Proquest
1.I did a search for "Photography" and found the results weren't very current. So I narrowed it to only show from October 2011 to March 2012. I liked the fact that you can narrow it all the way down to a specific day. That could help if a patron knows the date an article was published but not the title. I then decided to narrow my search further to "Photography AND business". I then chose to only show trade journals and found a ton of great articles. This is something that could really be useful to a patron working on a business plan. This could also be very useful for college students because you can also narrow it to only show scholarly journals.
1.a. I commented on BookWorm's SIRS Discoverer & SIRS Researcher post.
2. I searched for "libraries" "In subject". It brought up 71 publications! I browsed the Nov/Dec 2011 "Public Libraries" magazine. I am really excited about this! This is a fantastic resource for everybody! What a great way for people to better themselves professionally. Knowledge is power! :-)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Lesson 3
SIRS Discoverer
Since I used armadillos for Lesson 1, I decided to go with opossums. When I searched, I got articles ranging from 1994-2011. I thought the color coded books next to the article telling the reading level were very helpful. That would make it very easy for a student to weed out articles that are too simple/too difficult. The articles ranged from general information on opossums to a story about a specific opossum. Here is a lovely image I found with one of the articles:
I chose to find information on Jamaica. Wow! What a great resource. It has all the facts about Jamaica a kid would need to do a report, as well as teacher resources (easy, moderate, & challenging)!
I love the "Maps of the World" feature, especially the outline maps. The maps + outline maps would be a great resource for geography teachers. It definitely beats trying to use Google to find decent maps.
I thought the "Activities" section was great. It has so many resources that would be great for not only teachers, but parents as well!
SIRS Issues Researcher
Okay, this would be a great resource for both high school and college students. I chose alcoholism and there are so many articles. I think it's great that they have an icon next to it telling you what type of resource it is (newspaper, reference, viewpoint, etc.). The topic overview describes what alcoholism is and has links to "Pro/Con and Essential Questions". It also has statistics, graphs, global impact, timeline, and the list goes on. This is such a great resource.
Curriculum Pathfinders has a wide variety of course subjects ranging from Math to the Arts. I chose Civics for a subject. Oh my! There are so many cool things on here! Games, articles, government documents, graphics.. and did I mention games!? This is a great resource that has something for ALL types of learners!
Since I used armadillos for Lesson 1, I decided to go with opossums. When I searched, I got articles ranging from 1994-2011. I thought the color coded books next to the article telling the reading level were very helpful. That would make it very easy for a student to weed out articles that are too simple/too difficult. The articles ranged from general information on opossums to a story about a specific opossum. Here is a lovely image I found with one of the articles:
I chose to find information on Jamaica. Wow! What a great resource. It has all the facts about Jamaica a kid would need to do a report, as well as teacher resources (easy, moderate, & challenging)!
I love the "Maps of the World" feature, especially the outline maps. The maps + outline maps would be a great resource for geography teachers. It definitely beats trying to use Google to find decent maps.
I thought the "Activities" section was great. It has so many resources that would be great for not only teachers, but parents as well!
SIRS Issues Researcher
Okay, this would be a great resource for both high school and college students. I chose alcoholism and there are so many articles. I think it's great that they have an icon next to it telling you what type of resource it is (newspaper, reference, viewpoint, etc.). The topic overview describes what alcoholism is and has links to "Pro/Con and Essential Questions". It also has statistics, graphs, global impact, timeline, and the list goes on. This is such a great resource.
Curriculum Pathfinders has a wide variety of course subjects ranging from Math to the Arts. I chose Civics for a subject. Oh my! There are so many cool things on here! Games, articles, government documents, graphics.. and did I mention games!? This is a great resource that has something for ALL types of learners!
Lesson 2
Practice Tests
I have used Learning Express Library before to test myself on the Citizenship Test and find it extremely useful. This time, I did a practice math CLEP test. It gives a detailed explanation for the answers to all questions, whether you answered them right or wrong. This really is a very valuable resource that I think is under used!
Job Searching
I chose the "Creating Great Cover Letters" course. It describes in detail the purpose of a cover letter and why it is important, and gives a sample. I found the little grey boxes on each page with the helpful hints very useful. When I got to the page titled "Putting It All Together" there was an option to print at the bottom, which I also found very useful. I liked that on the left side of the page there was an outline. They have a form you can enter your information in. It has plenty of examples. It gave a list of noticeable words to include, which is something most people don't even think about. They also give you example answers to tough questions like salary. Then, at the end it gives you the option to download the cover letter you made in the course. I had to take a semester long course in college on writing resumes, cover letters, etc. and I think this little course had more information and detail on cover letters than my college course had! I will definitely be directing patrons to this resource.
eBooks
I am really impressed with how many different topics/subjects Learning Express Library has eBooks on. I browsed one about real estate today. I didn't realize just how much this resource had to offer!
I have used Learning Express Library before to test myself on the Citizenship Test and find it extremely useful. This time, I did a practice math CLEP test. It gives a detailed explanation for the answers to all questions, whether you answered them right or wrong. This really is a very valuable resource that I think is under used!
Job Searching
I chose the "Creating Great Cover Letters" course. It describes in detail the purpose of a cover letter and why it is important, and gives a sample. I found the little grey boxes on each page with the helpful hints very useful. When I got to the page titled "Putting It All Together" there was an option to print at the bottom, which I also found very useful. I liked that on the left side of the page there was an outline. They have a form you can enter your information in. It has plenty of examples. It gave a list of noticeable words to include, which is something most people don't even think about. They also give you example answers to tough questions like salary. Then, at the end it gives you the option to download the cover letter you made in the course. I had to take a semester long course in college on writing resumes, cover letters, etc. and I think this little course had more information and detail on cover letters than my college course had! I will definitely be directing patrons to this resource.
eBooks
I am really impressed with how many different topics/subjects Learning Express Library has eBooks on. I browsed one about real estate today. I didn't realize just how much this resource had to offer!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Lesson 1b
World Book Online Kids
For my mammal, I chose an armadillo. Armadillos live in both North and South America. They have a hard exterior shell that teeth cannot penetrate. They are also excellent diggers because of their claws. They dig burrows in the ground for shelter. Here is picture of an armadillo:
World Book Online Info Finder
World Book Student has more information than World Book Kids. Student goes into more detail about the armadillo, and appears to have more scientific information. World Book Student also has the citation at the bottom of the article, which is great for students learning how to cite their resources!
For my mammal, I chose an armadillo. Armadillos live in both North and South America. They have a hard exterior shell that teeth cannot penetrate. They are also excellent diggers because of their claws. They dig burrows in the ground for shelter. Here is picture of an armadillo:
World Book Online Info Finder
World Book Student has more information than World Book Kids. Student goes into more detail about the armadillo, and appears to have more scientific information. World Book Student also has the citation at the bottom of the article, which is great for students learning how to cite their resources!
World Book Online Reference Center
This would be a great resource for high school and college students. The left side has article contents for easy navigation as well as citation information. Both of those will save a student time and hassle. The content on the right side is priceless. The related information will also save students time. The primary source information and content standards are also fantastic. I wish I would have known about this when I was in high school/college!
This would be a great resource for high school and college students. The left side has article contents for easy navigation as well as citation information. Both of those will save a student time and hassle. The content on the right side is priceless. The related information will also save students time. The primary source information and content standards are also fantastic. I wish I would have known about this when I was in high school/college!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)