustrated at this point.  I tried the advanced search.  The database automatically filled in elephant habitat when I just wanted elephant and to use the boolean operator to put habitat in the second box.  I had to go back to delete habitat in the first box.  I never did find the habitat.  I guess I need more practice.

2. Using World Book Students, I found many more articles to choose from.  I didn't find a specific section of information about the elephant habitat including a map.  This was disappointing, but maybe I didn't spend enough time with it.  I am open to suggestions for options I may not have tried.  I did like the outline in the left margin of the article that made it easy to navigate through the information.

3.  Using World Book Advanced, I looked up "Australia."  I like that one of the choices for search results is Primary Sources.  One of our reading standards is that students will be able to identify Primary Sources.
Once an article is open, students will be able to link to related articles. without having to return to the results list.

4.  Using World Book Discoverer, once an article was open, the option of reading it in Spanish or French was available.  I could also use the pull down menu under translate to choose from various languages.  That was pretty amazing!  I'll show this to my students who are interested in exploring other languages.  I'll also show it to the World Languages teacher.