SD Library Challenge - Lesson 6 - Gale Virtual Reference Library

1. The book I chose was Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans. I chose this book because I am currently spying for my son to go to college and at the same time, working on finishing up my Doctoral degree. Soon, I will also have my daughter in college. As we all know, college is expensive, and I am always trying to find scholarships for the three of us. We have had to use some Federal financial assistance, as well as a loan, but I would like to find opportunities for Scholarships to help us with the funding that we wouldn't have to be held accountable for in the future.This book could be useful to help me find scholarships we could apply for.

2. When I did a search for zinc, there were many book titles and articles that appeared. One in particularthat caught my attention was an article on an acne diet. Raising teenagers, it has been a periodic dilema to try to cure breakouts. I read this article to determine what some solutions may be. The article did mention many different solutions for eating habits, but only listed zinc as one of the vitamins that can help. It appears to me that the article was populated in my search just because the word "zinc" appears in the article - and wasn't necessarily the subject of the article.

Next, I searched for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Again, I found a lengthy list of books and articles, but what I found interesting is that books and articles appeared that had similar subjects of those throughout the story of Huckleberry Finn, such as censorship, race, and prejudice. I clicked on the first article that was in my list, and found that it was an article that explained what the story of Huckleberry Finn was about. I really like the listen feature of this site! I have had to read lengthy articles in the past, and it was cumbersome to try to figure out how to have the text read. (I like to listen to the articles while I'm driving in my car.) I found this site's "Listen" feature to be easy, and the voice was pleasant to listen to. I would definitely use this feature when doing research.

3. First, I visited Mrs. Kafka's blog, and read that she was interested in listening to just a particular selection of text. I then read the comments that followed, and was glad to discover a post explaining how to do just that. This was very helpful, as I was thinking the same thing when I experimented with the "Listen" feature. Next, I looked at LuckyMom's blog, and learned of more options available with the "Listen" feature. I am eager now to go back in and check out the colors and speed settings.

SD Library Challenge - Lesson 5 - ProQuest

1.       I did a search for Neonatal Nursery Care, and found that most of the results that came up were scholarly articles. These would be a little advanced for elementary and middle school students, but possibly could be used for higher levels of high school classes doing research. I could also refine my search to find reports and magazine articles on my topic, which would help give more information to use in a research paper. Each of the articles also give a link to the citation and abstract for the article, so a student could see if this is information they could use without having to read a lengthy article.

2.       I commented on the “Faith Library” blog – because it was the first one listed and I thought maybe most people would skip the first one. I also commented on Mike Sanders’ blog. His blog post for this lesson was interesting, as he tried to do it with voice recognition software.

3.       First I tried to search for Technology Integration and got zero results. So, I changed the search to find the subject “Technology Integration”. Still I had no luck. I changed my topic to just “technology”, which brought up various different kinds of technology – not necessarily pertaining to education or technology integration in classrooms. I tried another search for “Computer Education” in the title, and found only 2 results – neither of which would be useful in finding information about technology integration in classrooms. Even in my Doctoral studies, I was never satisfied with ProQuest for finding information I needed. I think it is too broad, and doesn’t refine searches as easily as other sites. The last search I did was with “Computer Education” in the subject and found 14 results. Many of these could be useful in my research. I think if I were to use ProQuest for my research, I would have to take advantage of the feature that saves your search results for you. This way when you are doing various searches, you are able to go back and easily access the information you found useful.

SD Library Challenge - Lesson 4 - SIRS

SIRS Discoverer

1.       I did a search for “elephants”. When SIRS Discoverer brought up several resources, I found that the search provided a list articles and also provided the Lexile score of the articles. I noticed that at the bottom of the search results, a student can search for different levels of reading difficulty, as well as ranking their search by Lexile scores. The resource list also gives readers an icon to recognize whether the article contains graphics, activities, etc. When I clicked on an article, I noticed at the bottom of the article it provided the proper MLA citation for students who are doing research papers.

2.       Country Facts: I selected “Europe”, and then “Italy”. This database is so easy to use and provides so much information that kids can use such as population, climate, size, capital, holidays, agriculture, languages, and much more. The graphics shows the country flag and a map. There is also a timeline noting important dates in history for the country.

Maps of the World: The historical maps would be very beneficial for social studies and history teachers. I also like the outline maps, which could be used for students to study identifying states, countries, or continents.

iThink Skills Tutor: This is an amazing tutorial for kids to watch so they can better understand the steps for doing a research project. It is very kid-friendly, and easy to follow.

SIRS Issues Researcher

 

1.       I chose “sports” because I was curious if this would just contain information about the Olympics which are taking place right now. I was impressed to find other current topics in sports such as capping salaries for pro athletes, whether cheerleading should be considered a sport, and performance enhancing drugs. This site would be very useful for students who cannot think of a topic for research. By using the leading issues, students can find a topic and then find resources on that topic. Everything they may need, including timelines and statistics can be found on this site by using the article links or the research tools.

2.       Curriculum Pathfinders: I chose “Math Games”, and found that not only does this give me the links to websites, but also shows an image of the site. This is helpful if I am looking for activities for my kids to do in the computer lab because the image helps me see the approximate age level of the activity without having to click on every link to find that information.

SD Library Challenge Lesson 3 - Learning Express Library

Learning Express Library

1.       I was able to create an account in the Learning Express Library.

2.       I chose an exam for Dental Nursing Assistants. It was a difficult exam, since I have no experience in that field. However, the setup of the exam, and the program was very user friendly and easy to administer. I really like the immediate feedback that the user receives, and the ability to see which problems they got correct.

3.       I’m not as impressed with the Career courses on this site. The two different courses I looked at were 272and 401 pages long in .pdf format. If I were trying to get help in my career search, I would rather get videos, tutorials, or smaller step-by-step handouts. I wouldn’t have time to read “books” about the information I am seeking.

4.       I found an e-book on Career Changes. It was interesting that there was an e-book designed for teachers who may be seeking a career change, although I thought is seemed outdated. Many of the careers it focused on were writing, journalism, counseling, or teaching in a different environment such as abroad or online. I was more interested in getting information for those educators who may have or be seeking higher degrees, and the fields which may utilize many of the same prior education experiences.

SD Library Challenge Lesson 2 - Chilton Library & Mango Languages

Chilton Library

1.       I drive a 2009 Ford Edge. According to the Chilton Library Maintenance, three things I should do every 30,000 miles are:

·         Replace engine oil and filter

·         Inspect windshield wiper spray and operation

·         Top off all fluids

2.       The most recent Technical Service Bulletin was issued on May 27, 2013 for the following concerns: transmission slipping or neutral-out, 5th gear start from stop, backup camera on in Drive, or speed control dropping out or inoperative.

3.       In the repair tab, there is a lot of information about the brakes for my car. I noticed there are not only general information sheets available, but there are instructions for removal or installation of different features that pertain to the brakes, and there are even videos demonstrating the location of certain parts. This would be very helpful for those who are trying to self-inspect their vehicle for troubles and/or repairs.

 

Mango Languages

1.       I had some trouble getting past the homepage of the language I chose to find information. I chose the Czech language, and on the cover page I learned that it is spoken by 12 million people throughout the Czech Republic. I also learned that there are many narrow medieval lanes as well as the largest castle complex in the world in Prague. My husband and I visited Prague about five years ago, so I would like to keep looking and see what else this site may have for information about some of the places in Prague and other cities in the Czech Republic.

2.       I chose the Czech language, and I was able to navigate through the first language lesson, learning to say “hello” and to introduce myself to others in Czech. I’m not sure how long I’ll remember it, but I am interested in learning more of this language from my heritage.