Lesson 10

My biggest discovery was the immediate access to so much information without ever having to go to a library. Our school is rural, and we cannot afford a library or librarian, and with me being a new teacher with a new classroom, I had no supplies and little money to purchase anything with. Access to the state library should really help my 5th-8th grade students access articles and books for Reading and Writing class, and it should help my 7-8th grade students with history research.

Furthermore, being able to access Worldbook Encyclopedia; SIRS for the magazine articles, especially with readability levels; and SIRS Discovery for research and maps are all places that the students can access information, as can other teachers. Although I struggle with technology and anticipate a struggle in that area, I think the students will often be able to find information and help each other, as will teachers.

My husband and I are interested in the ancestry search, and I have already found out more than previous searches have illuminated.

One thing I will have to do is sort out all of this information. Sometimes I could access way more than I needed, and other times, I couldn't find enough, as in CAMIO and ArchiveGrid. If I plan to use these sources in the classroom, I need to practice with it all more and be sure of where I will send the students. I look forward to receiving the e-newsletter, using the Guide handouts more, and receiving more training.

Lesson 7 ArchiveGrid/CAMIO

I was finally able to access ArchiveGrid from our public library, but I was not ecstatic about the results. I found out that Sitting Bull lived from 1834?-1890 and that I could order a copy of the card with an envelope. Also, there were personal papers of Elmo Scott Watson, who I assume was a journalist. It showed 3 of 17 sources.

Next I tried researching women who took part in the American Revolution; the site said that there were other sources (700+), but I didn't know how to access them. What I saw listed under the 4 sources were letters, gravestones, photos, clippings, and scrapbooks. The sources/institutions were not listed. I filled out ordering information, but so far, I'm not sure what to do next.

With CAMIO, I had even worse results. I was able to see what they had for sources, but I was unable to find a place to type in my search because it wanted a user name and password, and neither the library one or the one on my state library card worked.

L9 Heritage Quest, Sanborn Maps

In Heritage Quest, I researched my ancestors in the Revolutionary War documents, and found three. At first I only searched New York, where I knew they had originated, but when I searched "All," there were no more. I found the part they played in the colonial army, who they married, marriage licenses, the names of their children, when they died, pensions granted, judges, churches, and others involved, and more. When I sent the information to my mother, she gave me more history, and I think that once I can get on the AncestryLibrary, I can find out more. Since I only searched Revolutionary War documents, I think I could search other places in Heritage Quest.

In Sanborn Maps, I looked at Custer. The earliest map was 1891, yet so many things were already familiar. The three main streets were Crook, Custer, and Washington heading E-W and 4th-7th heading N-S; Custer had at some time been renamed to Rushmore Road, but after looking at the available maps, I didn't yet find when that was changed. I confirmed something I had read: that Custer and Crook street were made wider to accommodate the turning of a wagon pulled by oxen. Even then, it stated that those streets would be 120 ft., while others were 100 ft. Even on the earliest map, the court house, which is now a historic museum that houses the museum, was present. On the 1915 map, there was a movie theater, and even on the earlier maps, there were 2 grocery stores, as there are now. I had read that there were 10,000 people in Custer at one time (just before the gold rush) (today there are 1800), but I didn't see that many houses represented. To support all of the grocery, mercantile, and lumber yards, though, there would have had to have been more people. Maps were able to be enlarged and moved from east to west and from north to south.

Lesson 8 Learning Express Library

After setting up an account, I checked out the assessments for middle school reading and writing. I saved several assessments to my account and tried a reading assessment. My score wasn't what I thought I would get, but when I read the explanations, I could understand better what was needed in answering those types of questions. The Reading Comprehension course explained that it would take 1-2 hours; I appreciated this because I could see how I might like to incorporate these courses into my class. Taking these courses and assessments on a regular basis would prepare students for the many types of assessments they need to take in today's classrooms. In addition, paying close attention to the results would help a teacher guide instruction. Similar assessments and courses are also available for writing and math.

One thing I wondered was: Where are the courses and assessments for 5th graders? The elementary section went through grade 4, and the middle school section covered grades 6-8.

In the Job/Resume-writing section, the language was simple to understand and well-explained.

The e-books provided information that I wish I'd had at other times in my life when job-searching. I could send other adults there to improve their job situations. I could also see adults using these areas to improve reading, writing, vocabulary, and math skills--in fact, this year I was worried that I would have to teach middle school algebra, and this would have helped me. I think I can refer students to this area to practice in Math Builder, Vocabulary Builder, or Reading and Writing practice; I can see this being helpful for those who need more practice or for advanced students to practice in areas beyond their peers. I can also print off or refer parents to areas where they can provide help for their children, especially during the summer. Some parents may even want to improve their own skills:) Although the books are in PDF format, and students would have to write the answers on sheets of paper, the answers are provided at the end so that they can check after completion.

Lesson 1 World Book

First I looked up "moose" in World Book for Kids. The language was simple, sentences were short, and pictures helped to explain the topic. When I looked at the same subject in the Student version, the language was more precise, more scientific, and the sentences were longer and more complex. Compared to the number of pictures, the verbal explanations were far greater than in the Kids' version. Topics such as mating habits and links to deepen understanding created opportunities to expand knowledge appropriate to needs and ages of the students. Although many of the same facts were found at both sites, far more information and scientific terms subtly expanded student thinking so that a teacher could guide students appropriately.

Next, in World Book Advanced, I researched the country of Finland. My students who are presently studying geology in Science class and Geography during their Social Studies period would be interested in the maps, descriptions of the regions and the various climates in different parts of the country, where the people congregated to live and why, and how they find ways to live and support themselves. They would be interested in the ocean currents that warm the country, the arctic climate, the midnight sun and other phenomenon particular to that country.

Finally, I looked at American Government in World Book Discover. It inserted definitions, alternate terms, and explanations for challenging terms in parentheses. Sentences were briefer, language was simpler, yet explanations would be sufficient for grades 5-8. I was especially intrigued because I think that this would be a place I could send struggling learners to get information that would be comparable to that being read by their peers.

Lesson 6 WorldCat & More

I had a lot of trouble with the advanced search in WorldCat; I must have been searching incorrectly. I had better luck with the basic search. In the advanced search, I searched for several books, and it always said that the book couldn't be found, yet I looked up the same books in the basic search and found them at over 1000 libraries.

The book I ended up searching for was Harry K. Wong's The First Days of School, which could be found at 1355 libraries. The first library listed was in Mountainview, CA. The class descriptor was LC:LB1775.2; Dewey:371.102. The call numbers, I believe, were ISBN: 0962936022 and 9780962936029. LCCN: 97-91202

Harry K. Wong also wrote several other books, including New Teacher Induction: How to Train, Support, and Retain New Teachers; Investigation of Plasma Instabilities..., and Biology: Ideas and Investigations in Science. When I clicked on the subject, I found several other books about teaching, including Growing Minds: On Becoming a Teacher, School Teacher: A Sociological Study, Encouraging reflective Practices in Education, and The Call to Teach.

In OAIster, I read portions of a book entitled A Brief History of South Dakota by Doane Robinson. I was able to read the entire book online, if I wished. I could also find or buy a copy, create a collection where I could save the book, bookmark it, rotate it, or go to specific pages. I'm thinking that this area will be very helpful to supplement my lessons in my classroom and possibly for the students to read on a topic. This is very handy, since we do not have a library at our school, and mine is a new classroom without a large collection of books at this time.

Lesson 5 NetLibrary

In searching my topic of choice, I chose "Continental Congress." Everything that contained the word, continental came up, from "Continental Philosophy" to "Continental Divide" and "Continental Drift." It wasn't until #25-28 when I finally got to the "Continental Congress."
Then I put in "Revolutionary War," and all sorts of revolutions came up, even when sorted by title, and then very few had the words "revolutionary war" in the title. So I went back to "Continental Congress," where I had at least found some things. I created an account and saved several books that looked very helpful to an entire unit about the Revolutionary War period.

When researching "Constitution Day," nothing came up, so I just put in "Constitution." I found information about the Bill of Rights,m the articles of the Constitution, the Constitution of the Confederate States, and a Companion to the Constitution. I saved all of those, but I also found a modern day interpretation, which I felt was not appropriate to my students' age-group because it discussed abortion in much of it. The Companion to the Constitution was especially helpful because it was an interpretation put out by Brigham Young University.

When researching western history, I entered "Nebraska." First fictional books by Willa Cather were listed as well as other fiction. Much of the rest dealt with Native American concerns, which I will keep in mind when I supplement my westward expansion unit. The Lewis and Clark book was scrambled.

I do not think I will use NetLibrary as much as Proquest, GVRL, SIRS, or Worldbook because it wasn't as user-friendly. I may use it, however, if other information runs dry for some topics, but I will have to do more work before assigning students to that site. It was helpful for the details concerning the Constitution, so I can see a few places where it might be helpful.

Lesson 4 Gale Virtual Reference Library

First I found a reference book entitled, "American Civil War." From the table of contents, I chose Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. I listened to the article as I read, but the voice was monotonous and hard to follow. On the plus side, however, the article would be understandable for 7-12th graders of average reading ability. Difficult words were defined, and the captions easily guided the reader through the information. I was able to view a PDF, mail it to myself, and locate important information.

Next, I looked up "Huckleberry Finn." I was able to read and listen to articles concerning themes such as race and prejudice or the American dream. I read the first article, and it included a biography of Mark Twain, gave summaries of the chapters, and explained the theme. I would find this type of article helpful for myself to read before reading the book with students. It warned about language, the history of the banning of the book, and gave background information which would provide added interest. I don't know if I would refer my students there, since they might be tempted to rely on that summarization rather than reading the book for themselves.

Another area I searched was the religions section. I found it interesting that the Muslim/Islam section had it's own book, but Christianity was melded into another volume called "Religions of the World," which included "religions" such as Atheism and Agnosticism, Zen, and Confucianism. I found this disturbingly ironic in an American library system.

L3 Proquest (cont)

As I was creating lesson plans, I found that I would like to obtain some articles on women during the Revolutionary War. Once I narrowed down my topic to journals or magazines, I was able to click on "full text" and find around 10-12 articles. One of my goals was to avoid those articles that were merely book reviews, so I further narrowed my search down to 2-3 articles. Once I clicked on an article of interest, I was able to obtain the article through the Gale Cengage Student Edition (My University of Alaska EBSCO id didn't work, and neither did my SD library card number).

After I found my article, I could email it to myself (I could also print it, but I wanted it at my school). Some articles had an option to download to MP3 player or Read Speaker, which I would have loved had I had one of those needs. I will remember that for future use, however!

I'm going back to the library to find some articles related to other ethnic groups during that time period. My plan is to create a file of articles that students can read to expand their thinking.

Lesson 3 Proquest

First I looked up a favorite topic: Quilting. At first, I was totally frustrated--there were no articles specifically on a technique called: paper-piecing when I entered "quilting & paperpiecing." Then I removed "paper-piecing," and got 10 articles on quilting, 8 by the same author and a lot on books for sale.
Later, using a different method, I started with "quilting," clicked on "full text,"and I got 69 articles. Some were funny stories; for example, one was about a man who was a truck driver and a quilter. I also found how-to's and information on patterns and various techniques. Next I added "history" and got a lot of journals that had articles on historical quilting techniques and stories on quilting and history, so I will save those for my Revolutionary War and Civil War units. That was sometimes how women helped in the cause, and so many war stories concern men and boys.

My next search I did on the "Revolutionary War & U.S. History;" there was a ton of information on specific events, battles, and people, and founders, which will come in very handy in one of the first units I will teach this fall. If I went down the list a ways, I found Patty Hearst; don't ask me how she ended up there, but I imagine that there was a reference to the revolutionary War in the article.

In searching for an article in my field of study, I searched for "The Reading Teacher" and "Literacy Coach." I could find journals from way back, and I could search for specifics such as "comprehension techniques" or "research and instruction." Then I could obtain RSS feeds from various areas of interest, which will be helpful during the school year when I don't have time to do another complete search. I could see that as being especially helpful if I wanted to add more about women or Native Americans to my history units to supplement textbooks, which sometimes don't tell the entire story. Additionally, I'm finding ways to show my students how to do similar searches and receive their own RSS feeds.

Lesson 2 SIRS

SIRS Discoverer had easily recognizable icons so that younger or ELL students and reading disabled or delays children could easily find information and contribute to discussions. It is beneficial to go to the right hand side and click on a more specific topic, such as animals. Then another page comes up with a more specific list, also on the right-hand side.

Articles could be sorted according to ability levels, Lexile levels, or whether articles would be found in magazines, newspapers, or web sites. I looked at an article in Ranger Rick, which would be extremely appropriate for 3rd-5th graders. I also looked in Orbit magazine, which seemed more appropriate for middle or high school students.

When researching a country (I chose Argentina), I found similar guides. I could go to the icon for countries, then the list for a specific country. Articles, again, were sorted according to newspaper or magazine articles, references, or web sites. Also, a researcher could sort articles according to Lexile level so that anyone in the class could participate comfortably.

When searching maps, I noticed that one could obtain political, religious, or historical maps. There was a huge list, some statistics or facts rather than maps, such as a list of women who helped during the Revolutionary War and what they did to help. I could save this page as a PDF and print it or use it in a lesson.
I was also able to search for historical maps, like maps before and after the French and Indian War demonstrating French and English possession and Indian tribes that were involved.

In SIRS Researcher, I clicked on an issue, bullying in school. I could obtain statistics such as global impact, statistics, igan ose a n overview. I could obtain RSS feeds or use a notes organizer. Again, I could choose articles from newspapers, magazines, web sites, or graphics. A time table was available, but many of the entries did not have clear ties to bullying. I liked some of these features because I would be able to steer students toward less biased, authentic information.

Lesson 1 World Book

The mammal I chose was the platypus. When I first entered the kids' version, I noticed how simplified site was. Children can decide whether their creature is a mammal, bird, reptile, etc. Names of animals are in alphabetical order.
The description of the platypus are visual, simple, and general, and the information included habitat and general features that would distinguish a platypus from other mammals. Sentences were short and vocabulary was understandable for 2nd-4th graders of various reading abilities.

In the student version, quizzes and activities were more advanced; children would have to know something about the animal before searching, such as whether or not it were a mammal, where it lived, or some other characteristic that would aid in the search. Students could also search alphabetically, as in the kids' version.

Lexile levels are available and descriptions are more detailed. Sentences were longer and the language is more mature. Students whose reading levels are disabled or delayed can still find ways to find information, and the site routes them through legible text.

World Book Discovery for ELLs provides more visuals, simpler language and descriptions, and the ability to choose translations.
The section on government subtly compares American government to governments of other types. This is aligned with standards. This site seems very user friendly to a wide variety of ELL levels, and more advanced students can easily move into more detailed descriptions such as those on the kids'or students' versions.

Thunderpaws

As a teacher of students with a wide variety of needs and interests, I'm always eager to learn about ways I can use technology to interest and engage my students. I am anxious to learn more about South Dakota's e-brary system, since I have recently moved here. I have been using some systems in Alaska, including those at the University of Alaska, and I recently completed an educational technology course.

Technology has opened up all sorts of possibilities for students in the areas of research, reading, and writing, which is where I usually teach, but I have also learned a lot about history, science and mathematics topics. This is where I hope to help students find areas of their own interests, but also to introduce them to new topics. Additionally, I love using the SMART board and e-portfolios, so I hope to combine these areas with what we will learn in this Library Challenge.