Proquest 2

The next step in learning about the electronic resource of Proquest was to click on the publications tab.  Because I have been an educator for 29 years, I chose to look up teaching publications.  It's funny that this particular resource was never brought to my attention in all those years.  I chose to research electronic learning in your classroom and how to weave technology into any lesson you teach.  The article was a bit outdated, but still a very valuable resource especially to new teachers and those that may still be afraid of getting their feet wet with technology in the classroom.  You know who you are:)  I could really envision doing a workshop for classroom teachers to introduce this resource.  I am just new in the library business and am finding out there are many resources such as this that would be of interest to our local teachers free of charge.

Proquest 1a

Today I am looking at a cohort's Proquest Challenge search on a lady by the name of Edith Wharton. In the beginning I had no idea who this person was in history other than the fact that she and I share the same first name.  It was interesting that a "basic" search resulted in 2442 articles about this one person.  I can see how this might be a bit overwhelming for anyone, especially a student.  She then went on to discuss how to go about narrowing the search with the use of "suggested subjects" feature which efficiently narrowed her search to 17 results-a much more manageable number.  I can see this being an effective tool when helping our patrons to narrow their own searches on particular subjects.  I am excited to make more use of this electronic resource.  It will be a valuable tool to share with my fellow educators.

Proquest

Well I finally got my State Library Card which makes it much easier to access the on-line resources.  I have been looking at articles on Proquest this past week.  In the beginning I typed in "American Idol", because I wanted to find out what kinds of articles were being printed about that.  I found out there were many of which I was totally disinterested.  However, on the news the other night I briefly heard something about a new gold mine being discussed which would be on the backside of Spearfish Canyon.  That definitely peaked my interest, as I grew up in Spearfish.  I have spent almost an hour just filtering through the many articles.  So far I have found out that they are putting a new roof on the hatchery, installing the American Dipper Birdboxes, and that a Spearfish student was named volunteer of the year.  All of these items plus many more were new learning for me.  Even though I did not find (which I will)  what I set out to,  I found this to be a very valuable asset for finding rliable current events on-line.

Learning Express

Today I spent some time looking at The Learning Express feature.  How cool is this!  So many times our patrons want to practice taking exams such as GED or SAT etc.  When I show them our resource books it is a bit overwhelming, as they are so big and thick.  This will be a nice direction in which to lead them.  I logged in and took part of the GED Reading test.  I found it to be a very comprehensive test which provided a good measure of knowledge.  It was great to get instant feedback and to find out where my strengths and weaknesses lie.  This is a test you could retake and see continual improvement.  It is non-threatening like the actual test would be.  For a person getting ready to take the GED it is a profound example of what to expect. 

Next I went into Job Search and the Workplace which provided me with an e-book called Search Smart and Get Ahead.  I thought this was of great help because you were able to access the information without buying an expensive textbook.  This book contained many ideas on how to go about doing different kinds of research maybe for a thesis paper or something. I found this to be a wonderflul resource. 

The last thing I did was download an ebook on getting ready for 4th grade assessment tests.  I can't tell how this will be of extreme value to teachers and students across the nation in preparation for state standards tests.  This book is nice because it could be used by an individual or by a group.  I will also let our homeschoolers know about this resource.  It was a very rewarding day with the Learning Express.

Madagascar

In the reference center section I chose to look at information about the country of Madagascar because that is where the "fossa" is from and I am interested in finding out more about the country where this animal resides.  As I look at the information in both the right and left margins and consider who our patrons are, I believe the information in the right margin would be of much more benefit than that in the left.  I say this because of looking at it from a student's research standpoint, unless of course you were taking some type of world politics or current events class then the info on the right would be.  There is no doubt that the info on the left is much more valuable to our patrons.   On the article of the title page right away I noticed how this article is aligned with content standards.  For teacher's this is a great connection.  The information on the left would be a great resource for putting together a classroom presentation such as a PowerPoint.  I love the related links to the web in additon to the basic information about Madagascar.  As an educator, this particular piece of World Book would be a great resource.

World Book Lesson 1-Fossa

This animal is called the "fossa".  It lives in the forests of Madagascar.  I chose this animal because my knowledge of it is non-existent.  It is a mammal that has no known predators except humans, and is in danger of becoming extinct.  When researching this animal in the kid's section I found the information to be presented in a very simple matter, such as the vocabulary used.  The info was also presented in a chart format which is easier for young learners to comprehend.  When comparing the info format to Info-finder, I found the information to be much more detailed and the vocabulary used was much more in-depth for more young adult learners.  What a neat site to gather research.  This would have been an excellent tool for my fourth graders and for current patrons who access our library.

New Experience

This is my first experience with blogging.  Just messin' around.  I did some research with World Book  last week and then went on vacation for five days.  Will post info about the resource later this week.