Lesson 10 Wrap Up

     I have truely enjoyed learning more about the resources that the State Library offers on line.  In the ten weeks during this challenge, I have used many of the resources with students, teachers, friends and for my  personal interests.  In the process of completing this project, I also was reminded of my procrastinating nature.  Maybe I should search for help with that in Proquest.
     Because I am teaching research and writing in the elementary grades, Worldbookonline.com has become invaluable.  It is age appropriate from grades 2nd through 5th with the choices of levels.  The teachers are excited by this site.
     The Administrators of the school were looking for  practice tests for the DakotaStep tests.  I was able to share the Learning Express Library.  A family who home schools also asked for some advice and I could direct them to that site.  They now have a State Library number and have said they will use many of the resources available electronically.
    Finally, I had a student who was writing a paper on Dillinger and our library did not have any materials. I ordered books through the inter library loan system.  I also was able to suggest Proquest, which he said he would share with others in his class.
     Personally, I am extremely interested in HeritageQuest and Ancestry.  I plan to spend time researching my family. This is a wonder introduction to the State Library online sites.  Now, it is up to me to continue the learning process.

History and Genealogy Resources

     It was fun searching through AncestryLibrary.  I never realized how many Amy Lynne Manns there are in the world.  A little disconcerting to find people with the same full name.  I also looked up my maiden name.  It was interesting to discover some "long-lost" relatives.
     I found my maternal grandmother and it was extremely interesting to see who lived in her household during the 1910 census.  My family knew she had moved from Massachusetts to Washington at some point, but we never knew why her family had moved. It seems at that point she was living with her mother, uncles, aunts and numerous cousins.  There was no listing for her father.  Seeing this information makes me wish I had delved into the family history when my grandmother was living.
     I love this site!  I wish I had known about this a few months ago.  A man contacted our school looking for Rhind Butte.  His wife's grandfather, William Rhind, had taught school there. We tried everything including Sanborn Maps and Ancestry.com.  We were unable to locate Rhind Butte.  With this search, I found W. Rhind with land in Beadle or Sanborn Counties, near section 16, which was designated school land.  This may not be the correct W. Rind, but it is information I can send to this gentleman.


Heritage Quest
     One of my ancestors is Edward Winslow who sailed on the Mayflower.  It was interesting to see what articles are available in PERSI.  Having to send for a copy of an article would make this site most valuable to serious scholars and less applicable in the high school setting.
     Using the Sanborn Maps, I looked up Ipswich in Edmunds County (1908).  It was  interesting to see a Livery, the St. James Hotel, and the Public School with the notation "heat furnance - no lights".  Does that mean the school did not have lights?  I'd like to know what this means.
    
     These are a great source for historians, geneologists, and history buffs.
    
    

ArchiveGrid and Camio Lesson 8

     I knew a short history of Sitting Bull, but I did not know that after the battle at Little Bighorn he took his tribe to Canada.  From there, he returned to the United States and surrendered to the government. 
     I searched "Ghost Dance".  As a result of that search, the first two entries were; "The Jack Wilson Story", n.d. by Edward A. Dyer and "Brief Biography of Paiute Indian Wovoka (Jack Wilson) Prophet of the Ghost Dance"  which could be found at the University of Nevada, Reno.  The listings then moved on to music and musical sketches and then to ghost stories.  A person using this resource would have to filter the information given for a subject.  This site would be very useful to college students or historical researchers who would have the time and ability to request copies of primary resources or travel to the museum, school or historical society that houses the documents.  I'm not sure it would be used very often in the high school setting.

     I searched Paul Revere and came up with 35 items having to do with him.   It showed portraits and paintings of Revere as well as silver pieces he created.  There were pictures of tea services, sugar baskets, teapots, and spoons.  As a side note, I am from the Boston area and our church has Paul Revere silver which includes a Baptismal Bowl and goblets.  This collection was very interesting to me.
     When searching Sioux, I found photographs, paintings, gauntlets, quilts, a dreamer's society pouch,and a scalp shirt.  There were 63 items in all.  The items were held in many different museums; from the George Eastman House, to the Smithsonian, to the Brooklyn Children's Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.  There are many places represented here that I will never have the opportunity to visit in person.  CAMIO is the next best thing to being there.
     Searching for John Singer Sargent, I found 142 entries.  The sidebar to the left allows you to refine your search through choices like oil on canvas, watercolor on paper, or oil and graphic on canvas.  This site allows you to see a very comprehensive collection of an artist work.
     This site would be very useful for art and history classes.  Art books are costly and are usually extremely large for a school library.  It also would be very difficult to include all  artists in a small library.  With this site, your patrons have access to all artists.
     I have just finished reading a book about quilts and how they may have been used to aid run-a-way slaves.  I searched quilts and there were about ten results.  I choose four favorites and saved the to favorites.  What a great feature for someone giving a presentation.
     ArchiveGrid and CAMIO offer great "field trips" outside the four walls of a library. 

WorldCat and More FirstSearch Indexes Lesson 7

      I have just finished reading The Lace Reader by Brunion Barry.  I knew she had a new book out, so I searched that book  1520 libraries had that book.  My local library did not have that novel.  Alexander - Mitchell was the first library, but the directory could not be found. The next library was Siouxland Library, but this time the book could not be found.  The Ames Library did have a copy.  Under the author's name,   there were 4 entries; two books and two books on CDs.  Her new book, The Map of True Places takes place in Salem, Ma, also.  I went to the subject Salem, MA - fiction.  Fiction and non-fiction books (biographies and history) were shown.  This is a great site for helping you to find books by an author and/or subject that you find interesting.

     I searched South Dakota in the OAIster database.  I went to "Letter, Sinclair Lewis to Marcella Powers, May 15, 1942.  I could not view that entry.  I went to the picture of "Log Shanty with flag, woman and seven boys".  It was an interesting picture and could be used for historical reasearch.
    There was an eclectic group of information, from pictures to articles on indigenous plants in this index.  This is a database that would take some time to find the information a person requires. Another interesting place to spend some time.

NetLibrary - Lesson 6

     It took me awhile to figure out how to do the most effective search.  Using keyword, I tried McLaughlin, the History of McLaughlin, and the City of McLaughlin.  I did not find any results, but moved on to South Dakota and found some interesting historical books that I would like to read at a later date.
     I wanted to get a better "feel" for this nonfiction collection, so I next searched diabetes and found 29 books.  Scrolling through them, again I found items I would like to read.  I definitely need more practice.

     When I searched for Constitution, I used full text and found 14 books.  The two books I would  recommend were The Declaration of Independence of the United States  and Representing Popular Soverneighty:  The Constitution in American Political Culture.  This would be very useful to students when more than one student was writing about a topic.  Each student would be able to search NetLibrary and have access to sources that are required by many.

     I searched for Nebraska in NetLibrary, "Advanced Search".  I found 6 results.  My only issue with the results was that fiction and nonfiction were combined.  This may cause some confusion for students.  I am not sure if there was some way to sort this when doing the search.  Again, I found entries that I would love to read. 

Gale Virtual Reference Library Lesson 5

      The Gale Reference Library is a wonderful tool for small school or public libraries.  I chose the American Civil War Reference Library and went to biographies. I was interested in Winslow Homer and found a great biography about him.  What I liked the most was the bibliography at the end which would help with further research.  In that same vein, the left sidebar offers a guide to related subjects.  As I said, this is an invaluable aid to libraries with limited research collections.
     Using the "Basic Search", I was able to find out about zinc through The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health.  Another great research tool.  When typing in Huckleberry Finn, I found
 54 essays.  Using the sidebar and clicking on Critical Essays, I narrowed it down to 46 essays.  After each title, there is a description of what can be found in that essay (ie:  topic, overview, glossary, biography personal account or excerpts). Great resources. 

Lesson 4 Proquest

    Using Proquest, I searched for articles on diabetes.  There were 119,812 articles.  Finding that just a little overwhelming, I went to Suggested Topics and narrowed it down to diabetes and risk factors.  Finally I was able to filter it down to Metabolic Ssyndrome.  It was extremely helpful to have the topic suggestions.
     I found a kindred spirit in the blog by Gentle Reader.  As she said, "this has been the most challenging part of this challenge".  When she discussed Filia's blog, I went there and read a different viewpoint.  It is nice to get diverse opinions in any subject.  Seeing something from another perspective, is always valuable.
     In the periodical section of Proquest, I typed in library and went to "Library Journal".  I choose the future of E Books in the library. It was interesting to read about a subject that is causing debate in school libraries.  I enjoyed this feature of ProQuest, as I am a new Librarian and often need professional advice that I can now find in many publications. I can see myself using the publication part of Proquest quite frequently.

Lesson 3

     SIRS Discoverer is a great site for all levels of students to do a research paper using articles from magazines and newspapers.  I liked the idea it is divided into reading levels.  For the younger elementary, it may be frustrating when they read an article and it mentions a picture that is not attached. As a whole, it offers students many options when researching; much more than a small school library can offer on site.
     A wonderful feature in this site is the way it shows how to cite an article in a research paper.
     In using the "Database Features" on the SIRS Discoverer, I explored the Czech Republic.  In starting the research, I found a very good thumbnail sketch of the country with pertinent facts and a timelime.  From there, you move on to articles about the country. It is a very good introduction to a country.  While exploring this site, I found the graphic organizers and printed them out to have as an "on-hand" resource when teaching writing and research to the elementary classes. 
     Moving on to the "Maps of the World", I found British Columbia.  The physical map showed water forms, land forms, and National Parks.  These would also be very valuable to any research or country unit in the classroom. 
     Another "Database Feature" I selected was the Fiction section.  It offered many good short stories with pictures.  Each story showed the reading level, the source, and a summary of the story.  It would be a valuable cite for teachers and students to find supplemental reading.


    In the "Leading Issue" section of  SIRS Issues Researcher, I chose Child Abuse.  It gave a great overview of the subject with a clear definition.  From there, I moved on to the Pros/Cons questions which gave articles relating to both viewpoints.  I was able to find statistics, relevant terms, and additional resources.  The event timeline in articles was very informational. 
     The "iThink Interactive Research Tutor is a great tool to train and  reinforce all aspects of writing a Pro and Con essay.    It would be very helpful to help with organizational skills.

     SIRS Issues Researcher and Discoverer are two very valuable tools in developing research and writing skills in students.  They are also important resources for teachers and librarians as they offer ideas, training and materials that are often times limited in school libraries. There are a lot of areas I need to explore and share with my colleagues.  



    

Lesson 2

I choose the GED Reading Practice and found it very easy to understand and answer questions.  I believe the tips on test taking would be very helpful to a student taking these types of test.  The best part of this was that I was able to introduce Learning Express and the available exams to the Guidance Counselor, the Test and Data Specialist, and the Elementary Principal.  All seemed thrilled with what was offered.

I examined the Job Search and Networking Course.  This was very informative and was easy to follow.  I found the sidebar which outlines the course and records what you have already done very useful.  The step-by-step tutorial would be invaluable to a job hunter.  I especially like the suggested web sites for job searches.

I tried two career choices in the career topic section, but neither showed any results ( Museum Curator and Historical Researcher, my daughter's chosen field).  I moved on to the The eBooks and found the Teacher Career Starter.  It was very informative and I could see where a career center would find this very useful.

There are many and varied resources in the Learning Express Library.  Not only would this be an invaluable tool in schools, but I can see it be used in public libraries, career centers, and in home schooling to name a few.

World Book

Question 1
     I choose the koala to research.  The information in World Book Kids was very age appropriate for the lower elementary grades.  It also gave a valuable introduction as a student moves into World Book Student.
     I am teaching research and writing to a second grade class.  World Book Kids was an awesome introduction to research using a computer.

Question 2
     World Book Student gives a student a choice of articles that would enhance a research project.  I found many links that allowed me to expand my koala subject.  For example, it showed a link to marsupials.  The side bars offered maps, graphs, and tables.  It allows a much more detailed study of a subject.  A student can choose to move into selected areas of his or her main topic,
     I was also excited to see how to cite the articles at the bottom of the page.  A great way to teach that research tool.

Question 3
     Using the World Book Advanced, I researched Australia.  There were maps, research guides, videos, and timelines.  It was very easy to navigate. 

Question 4
     The ability to hear and read selections in at least 30 different languages would make World
Book Discovery an important tool for ESL students as fell as foreign language classes.
     Being able to check comprehension through questions, look up instant lesson plans, and check content standards would enable any teacher to use this in the classroom.