Lesson 4

SIRS Discoverer
1. Look up armadillos (or your favorite animals) and discuss the results. Note if you find pictures and the various reading levels of the articles. (Remember, articles in SIRS Discoverer are selected, so you may not find something from yesterday's news.)

When I looked up armadillos it told me there were 94 articles. It was then broken down by categories:
newspapers, magazines, reference, graphics, webfindsites.
I am able to sort lexile levels from lowest to highest or from highest to lowest.
Information is listed after each title, it lists the reading levels from general to challenging, tells you if the article has a photo or graphic  and some titles have pdf's listed. I think this site would be an excellent resource for the Kindergarten and First grade teachers at my school.


 2. Some of the most useful features in SIRS Discoverer are the "Database Features" located on the right hand side of the window. Explore this section by:

• selecting a country in "Country Facts" and noting the information located there.
• selecting a map in "Maps of the World" and discussing a potential use.
• selecting one other area in "Database Features" and discuss the information located there.

I chose South Asia and then Afghanistan. It listed the basic information for Afghanistan, showed the map and the flag of the country. The listen feature was something that would be beneficial to students and you can select what language you would like to hear it in.

Maps of the world - there are over 3000 detailed, printable maps available. I found the outline map to be an interesting resource for Geography classes. The printable feature would be useful for teachers also.

The next feature I explored was the NEW Animal Facts site. My younger students love to look at animal books and I think they would enjoy exploring this site. The animal list is sorted by name from A-Z. Once you choose an animal it looks like the  Discoverer  page. All the information is listed by lexile level and it tells you if the article has photos or activities to go with it.


SIRS Issues Researcher
1. Select a leading issue and discuss the information located there, noting the topic overview, research tools and articles.

ADHD - Pro/Con Issues
150 source types were listed
topic overview - Mental Health
it gave a timeline, global impact, stats, and a note organizer

 2. Select "Curriculum Pathfinders" on the right hand side of the window and mouse over the course subjects, noting the range of topics covered. Pick your favorite subject and discuss the information located there.

I chose Math Games. There were 14 results. There was a website for Math games that looked very useful for our lower elementary students. Visual sites for grades 9-12 and a website from a teacher for Math lessons.

Lesson 3

 1.  Set-up an account in Learning Express and browse through the available exams. 

2.  Choose one and answer a few questions. Then click "Score my test" in the top toolbar. Ignore the warnings and continue to have your test scored, so that you can see how the diagnostic page looks. Then click "View Answers" at the bottom of the page. What did you think about this test experience?
I chose the civil service test. After I answered the first five questions it would not let me go (on my next test I found the button to go onto the next page) on so I scored my test. I do not feel like this site is very user friendly. Even after watching the tutorial it was difficult to determine where to go to find a practice test. The results page breaks down the questions into categories so you can see where you are stronger and weaker.


 3.  Job searching and resume writing are among the self-paced courses in Learning Express.  Locate the career resources and add one of the courses to your center.  Take a few minutes to explore the course and note your observations.
I took the postal worker exam. It was a timed test but the setup was hard to follow. It asked questions about a particular form and I had to keep scrolling back up to the top of the page to look at the form and then scroll back down to find what question I was on. The questions were quite easy. If it was set up differently so that the scrolling up and down was eliminated it was be more user friendly.

 4. Type a search term in the search box for a skills improvement or career topic in which you are interested. Notice that results are sorted by tests, courses and eBooks (if all of those are available for your chosen topic). Please select an eBook and look through its pages.

I clicked on Reading Skills eBooks and there were 6 choices.  I then chose Visual Communications. There were 236 pages to this ebook.
It was a study of :

Understanding Maps, Charts,

Diagrams, and Schematics   



    

Lesson 2

Chilton Library


1. Look up the maintenance schedule for your vehicle. View the whole chart and list 3 things that should be done at 30,000 miles.
2007 Ford Ranger pickup - replace fuel filter, inspect cooling system and replace auto. trans fluid & filter

2. What was the most recent Technical Service Bulletin or Recall notice on your car about and when was it issued?
noise from clutch slave cylinder when clutch - engaged/disengaged 10/28/08

3. Click to the Repair tab and note some of the information about brakes for your car.

There are videos to view brake service and installation of the brake rotor and pads.
Also, a specifications chart is pictured with information on the caliper and minimum thickness of the front and rear brake.
Several video options are listed that would be very helpful to the backyard mechanic.

Mango Language

1. Try out a lesson. How helpful would this program be to help you learn a language? What did you like? What didn't you like? Why?
I chose Spanish and I found the lesson very interesting. Hearing the spoken language was helpful, the repeat button was something I used a lot !! I did not like that you had to log in or create a profile. Maybe there is a way around that, but I did not find it.

2. A Vietnamese student would like to improve her English. You do not know Vietnamese. Describe how Mango Languages can help her.

This student could improve her English by listening to the English lessons and hearing the spoken word. The option to listen to it over and over would be very helpful.

 

Tumblebooks Library

 

This I am very familiar with !! It is a wonderful resource for storybooks online. The read aloud option and the highlighted words are great!

The book I chose was: Animals Black and White

the feature of lexile levels would be helpful for teachers and parents who are choosing an appropriate book. After listening to the story  I clicked on the puzzle. I felt like the puzzle was a bit hard for a preschooler or Kindergartener.

I would recommend this site to any parent of a preschooler thru 3rd grader and of course it is a great source for elementary teachers.

Lesson 1c

Lesson 1c -- World Book Foreign Language Edition

1.  Check out the visual dictionary in either language and look for an animal.  Discuss how this could be used in your library.
The visual dictionary could be very helpful for our foreign language students to practice vocabulary and to hear the words spoken correctly. The visual photos were well labeled and this would also help someone who was trying to learn and new language. For the ESL students who speak Spanish, this site would be a tool to help them learn information and then make it easier to express what they have learned in English.

 2.  In the Spanish language encyclopedia, Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos, look up an article and listen to it being read aloud.  How could this feature be useful for your library?
Again, I think the foreign language students would benefit the most from this site. Having it read aloud and the words being pronounced correctly will help them become familiar with the language and help them to become more fluent.

Lesson 1b
 1. Using World Book Online Kids, search for information on a mammal of your choice. Find a picture and information about its habitat.
Once again I choose the fox . I found that the public library edition was very user friendly with a pictures and options for translating the text and having the text read aloud. This would be very helpful for ESL students and beginning readers.

 2. Using World Book Online Info Finder, search for information on the same mammal you searched in World Book Kids and compare the amount of information.
I found this site to be very informative.  Students who were doing a report could find many resources
on this subject. It included a Facts Table, a save to my research option, double click option to define words, and the lexile level is also displayed in the upper left hand corner.  Very appropriate for 4th thru 8th grade.

 3. Using World Book Online Reference Center, search for a country. Notice the types of information available on the left and right side bars of the first results screen. Click on the link for your desired country, and again notice the types of information on the left and right side bars of the screen. What types of information will be most valuable to your patrons.

I chose Sweden as my country to search. On the first results screen I found the maps and tables the most interesting. There is a wealth of information listed.
After clicking on the link for Sweden the information was broken down into more specific sections.
It included a Facts Table which I thought gave an overview of the most important things to know about Sweden. Again, I really like to the save to my research option, I think that would be a very helpful tool for anyone doing research.