Library Challenge # 4 Proquest

I did a basic search in the medical field on pancreatitis and found the information in the journal articles quite difficult to understand because of the medical terminology and jargon used.  I then tried to read some articles on the same topic in the magazines and found them to be much easier to read and understand.  Then I decided to look up information on William Shakespeare and found many articles about his writing and his life.  I found an interesting article camparing "The Taming of the Shrew" and the movie "10 Things I Hate About You."  It reminded me of when we did the play in class that the students came up with that same comparison!  When I clicked on the publications tab I was amazed at the number of sources that are available.  I searced several in the education field and looked for information on essay writing and found a great number of articles.  I kept looking and found the English Journal, which I subscribed to for many years.  The number of articles for any topic seemed to be endless and I'm sure that anyone doing research would be able to find the information they would need.

Library Challenge # 3

I have worked with SIRS before, both from students ordering copies from the State Library (that really dates me!) and we had some issues years ago in our library.  I found them very useful for speech research, reports, and research papers.  Now that they are online, I think they will be so much more helpful for anyone doing research in any area.  When I was in the Discover edition I looked at several magazine articles.  Most had a photo, gave the reading level and lexile scores and the article also tells the reader if there are other related newspaper, magazine articles or websites.  There is also a dictionary and thesaurus and each individual article has a sort of outline on the left so the reader knows what information will be covered.  I chose to look up the Czech Republic (as I am of Czech descent) and found all sorts of facts including: population, flag, photo, map, facts about the country, geography, weather, economy, government and history.  The article also listed where to go for more information and also told how to cite the article in research.

In the Researcher edition I looked in several areas: Skills Discover, Fiction, Maps and Educator Resources.  I could see a classroom teacher using this site in the classroom for assignments, extra practice in certain areas, as grammar and math,  and for those students that are bright and need more things to do.  I chose Language Arts in the Curriculum Pathfinder and found the scope to be very broad.  It covers so much and I could see using this as another means of teaching a certain concept in the classroom.  Students who would like more practice in certain areas could use the this to prepare for tests too.

Library Challenge # 2

Well, this has been an interesting week!  I'm not at school all the time, because I'm a retired teacher.  When I was there subbing, I had no troubles getting into places, but once I tried to do it from home, it didn't work.  So, I spent a few frustrating days trying to get into Learning Express and finally had to call our school librarian for help.  When I finally was able to get in, then the password wouldn't work--I think because I had been librarian and had ordered books from home.  I finally got that all figured out and set up an account and had fun doing a middle school test and a high school English test.  I could tell that the high school test was at a higher level.  It was challenging because I didn't know what all was being tested, but I soon found out when I checked my score!  I think these courses and tests could be used to help students who are having trouble in an area or are studing for a special test.  I think it could also be used to help adults who are getting a GED or studying for a specific career test.  I also went into the career unit and downloaded a book on resumes and cover letters.  I think this would be very helpful for students who are practicing looking for and applying for a job and also for adults who are looking for a job.  I also downloaded a grammar book and looked at that.  I can see that these books would be helpful so the person could work at his or her own pace.  I think that students who know about these could make very good use of them.

Library Challenge #1

I researched "mountain lion" on the school Kids World Book and found that it had a picture, a video and on the left side there was an outline of the information given.  In the tools at the top of the page I saw there was a place where the article could be read to the reader.  I think smaller children would enjoy the video and having the piece read to them. (My grandson would love this feature!) The Student Edition was on the same format, but was more involved and had more infromation.  It also had the video and the reading of the information, which students would like.  The Advanced Edition had the outline of the information given on the left and lists of related information on the right side.  Because I'm involved with students, I would say this information would be used in the classroom for reports or for people who love knowledge and like to look up information. I noticed that the Discover version was the same version, but was also in French and Spanish and also had the read aloud option.  I think this would be used by foreign exchange students or people who have that language background.  I could also see a classroom teacher using this to help in a foreign language class to help students learn the accents of the language or to learn vocabulary.

The public library version of the World Book had a different cover page, but the information seemed to be arranged in the same fashion as the school versionf for both the Kids and Info Finder. There was the tools section on the top and the outline on the leftt.  They also had pictures, videos and the read aloud option. The Reference Center was similar to the school Advanced version.  The tools were on the top, outline on the left and related topics on the right side.  I could see the classroom teacher using the technology to help  students with research or reports for class.

The visual dictionaries could be used for people to find information on a topic, for students to do research and reports for a class and for class projects.  The Spanish article would be good for someone trying to learn the language on their own, for a Spanish class or for Spanish teachers to assign topics for their students.

Annie's Ideas

I am excited to learn more about what the State Library.  I know some things because I am a retired teacher and have heard about some of the things we will be working with.  I substitute at the local school, so perhaps I can help students when I am there.