MARVELous Maine Invitational has come to an end. I have spent quite a few hours "roaming" the resources MARVEL has to offer and come away with some database resources I will be sure to use and others with which I will be familiar even though they are not places I would normally go for information. I enjoyed most of the lessons and found some very helpful places for information. I probably would not go to the business publications databases, but if I ever decide to dabble in the stock market, who knows? I really liked the HealthSource and Medline databases. I can see myself going to these for information about illnesses or medications. The school editions of Britannica were fantastic! I really like the idea of finding information on a reading level of all my students. Many encyclopedia articles are too wordy and ultimately too difficult for students to understand. Having the elementary and middle school editions fits right into my classroom. The biggest discovery for me were the NoveList products. Because I teach language arts and am always "playing" with books and literature in some way, I found myself spending a great deal of time with NoveList.
I have used and intend to keep using NoveList Plus. I can see myself using the database to find books and materials for my classroom. The detailed information about varied books and authors would help me add to my classroom library. The book lists would be equally helpful. I particularly found the series' "read alikes" most interesting. What a great way to find books for those students who only want to read a specific genre! Not only could I use this source, but it would be easy for my students to use as well. I will be showing them the source and having them bookmark the link to use as one more "help" for selecting new reading materials.
Overall, I can say my hours with MARVEL was time well spent. I refreshed my knowledge of sources I had used before and learned about other sources I plan to use in the future.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Invitational Week #10 - Ebsco Family
I felt a sense of calm when I saw this week's topic - Ebsco Family of databases and ebooks. I was familiar with the databases and have used them for my own research as well as with my students for some of their research projects.
The first database I used was MiddleSearch Plus. I searched for a variety of magazines my students would like to use for information: Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time for Kids, Teen Magazine. All three were in the list of publications. As I browsed I saw a number of publications that would be of interest to middles school students. Sports Illustrated for Kids had publications available from 1992 to the present time.
I decided to do a few basic searches first using the MiddleSearch Plus database and then adding an additional database, Academic Search Premier. I first searched "Zinc in Foods" in MiddleSearch Plus. I found one article from 2005 in the Saturday Evening Post. When looking in Academic Search Premier, I found several more timely articles available. The same results occurred when I searched "Holiday Traditions" in each of the databases. The Academic Search Premier database had a wide variety of publications with information my students could use for a small project they may do.
In the past my students used MiddleSearch Plus, Academic Search Premier, and Master File Premier to do research for some debating they would do in class. We had to search and I had to "play around" with the sites to become fairly comfortable, but once we got on track, we did find a wide variety of information they could use for their debate topics.
The Ebsco ebooks were new to me. When I first searched, I tried to find information on Holiday Traditions. I needed to be much more specific because the books found definitely did not fit my purpose. An advanced search helped a bit. I then looked for any titles connected to Romeo and Juliet. Multiple titles popped up. When I searched Constitution Day, I did not see many titles I felt fit the topic. I actually ended up with books telling about the constitutions of many foreign countries. My advanced search to learn about western history led me to Oklahoma history. When I first typed just Oklahoma, the titles listed were pretty varied. When I searched "Oklahoma history," the titles seemed more closely connected to the topic assigned.
I will use Ebsco host again as I have had pretty good luck finding information in the past. I especially liked that we can go online to look for magazine articles. Gone are my days of browsing the Readers' Guide to Periodicals. Wow! That was hard to use with middle schoolers! Academic Search Premier and MiddleSearch Plus are much more middle school user-friendly!
The first database I used was MiddleSearch Plus. I searched for a variety of magazines my students would like to use for information: Sports Illustrated for Kids, Time for Kids, Teen Magazine. All three were in the list of publications. As I browsed I saw a number of publications that would be of interest to middles school students. Sports Illustrated for Kids had publications available from 1992 to the present time.
I decided to do a few basic searches first using the MiddleSearch Plus database and then adding an additional database, Academic Search Premier. I first searched "Zinc in Foods" in MiddleSearch Plus. I found one article from 2005 in the Saturday Evening Post. When looking in Academic Search Premier, I found several more timely articles available. The same results occurred when I searched "Holiday Traditions" in each of the databases. The Academic Search Premier database had a wide variety of publications with information my students could use for a small project they may do.
In the past my students used MiddleSearch Plus, Academic Search Premier, and Master File Premier to do research for some debating they would do in class. We had to search and I had to "play around" with the sites to become fairly comfortable, but once we got on track, we did find a wide variety of information they could use for their debate topics.
The Ebsco ebooks were new to me. When I first searched, I tried to find information on Holiday Traditions. I needed to be much more specific because the books found definitely did not fit my purpose. An advanced search helped a bit. I then looked for any titles connected to Romeo and Juliet. Multiple titles popped up. When I searched Constitution Day, I did not see many titles I felt fit the topic. I actually ended up with books telling about the constitutions of many foreign countries. My advanced search to learn about western history led me to Oklahoma history. When I first typed just Oklahoma, the titles listed were pretty varied. When I searched "Oklahoma history," the titles seemed more closely connected to the topic assigned.
I will use Ebsco host again as I have had pretty good luck finding information in the past. I especially liked that we can go online to look for magazine articles. Gone are my days of browsing the Readers' Guide to Periodicals. Wow! That was hard to use with middle schoolers! Academic Search Premier and MiddleSearch Plus are much more middle school user-friendly!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Invitational Week #9 - Hop on the Learning Express!
This week we were to experience Learning Express. I viewed both the tutorial from Learning Express as well as the one from MARVELous Maine Invitational and was glad I did. They helped me right from the start since I had to edit my Marvel account to a public library affiliation in order to log in to Learning Express. The editing was simple and once done I progressed to Learning Express with no problems.
Browsing the courses and exams was eye-opening. It was pretty easy to move around and navigate the site. I was surprised, I guess, by the wide variety of courses, exams, and e books provided by Learning Express as well as by the wide range of "levels" for different kinds of learners. I was surprised to see a practice test for the U.S. Citizenship Exam. The final section of "helps" was even in Spanish!
I decided to try a high school entrance exam. I tried the COOP Practice Exam 1: Part1. The section of the test I did was on sequencing - scary at first but then fun! Once I stopped the test, I really liked how the test gave me my score and then showed how I did, question by question, even giving explanations about each and every answer. Very helpful for someone practicing for the exam! I can imagine how these practice tests could save someone time and money (no paying for courses to prep for exams - just do it on Learning Express!).
Next I moved on to the Job Search and Workplace Skills section. I had to add the course I selected to My Center so I had to be sure I logged in. Again, pretty painless. I downloaded a course called Job Search and Networking Skills. It gave information as well as links to several job search sites. There were many helpful hints for someone looking for a job and the language was not complicated, the site and links user friendly.
Finally I decided to browse some of the e-books available. Quite a variety! I downloaded 8th Grade Reading Comprehension Success to My Center. I'm not sure an 8th grader would enjoy the book but the information was something that would definitely help a student. I plan to go back and check out a few of the e books on vocabulary skills practice.
Overall I see a great deal of value in Learning Express. It is definitely a user-friendly resource which could meet the needs of a wide range of a library's visitors.
Browsing the courses and exams was eye-opening. It was pretty easy to move around and navigate the site. I was surprised, I guess, by the wide variety of courses, exams, and e books provided by Learning Express as well as by the wide range of "levels" for different kinds of learners. I was surprised to see a practice test for the U.S. Citizenship Exam. The final section of "helps" was even in Spanish!
I decided to try a high school entrance exam. I tried the COOP Practice Exam 1: Part1. The section of the test I did was on sequencing - scary at first but then fun! Once I stopped the test, I really liked how the test gave me my score and then showed how I did, question by question, even giving explanations about each and every answer. Very helpful for someone practicing for the exam! I can imagine how these practice tests could save someone time and money (no paying for courses to prep for exams - just do it on Learning Express!).
Next I moved on to the Job Search and Workplace Skills section. I had to add the course I selected to My Center so I had to be sure I logged in. Again, pretty painless. I downloaded a course called Job Search and Networking Skills. It gave information as well as links to several job search sites. There were many helpful hints for someone looking for a job and the language was not complicated, the site and links user friendly.
Finally I decided to browse some of the e-books available. Quite a variety! I downloaded 8th Grade Reading Comprehension Success to My Center. I'm not sure an 8th grader would enjoy the book but the information was something that would definitely help a student. I plan to go back and check out a few of the e books on vocabulary skills practice.
Overall I see a great deal of value in Learning Express. It is definitely a user-friendly resource which could meet the needs of a wide range of a library's visitors.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Invitational Week #8 - Finding Ancestors
I was a bit worried this week. I knew I would not have time to get to the local library to do any type of search using Ancestry Library. I did take the time to go through the tutorials as well as go to the links provided on Marvelous Maine Invitational page.
If I eventually go to Ancestry Library (and I will do this at some time), I had better make sure I have lots of time to spend searching. I can see myself getting totally wrapped up in this site! I come from a large family with roots spreading to many far reaching places. It would be fun and informative to get as much information as I could about my ancestors and my family now living!
The information in the tutorials made the search process look fairly easy and inviting to someone who is curious about their family. I liked the fact that there were varied sources available for information. The pull down menus seemed easy to use. A wide range of information seemed to be at hand even if you knew very little about the person you were "searching." You could take "bits and pieces" of information you did know and use that in the search.
I did wonder if the entire search was free or if there would be some fees involved. I have looked on ancestry.com before and realized that I could only go so far before I had to pay a fee to find more detailed information. I wonder if the same happens here. There was no mention of any fees involved so I am assuming that the search process would be free.
We are all curious about our "roots" so Ancestry Library would be one tool to satisfy that curiosity!
If I eventually go to Ancestry Library (and I will do this at some time), I had better make sure I have lots of time to spend searching. I can see myself getting totally wrapped up in this site! I come from a large family with roots spreading to many far reaching places. It would be fun and informative to get as much information as I could about my ancestors and my family now living!
The information in the tutorials made the search process look fairly easy and inviting to someone who is curious about their family. I liked the fact that there were varied sources available for information. The pull down menus seemed easy to use. A wide range of information seemed to be at hand even if you knew very little about the person you were "searching." You could take "bits and pieces" of information you did know and use that in the search.
I did wonder if the entire search was free or if there would be some fees involved. I have looked on ancestry.com before and realized that I could only go so far before I had to pay a fee to find more detailed information. I wonder if the same happens here. There was no mention of any fees involved so I am assuming that the search process would be free.
We are all curious about our "roots" so Ancestry Library would be one tool to satisfy that curiosity!
Monday, November 12, 2012
Invitational Week #7 - Healthy Me!
This week we got to do some searching on two health databases, Health Source - Consumer Edition and MedLine Plus.
Health Source - Consumer Edition was pretty easy for me to use. I can see that it would be helpful for anyone wanting to find articles and abstracts on pretty much any health topic. I found it amusing that when I opened the publications link, the first two magazines noted were for AARP since I am feeling rather "old" tonight! Of course it was an alphabetical list so the AARP publications were first! I searched "juvenile diabetes" and found many articles with the most recent from November, 2012 (this month). I read an article called "Diabetes and School" (June, 2012) which was an abstract from a book called Understanding Diabetes. The article was informative and easy to read. I could have "listened" to the article as well. One thing I noted was a mini "table of contents" to the left of the article which highlighted the main points of the abstract. Any parent of a child with diabetes would find the article very helpful.
Medline Plus - I can see this database being helpful in many different ways. The main page seemed really easy to use with the three "big" headings. The news column on the right had articles about teens with HIV, exercise for Parkinson's patients, and smokers who have colorectal surgery. I am guessing the articles change daily. I liked the "top searches" section on the left. It listed many topics in different sized prints. I am guessing the larger the print, the more searches of that subject. For instance diabetes, hypertension, and vitamin D were in very large print. When using the "Drugs and Supplements" link, I searched lisinopril, a high blood pressure medicine. The resulting link gave information I could easily understand - lots of helpful information that would help anyone taking the medicine. I then went to "Health Topics" and once again searched juvenile diabetes. This was a bit tricky to find - under "d" for diabetes not "j" for juvenile diabetes. The resulting information was very different from what I found in Health Source. I got an overview of the disease and then found links under subheadings to all different kinds of publications. I am sure the search could go on forever (at least it seemed so)! The "Videos and Cool Tools" section was fun. I am not into watching surgery videos so I avoided those. However, I began a tutorial on menopause (a bit slow and elementary) and watched a video on allergies (peppy, informative, brief). Something I noticed on both was that not only was there audio but you could read the text if you preferred. I then went to the Games and Quizzes section on the right of the page. Fun! The game I played was for a child so I can see MedLine Plus tries to hit all audiences.
Will I use these? I can see them being helpful and yes, I probably would go to them for medical information.
Health Source - Consumer Edition was pretty easy for me to use. I can see that it would be helpful for anyone wanting to find articles and abstracts on pretty much any health topic. I found it amusing that when I opened the publications link, the first two magazines noted were for AARP since I am feeling rather "old" tonight! Of course it was an alphabetical list so the AARP publications were first! I searched "juvenile diabetes" and found many articles with the most recent from November, 2012 (this month). I read an article called "Diabetes and School" (June, 2012) which was an abstract from a book called Understanding Diabetes. The article was informative and easy to read. I could have "listened" to the article as well. One thing I noted was a mini "table of contents" to the left of the article which highlighted the main points of the abstract. Any parent of a child with diabetes would find the article very helpful.
Medline Plus - I can see this database being helpful in many different ways. The main page seemed really easy to use with the three "big" headings. The news column on the right had articles about teens with HIV, exercise for Parkinson's patients, and smokers who have colorectal surgery. I am guessing the articles change daily. I liked the "top searches" section on the left. It listed many topics in different sized prints. I am guessing the larger the print, the more searches of that subject. For instance diabetes, hypertension, and vitamin D were in very large print. When using the "Drugs and Supplements" link, I searched lisinopril, a high blood pressure medicine. The resulting link gave information I could easily understand - lots of helpful information that would help anyone taking the medicine. I then went to "Health Topics" and once again searched juvenile diabetes. This was a bit tricky to find - under "d" for diabetes not "j" for juvenile diabetes. The resulting information was very different from what I found in Health Source. I got an overview of the disease and then found links under subheadings to all different kinds of publications. I am sure the search could go on forever (at least it seemed so)! The "Videos and Cool Tools" section was fun. I am not into watching surgery videos so I avoided those. However, I began a tutorial on menopause (a bit slow and elementary) and watched a video on allergies (peppy, informative, brief). Something I noticed on both was that not only was there audio but you could read the text if you preferred. I then went to the Games and Quizzes section on the right of the page. Fun! The game I played was for a child so I can see MedLine Plus tries to hit all audiences.
Will I use these? I can see them being helpful and yes, I probably would go to them for medical information.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Invitational Week #6 - All Business!
My word for this week's tasks - confusing! I have always known that I would not do very well in the business world and browsing through this week's links has confirmed that fact in my mind. I know we really did not need a great deal of background information just to do the searching and "playing around" on the varied source pages, but I was really out of my comfort zone.
I tried to get an early start on the assignment for the week and ended up completely baffled by the first source we needed to find. When I found out today it wasn't there, I felt better. However, I spent a lot of time and energy trying to find the first source page and became very frustrated.
Business Source Complete - I found several articles in academic journals and periodicals when I searched for information on FM radio. I think I could help someone with a search using this site. I liked the visual search options. I searched Maine tourism and came up with a varied amount of information. It was fun and easy to use.
EconLit - I had some problems trying to use this source. The topic of resources for small business seemed to be too broad and I tried to narrow the focus but had no luck. I got no results. When I looked for EPA and small business I found one article. The search for tax policy and small business articles resulted in several full text articles. However, several of them were dated. I tried to narrow the timeliness of the articles to see what would result and had little luck.
Value Line - I am really not into the stock market, but I thought it was fun to look at different companies and see how they were doing in the stock market. I guess if I wanted to buy stocks I could go to this site. I was unfamiliar with much of the terminology so I don't know how helpful I could be to someone else!
Wall Street Journal - When searching for articles about small business and health care I found several articles, many of them "older." I did narrow down my search to the past year and found some full text articles that could be helpful for small business owners or anyone looking for information about taxing of small businesses.
As a teacher of 7th grade, I'm not sure I would use these sources. It did me good to look them over and I did get over my frustration as I continued using the varied sources.
I tried to get an early start on the assignment for the week and ended up completely baffled by the first source we needed to find. When I found out today it wasn't there, I felt better. However, I spent a lot of time and energy trying to find the first source page and became very frustrated.
Business Source Complete - I found several articles in academic journals and periodicals when I searched for information on FM radio. I think I could help someone with a search using this site. I liked the visual search options. I searched Maine tourism and came up with a varied amount of information. It was fun and easy to use.
EconLit - I had some problems trying to use this source. The topic of resources for small business seemed to be too broad and I tried to narrow the focus but had no luck. I got no results. When I looked for EPA and small business I found one article. The search for tax policy and small business articles resulted in several full text articles. However, several of them were dated. I tried to narrow the timeliness of the articles to see what would result and had little luck.
Value Line - I am really not into the stock market, but I thought it was fun to look at different companies and see how they were doing in the stock market. I guess if I wanted to buy stocks I could go to this site. I was unfamiliar with much of the terminology so I don't know how helpful I could be to someone else!
Wall Street Journal - When searching for articles about small business and health care I found several articles, many of them "older." I did narrow down my search to the past year and found some full text articles that could be helpful for small business owners or anyone looking for information about taxing of small businesses.
As a teacher of 7th grade, I'm not sure I would use these sources. It did me good to look them over and I did get over my frustration as I continued using the varied sources.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Invitational Week #5 - What a "Novel" Idea!
This week we have been spending time with NoveList and NoveList Plus. Because I teach middle school, I spent most of my time looking around NoveList K-8.
Our first "task" requested that we search a series and then see how we might use the "view" box to help with finding books. I searched the Percy Jackson series as it is very popular with my seventh graders. When the search showed me several of the Percy Jackson books, I "played around" with the different views possible when looking for book titles. Personally I like the detailed view. When I look for a book, I like to have a summary of the story to see if it would appeal to me. As I looked over other information on each of the views, however, a couple things "popped out" at me. One was the fact that you can get more information about the book, information like genre, setting of the story, types of characters in the story... As a teacher I think this could help when looking for books for my students or having them look for books for themselves. The other "cool" part of my series search was finding "Series Read Alikes." Wow! This directed me to several series/books that are like the Percy Jackson books. What a help this would be when working with a student who loves a series but has read all the books in that specific series! A teacher could direct the student to other series with similar characteristics. A definite "plus" in my eyes.
The second task followed along with what I had discovered during my first task. We were asked to find authors whose writing was similar to David Baldacci's writing by looking at the "Read-alikes from NoveList" section on the page. Again this would be helpful when a student loves a certain author and we have exhausted the local supply of reading materials from that author.
I spent a great deal of time browsing the database. Something I really liked was the "Grab and Go Book Lists" capability. I am always looking for books to read aloud to my students or books to recommend. The lists would be very handy! As a teacher I would use the detailed view. I know my students would use the grid view when browsing the Grab and Go Book Lists. Middle Schoolers are usually first attracted to a book by the cover. They could browse through the books on the grid and if a cover caught their eye, the student could click on the title to get more information about the story itself. I can see this as a very helpful tool for my students when they are trying to find books. I could see these lists as helpful for me to collect books for my class library or just to supply titles for students to try. The fact that the lists can be printed is great! I was interested in the book discussion guides. It took me awhile to get to these, but I did eventually find them. (I should have used the bar at the top of the page!) Most of the books/authors did not apply to my grade level, but the information I found was interesting and seemed easy to use.
I was interested to get into NoveList and enjoyed the time spent on the site. I will definitely use NoveList and take some time showing my students how this could be really helpful to them when looking for books.
Our first "task" requested that we search a series and then see how we might use the "view" box to help with finding books. I searched the Percy Jackson series as it is very popular with my seventh graders. When the search showed me several of the Percy Jackson books, I "played around" with the different views possible when looking for book titles. Personally I like the detailed view. When I look for a book, I like to have a summary of the story to see if it would appeal to me. As I looked over other information on each of the views, however, a couple things "popped out" at me. One was the fact that you can get more information about the book, information like genre, setting of the story, types of characters in the story... As a teacher I think this could help when looking for books for my students or having them look for books for themselves. The other "cool" part of my series search was finding "Series Read Alikes." Wow! This directed me to several series/books that are like the Percy Jackson books. What a help this would be when working with a student who loves a series but has read all the books in that specific series! A teacher could direct the student to other series with similar characteristics. A definite "plus" in my eyes.
The second task followed along with what I had discovered during my first task. We were asked to find authors whose writing was similar to David Baldacci's writing by looking at the "Read-alikes from NoveList" section on the page. Again this would be helpful when a student loves a certain author and we have exhausted the local supply of reading materials from that author.
I spent a great deal of time browsing the database. Something I really liked was the "Grab and Go Book Lists" capability. I am always looking for books to read aloud to my students or books to recommend. The lists would be very handy! As a teacher I would use the detailed view. I know my students would use the grid view when browsing the Grab and Go Book Lists. Middle Schoolers are usually first attracted to a book by the cover. They could browse through the books on the grid and if a cover caught their eye, the student could click on the title to get more information about the story itself. I can see this as a very helpful tool for my students when they are trying to find books. I could see these lists as helpful for me to collect books for my class library or just to supply titles for students to try. The fact that the lists can be printed is great! I was interested in the book discussion guides. It took me awhile to get to these, but I did eventually find them. (I should have used the bar at the top of the page!) Most of the books/authors did not apply to my grade level, but the information I found was interesting and seemed easy to use.
I was interested to get into NoveList and enjoyed the time spent on the site. I will definitely use NoveList and take some time showing my students how this could be really helpful to them when looking for books.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Invitational Week #4 - Hobbies? Crafts?
When I saw this week's topic, I almost froze. I am not a "crafty" or hobby type person. Once I got to the page, I decide to look into the Home and Leisure category. This proved to be a good one for me. I went directly to the subcategory of "Healthy Cooking" and found lots to keep me reading for awhile. I focused on recipes for main meals I could cook on a weekday, mainly made from fish or poultry, foods my husband and I like. I found a lot of recipes from magazines I have heard of and, in some cases, used. I don't believe we have the cookbooks in our middle school library but am not really sure since I don't look for cooking magazines when I am in there.
I browsed through the recipes when I clicked on the link to the information. Something I found with all the recipes I read was that the html versions were not really user friendly. The recipes seemed to blend into each other with no differences in font print or size. I had to read very carefully as I was looking at the recipes. Also, none of the recipes I read had photos which I find very helpful when looking for recipes. I did save recipes to a folder, however, as some are going to be on our dinner menu!
The "help" button came in handy with my folder. I decide to open a personal account so my folder could be saved and I could add information to the folder as I browse through other areas of the site. The "help" information led me in the correct direction and even told me what to do if I forgot my user name and password.
Before quitting the site, I had to go to one other link - Halloween crafts for kids. What fun! The links I checked showed recipes as well as gave directions for all kinds of crafts and cooking projects. One thing about the links was that most had photos and step by step instructions which made them user friendly for kids (and for "visual" people like me). I think this would be really helpful as a teacher if I wanted to do some "themed" activity around holidays.
Fun activity this week! I plan to go back and browse through some other topics!
I browsed through the recipes when I clicked on the link to the information. Something I found with all the recipes I read was that the html versions were not really user friendly. The recipes seemed to blend into each other with no differences in font print or size. I had to read very carefully as I was looking at the recipes. Also, none of the recipes I read had photos which I find very helpful when looking for recipes. I did save recipes to a folder, however, as some are going to be on our dinner menu!
The "help" button came in handy with my folder. I decide to open a personal account so my folder could be saved and I could add information to the folder as I browse through other areas of the site. The "help" information led me in the correct direction and even told me what to do if I forgot my user name and password.
Before quitting the site, I had to go to one other link - Halloween crafts for kids. What fun! The links I checked showed recipes as well as gave directions for all kinds of crafts and cooking projects. One thing about the links was that most had photos and step by step instructions which made them user friendly for kids (and for "visual" people like me). I think this would be really helpful as a teacher if I wanted to do some "themed" activity around holidays.
Fun activity this week! I plan to go back and browse through some other topics!
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Invitational Week #3 - What's News?
Today I spent some time on Maine Newstand. I had used this database in the past but realized today I really did not use it the way it could be used to my advantage and that of my students. I decided to search for information related to the Dempsey Challenge since it has been in the news recently. Most of the articles were from the Lewiston Sun Journal and of course quite timely (I narrowed the search to articles published in 2012). I then decided to sort my search with most recent articles first.
Next I decided to "play" with the most recent article. I looked at the abstract with citation as well as full text with citation. I then checked out the citation information and was amazed. There are multiple formats for citation - more than I had ever heard of! If I was using this source with my students, I would have to be sure I specifically have them use only one format for citations. They and I could become very confused. However, having a citation already done certainly saves time and insures fewer headaches for students and teacher!
I think using this database would take lots of direct instruction with students. They would need to definitely have some help with using the page once a search has been done to narrow down information. I would be leery about having them just search key words due to the number of sources that might be found (in the thousands for some topics). I can see that if students are using Maine Newstand (or other newspaper/periodical databases), they would need to have a teacher's input as they work to help with their search.
I set up an alert but got the message that the server was having problems so I have to try again another time. I will try again later in the week to see what happens.
I do play to check out the Maine Memory Network as well as Windows on Maine. I think I would have some fun looking around on those sites. I can see how they could be really useful in the classroom!
Next I decided to "play" with the most recent article. I looked at the abstract with citation as well as full text with citation. I then checked out the citation information and was amazed. There are multiple formats for citation - more than I had ever heard of! If I was using this source with my students, I would have to be sure I specifically have them use only one format for citations. They and I could become very confused. However, having a citation already done certainly saves time and insures fewer headaches for students and teacher!
I think using this database would take lots of direct instruction with students. They would need to definitely have some help with using the page once a search has been done to narrow down information. I would be leery about having them just search key words due to the number of sources that might be found (in the thousands for some topics). I can see that if students are using Maine Newstand (or other newspaper/periodical databases), they would need to have a teacher's input as they work to help with their search.
I set up an alert but got the message that the server was having problems so I have to try again another time. I will try again later in the week to see what happens.
I do play to check out the Maine Memory Network as well as Windows on Maine. I think I would have some fun looking around on those sites. I can see how they could be really useful in the classroom!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Invitational Week #2 - More searching!
Oh my gosh! I returned to the Britannica Middle School edition site tonight. I went to a link called "Learning Activities" and got totally wrapped up in some information and activities about short stories and novels. Informational yet easy to use and not too "boring" as my students might say. I may use this with my classes when I get into story elements in detail. I plan to use the setting information in a couple of weeks. Fun!
Monday, October 8, 2012
Invitational - Week #2
I spent a great deal of time exploring the Britannica editions today. I think I could have spent all day on the site! I had used Britannica with my students in the past but never got on the correct link, I guess. I had never used the middle school section and realize now just what I missed and what my students have missed! I love the home pages for each of the school editions. As I "played around" with various links to articles, I found myself searching more and more information. I would definitely take my students to the middle school home page and do a lesson on just that page with them, showing them the options and letting them search around as they try many of the links.
I began my search today by linking to the Britannica Elementary School edition, searching for information about the Maine coon cat. The search brought me to a page with links for several cats but not the Maine coon cat. However, there was a picture of a Maine coon cat on the right. When I clicked on the photo, it enlarged the picture but did not give any further information. Something I liked about the elementary edition was the fact that students could click on the speaker at the top of the article to have the article read to them - a great help for nonreaders. I would direct some of my low-level readers to this edition if they were struggling to understand information from other editions of the Britannica.
The Britannica Middle School edition brought me directly to an article and picture of the Maine coon cat when I searched. I was surprised it had an article when the elementary edition did not have any information about the Maine coon cat. If I was an elementary school teacher, I would make sure to check the middle school and high school editions if one of my students was having problems finding information on a particular topic while searching the elementary edition. One thing I have noticed on each of the editions used so far is the print size. I am pleased that the size is not tiny but a size that would not "turn off" students. Sometimes when print size is too small, middle school students will shy away from the article, thinking it will be too difficult for them to read.
I ventured to the Britannica High School edition and searched for information about Spain. Not only did I find a great deal of information in the main article (with a clear and easy to follow table of contents on the left) but I found helpful information in the right-hand side bar. I think the information on that side bar most helpful to students would be the maps and photos in the multimedia section. As a teacher I was impressed with the "Learning Materials" section. Of course the citation information at the bottom of every article is all-important!
The "workspace" option could prove to be a very helpful tool for my students. I like the idea that they can immediately move information they want to save to a "page" as they move around the Britannica searching for more information for a particular project. I think it would be especially good for saving maps and pictures (with citations). Kids tend to print images they think they "might" use for their projects and end up with lots of images they don't need. By saving these images to a workspace, they could end up with a wide variety from which they may choose a few to use in a final project. Another important part of the workspace is the ability to "share" with others. I can see this as an important tool when working on group projects. Students can look at peers' workspaces to help them as project information is combined into a final product. It could also lead to discussion among students about varied facts that are learned. As a teacher I could have information in my shared workspace with the expectation that students go to my workspace as well. Students could use this workspace in a variety of ways. I worry about "copying and pasting" of entire articles but hopefully could control this by checking with students as they are working.
I am not done searching around on the Britannica editions. I have a project in mind for my students and have already done a brief search to see if the Britannica would be a good source for our research. I want to make sure my students will be able to access a wide variety of information as they search. The articles I found looked very promising. My search has just begun!
I began my search today by linking to the Britannica Elementary School edition, searching for information about the Maine coon cat. The search brought me to a page with links for several cats but not the Maine coon cat. However, there was a picture of a Maine coon cat on the right. When I clicked on the photo, it enlarged the picture but did not give any further information. Something I liked about the elementary edition was the fact that students could click on the speaker at the top of the article to have the article read to them - a great help for nonreaders. I would direct some of my low-level readers to this edition if they were struggling to understand information from other editions of the Britannica.
The Britannica Middle School edition brought me directly to an article and picture of the Maine coon cat when I searched. I was surprised it had an article when the elementary edition did not have any information about the Maine coon cat. If I was an elementary school teacher, I would make sure to check the middle school and high school editions if one of my students was having problems finding information on a particular topic while searching the elementary edition. One thing I have noticed on each of the editions used so far is the print size. I am pleased that the size is not tiny but a size that would not "turn off" students. Sometimes when print size is too small, middle school students will shy away from the article, thinking it will be too difficult for them to read.
I ventured to the Britannica High School edition and searched for information about Spain. Not only did I find a great deal of information in the main article (with a clear and easy to follow table of contents on the left) but I found helpful information in the right-hand side bar. I think the information on that side bar most helpful to students would be the maps and photos in the multimedia section. As a teacher I was impressed with the "Learning Materials" section. Of course the citation information at the bottom of every article is all-important!
The "workspace" option could prove to be a very helpful tool for my students. I like the idea that they can immediately move information they want to save to a "page" as they move around the Britannica searching for more information for a particular project. I think it would be especially good for saving maps and pictures (with citations). Kids tend to print images they think they "might" use for their projects and end up with lots of images they don't need. By saving these images to a workspace, they could end up with a wide variety from which they may choose a few to use in a final project. Another important part of the workspace is the ability to "share" with others. I can see this as an important tool when working on group projects. Students can look at peers' workspaces to help them as project information is combined into a final product. It could also lead to discussion among students about varied facts that are learned. As a teacher I could have information in my shared workspace with the expectation that students go to my workspace as well. Students could use this workspace in a variety of ways. I worry about "copying and pasting" of entire articles but hopefully could control this by checking with students as they are working.
I am not done searching around on the Britannica editions. I have a project in mind for my students and have already done a brief search to see if the Britannica would be a good source for our research. I want to make sure my students will be able to access a wide variety of information as they search. The articles I found looked very promising. My search has just begun!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Invitational - Day 1
Let the fun begin! I am happy to become a blogger. At least I hope I have become one! The next few weeks should be an adventure!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)