GVRL Lesson 6

I chose "Bowling, Beatniks and Bell-bottoms:Pop Culture of the 20th and 21st Century America".  This publication got my attention as I wore bell-bottoms in the early 70s.  I definitely spent a lot of time bowling as a teenager too  In the table of contents I chose Fashion-1910s.  The information and pictures were very interesting.  I was a bit disappointed that the information was more for the early 20th century.  I may choose to do a week on games in the library and share with the students the section of the publication on 1910s: Sports and Games.

I chose to look up sleep apnea as I suffer from it and use a CPAP machine.  I was surprised to read that sexual dysfunction can be a side effect of sleep apnea and also memory loss.  Sexual dysfunction took me to The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health and the topic sexual dysfunction and the information related to it.  It referred to having a blood test done for hormone levels. This was all new to me.

I also looked into Bipolar Disorder as I have two family members that suffer from this.  I will most likely read more of these articles at a later date.  The listen feature is always great as you can listen and read along at the same time and that helps me to remember what I read.

I commented on Faith Library and Lucky Mom's blogs.  They do an amazing job in their comments.

Lesson 5 ProQuest

I chose lumbar stenosis for my topic as I suffer from it.  I chose to sort by most recent publication first and noted that the newest post is from 2012.  Either there is not a lot being published on the subject or ProQuest has not updated recently.  Nonetheless, there is a wide variety of interesting articles on lumbar stenosis including images.  The articles I skimmed through were quite lengthy and I did not find myself reading through an entire article.  Definitely thorough information is given. There are many options to narrowing your search that would make it possible to go right to the information pertaining to you.  The create alert would bring any new articles on lumbar stenosis right to my e-mail. The program would do the work for you and keep you on top of new articles.  ProQuest also has the option to be viewed in other languages. My Research gives you a file to save your information in. You can also create Widgets.

I also typed in the topic Jimmy Fallon as I enjoy him as a late night entertainer.  Found some very interesting articles.  I will be sharing this lesson with my older students.  I will also get out more information on the SD Electronic Library Resources to the parents.

I chose the Faith Library blog to view and have viewed on and off through this challenge.  This librarian in on top of the game in getting the lessons completed.  I also commented on Patti Mayer's blog.  It seems that I am not the only one amazed at the resources available to use totally free of charge.

Wow!  I could hardly believe my eyes as I clicked on the publication search and saw all the publications we can access.  Checking to see if the Oprah magazine was one of the publications, I find that the publication below it is "Obesity, Fitness and Wellness Week".  I am currently on a high protein, low carb diet as recommended by my physician.  I typed that topic in the search bar and came up with many articles and the one that caught my eye was "Weight Loss: Do Low-Carb Diets Damage the Kidneys"?  I read the article and was relieved to find out that the answer to that question is, no!

I searched librarian aide and did not find anything.  I then searched librarian and found two scholarly journal articles.  Both of the articles were old 1996 and 2009.  

Another great week of learning!

Lesson Four SIRS Issues Researcher

Just starting to explore this site and I am very impressed.  You can read what both sides have to say on an issue. I chose Cell Phone at School.  There are valid arguments for both sides and as an educator I totally am aware of these concerns.  Interesting to read the articles both pro and con.  I enjoyed reading the article To Search or Not to Search (Your Cellphone).  Once again, one can access all source types which are many.  It is possible to search information by Lexile Score.

It is hard to pull myself away from this as I want to delve into it more and will as time permits.  I can see this as being a great tool for the older students as well as adults. This site puts the Weekly Reader to shame.

In the Database Features, I chose Math Games.  I am not a Math person but can see at first glance the wonderful tools found here to enhance Math learning such as Absurd Math, Pre-Algebra From Another Dimension. We will definitely be adding CryptoKids to the list of sites our students are allowed to go to at EST (Extended School Time).  The Language Barrier game is a hoot after having shared Mango with my students.

The learning never ceases to amaze me.  All these hidden treasures that I am learning about.  So happy for this chance to experience the wonders on the South Dakota State Library page.  Thank you!

Lesson Four SIRS Discover

Wow!  I am totally impressed with SIRS. Gone are the days of the Children's Magazine Guide or Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.  I am anxious to share this with my students!  I chose an article from Ranger Rick titled, "Boinngg, Here Comes the Armadillos." Things I noticed were the ability to e-mail the article to myself and the article can be translated into another language like the World Book online. Another feature is that the text can be read aloud online which would be helpful for the non-sighted, poor readers and those not fluent in the written word. Click on graphics and up comes an adorable picture of a armadillo with its baby. The reading level scale is helpful and being able to sort the articles out from oldest to newest is wonderful. My kindergarten students will be using this during reading class this week as they do a mini research paper on an animal of their choosing. The choices of articles, newspaper, magazines, references, graphics and WebFind sites is exciting.  However there were no WebFind sites on the keyword armadillos. Having the dictionary and thesaurus a click away is great tool.

I chose Norway in the Database under Country Facts.  It would be wonderful to visit there one day.  Most everything you would want to know about Norway is right there and you can go right from that page to articles about Norway.  It was interesting to read that 70% of Norway is uninhabitable and that the northern part lies in the Arctic Circle.  Brrr!! I guess we shouldn't complain about the cold. The facts have a 2013 copyright so they are quite up to date.

A map of Norway would be helpful in discussing its economy due to its location and mountains.  Another map highlights German and British invasions as well as Allied position and where major ships sunk. The maps are very impressive and helpful. Anxious to share this with the students.

To further investigate SIRS Discoverer, I chose Educators' Resources first choosing drama.  Once again, I am impressed.  "Do Your Own Shakespeare" especially interested me as I have tried to touch on Shakespeare in my elementary library classes in the past and have been challenged.  I will very likely use this with some of my older students.

The Artist section took me to a list of African American artisits which is significant during Black History month.  I also was moved by the articles concerning artists with disabilities.  The graphics that accompany some articles are wonderful as well.

Under Art I enjoyed the SmARTKids.  As a child my mother was required to memorize art.  I didn't have the opportunity to learn about art.  This is an excellent way to learn more and actually experience art without being there.

I thought I had found the most amazing things and then I looked into Music.  Wow, have to show this to our music instructor.  It has everything.  You can listen to famous composers.  Learn about symphonies, rhythm, beats, etc.  The explanation of each composition is great! I did not know that the Wedding March was for a performance of Midsummer's Night's Dream.  Amazing! You can even compose!

I enjoyed Photography too.  The Dynamite Presidents game was fun and I learned as well.

I do believe I could go through SIRS for an entire week and still not see everything it has to offer.

Lesson 3 Learning Express Library

Prior to taking the Learning Express Library on a test run, I chose to watch all the tutorial videos which were very helpful.  I set up my account and browsed through the many available exams.  I chose to try out the 4th Grade Math: Algebraic Thinking and Patterns.  I took the entire test and scored 13/15 and was able to view the correct answers. This would be helpful tool for the student struggling or wanting to be challenged.  I plan to share this site with our fourth grade teacher.  I also dabbled a bit on the Adult Center and hope to find time to complete one day as I could benefit from building my skills.  I enjoy learning so this is just up my alley.

The career I chose to research was teaching and under that I chose the course  "Basic Skills for Homeschooling".  I wanted to learn more about homeschooling since we have a sizable group of children in our community who are home schooled.  The eBook was easily downloaded.  The eBook gave an overview of homeschooling as well as goals for Mathematics and Language Arts for the home-schooled student. I hope to read the entire eBook as time permits.

I chose the search term "medical transcription" and from there chose "Health Occupation Entrance Exams" and downloaded the eBook.  Both my daughter and daughter-in-law are currently taking and would benefit from this eBook.  As I look through the eBook, I realize I am absolutely not ready for such an exam and am thankful I do not have to take it.

As a note, I have been teaching what I learn through this challenge to my elementary students.  They are enjoying the classes and I am excited to share this information with them.  I am looking forward to lesson four.