LI SiRS Discoverer 2

Using the database feature I clicked on the "country Facts" link, which took me to an incredible alphabatized list of countries. Each one had a camera icon, noting that it had graphics with it. I chose the country Qatar as it was the only country that started with a Q. There were many facts on this country as well as leveled graphic organizers for teachers to use. Some of the helpful tools I noticed was being able to email the article to yourself for use at home writing your report or school. It also had the cite notation available to be copied directly into your report. All this information makes me want to check at the school to know if the teachers realize what is at their fingertips, offered by the state library. If there is another electronic resources challenge next year I will recommend it to the staff, even though I work at the public library. Once I get more familiar with each system I would love to hold workshops for children and their parents to let them know the wonderful resources that are out there.

Using the maps of the world, I learned they have over 3,000 detailed printable maps. These maps show bodies of water, major roads and cities of states and provinces. It wasn't as interactive as the World Book Encyclopedia, you couldn't zoom in or out but it would be very helpful to students looking at what general route they might use to get to a certain location, which areas have bodies of water and how many. It also shows the railroad lines which would be important in an economy or transportation since of a social studies class.

Question: What is a tree's favorite drink?
Answer: Root beer!--Allison Kwatek, Topsfield, Massachusetts
* * *
Question: There are three ladies under one small umbrella. How come they did not get wet?
Answer: Because it was not raining!--Ray'Lee Purscell, Benbrook, Texas

From CHILD LIFE, copyright (c) 2001, by Children's Better Health Institute, Benjamin Franklin Literary & Medical Society, Inc., Indianapolis, IN. Used by permission.

These fabulous jokes were found in the activities section under the database feature. Then I found a list of things from recipes and plays to jokes, cartoons, quizzes, etc. There is no better way to grasp a student into a subject than to have them do something fun and exciting. Sometimes it doesn't take much to lead them back into a factual discussion than a well placed joke on the topic you are covering. Making food or doing a play brings a new dimension for the kids and

Picture title: Cartoon: Space Junk Caption: (Credit: Cam Cardow/Cagle Cartoons)

they learn by doing. This is a great resource for teachers but also kids and parents. When required to do a project to show what you've learned at the end of a unit, some kids find it difficult to think outside the box but this gives them ideas where to get started. Bravo SIRS Discoverer!

PS: Incase you missed it, the jokes and cartoon are in honor of both Eath Day and Arbor Day :)

LI SiRS Discoverer 1

	Picture title: Armadillo
One of my favorite armadillo books is Armadillo Rodeo by Jan Brett. I make sure to read this story with my best Texan accent and the students really seem to enjoy it. Luckily the armadillo is nearly as cute as her illustrations, unlike my disappointment in the naked mole rat. These little guys are really quite amazing with their bendable shield and jumping ability of 90 cm in the air to scare their victems, giving them a chance to run into the nearest underbrush. In order to find my little friend I chose animals from the "browse subject tree" menu. This took me to current articles on animals. To the right was a list of the different classifications, in which I picked mammals. Again there were 91 articles in all on current mammal subjects but for a specific search I looked at the alphabetical list to the right and chose armadillos. Lucky me, according to the tabs across the top, there were 8 articles to choose from and the key just below let me know the reading level of the article. There were 6 graphics available si decided to look through them. Two were very strange as they were named moose and koala in tree, which thats exactly what they were. I was hoping there was at least an armadillo in the foreground, but no, the titles were appropriately named. I also checked out the giant armadillo, which was not very attractive. How lucky students are these days to have so much information available and teachers as well.

LI Learning Express 2*3

I found the information for nurse easy to find under jobs and careers, there was an ebook on nursing plus a practice test and information on licensing and certification. I think the student would find a lot of useful information. As far as a pharmacist, there was only information on a pharmacy tech, which would give him some idea of the field but not the information he needed fully to become a pharmacist.

LI Learning Express L2*2

I would recommend the Job Search and Workplace Skills Link in Learning Express. I would show her how to access the courses under success on the job from the heading Job search, resumes and interviewing. Here she could learn how to succeed on the job, get ahead and master crucial skills.

LI Learning Express 2*1

First I will say a prayer of Thanksgiving on behalf of this boys parents, under my breath of course. They must be thrilled, especially if he still resides in their basement. Then I would suggest he check out the GED Preperation site on the Learning Express resource. I myself like to know what my strengths and weaknesses are so I would probably take the practice tests in each of the subject areas to see what I was proficient at and what I needed refreshed on. Then I would show him the courses available for the subjects he might be struggling with. If writing was not his strong point the skills improver has excellent prompts to . . .well. . .improve your skills.

While studying and taking the GED this person should have a goal in mind of what they want their next goal to be. Therefore I would direct him to the Jobs and careers link. This may ignite some passion. Once he chooses a field, or looks into several, he will be given the opportunity to have career guidance and know what he has to do inorder to have that career wether it's traditional college, a trade school or internships. Some fields are even broken down by specialty. If there are tests that need to be taken for the career they can start practicing those as well.

Thirdly, but not last, I would direct him to job search and workplace skills. It is never a waste of time to pick up new skills to land a better job. There might be an entry level job in the field he hopes to make a career of. This site will help him polish his professional image as well as create a resume worth reading.

I actually intend to practice with my son, not 27 :) but a sophomore in high school. He is ready to start looking into colleges and wants to pick one that will best prepare him for the career of his choice. We are fine tuning what his ideal job would be and looking onto what he needs to follow that path.

LI 1B*3

Using the World Book Online Reference Center I looked up both e-books suggested. I just can't beleive how available classic literature is today. How convenient for teachers to assign books for discussion when they are right at the fingertips of the students. I read the first few paragraphs of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and also had the text read to me. It was hard because the dialect was lost on the computer voice, it definately was not the quality of a book on tape but it would be helpful to hear words spoken that you may have never read before. I was amazed at the amount of books available and I only searched through the juvenile section. Not only could students download these stories from home to their electronic devices but come into the library and download them. Technolgy seems limitless and I am glad the state library is keeping up as well as it is.

LI 1B*2

Was anyone else disappointed with the Interactive Earth? The name suggests that you should be able to see volcanoes erupt from the core and plates shifts causing tidal waves and earthquakes. . .ok maybe I was thinking a more of the geological earth and not the geographical one. When I clicked on the interactive maps I was given a pop up of South Dakota, which was neat, with a choice to look at more information on my home state. I moved the curser around and realized I could get information on any place that had a pink tear drop over it. I moved over to AZ, the state I grew up in and clicked into it's link. It brought me to a page where I can access endless information from the state bird and flag to it's government, people, economy, climate etc. I again moved over to SD and found that if I zoomed in a little more, I could even see my tiny town of 350 people, nice.

What a great way for a student to find information for a report if they don't have a location picked out. Some of us have a hard time thinking of places to research off the tops of our heads and this is a great visual tool. In a matter of minutes you could check out several locations and make a decision based on which one provides information that interests you. Very exciting.

LI 1B*1

Oh what fun, I love playing games. I chose to do story problems in math. Unfortunately there is not a choice for grade level or age, so some games might be too easy or too hard for certain students. I also felt like the pop up that came on the screen when a correct answer was produced contained too much information. Not only did it give positive reinforcement that the answer was right but gave reasons why the other answers were wrong. Valuable information but maybe should have been in a different box or different colored text might have helped sort through information for a quick understanding.

I also tried the animal sort. Again there was no designation for level and it was pretty easy. Although you need to know how to read the animals name to play. It would be nice to have a way to read it for younger kids who are not readers yet. Just to see what would happen if you got an answer wrong, I tried to put the mosquito in the bird treasure chest and it bounced back in place saying "uh oh" which is a nice way to let the child know they are wrong but gives them the opportunity to try again.

Not sure I should admit this, but I also tried the Australian crossword since I taught a thematic unit on it in the late 90's to third graders. The bad part is I pretty much failed it. Hopefully if I was a student learning this I would know the answers. In all fairness some of those questions are not things I would have had in a third grade unit :). These games would not only be a great way to sharpen skills youngsters are having trouble with, especially over long breaks like summer, but what a great way to study for tests.

LI challenge 1a4

Using the World Book Discover I looked for an interesting article on American Governement. This is not my favorite topic as I can never remember dates and facts very easily. As I narrowed my search from government to American Government and then to people, I scrolled through the pages having little interest in the men of our governments history. Then on page 3 I saw Sandra Day O'Conner. Being from Arizona I remember going to the capital building in Phoenix on  field trip for Student Council in Jr. High and we got to see her office. I remember being very impressed that she was the first lady to sit on the Supreme Court and wondered if I would be the first lady to do something when I grew up. I think we get so used to things that are apart of our lives we forget that it takes one person to be the first, the struggles they needed to overcome and courage to go further even when other people get in their way.

I was impressed how hard she had to work starting out just to be a lawyer, offering her legal services for free. I remember Regan and Carter running for President but I did not realize that part of Regan's campaign was to elect a woman to the Supreme Court. This information was all on the video which was linked to the page that gave information on O'Conner. Using the link to the left I was able to view the article in several different languages although I was disappointed that the video, of O'conner was not available in other languages.

LI challenge 1a3

I apologise in advance if I offend anybody, but the naked mole rat, will call him Doug (DUG- again sorry) has captured my attention and I am sticking with him in this assignment as well. :) When I got to Worldbook Advanced I remembered Doug was from Eastern Africa. Since I am not familiar with all the countries of Africa I went to the atlas link on the right side of the page and then located eastern Africa, and from there the country of Mozambique.

There was plenty of additional information besides the lengthy article the link directed me to. Patrons doing a report on this country could find specific information on the flag, traditional music, history, goverment, the economy, climate and much more without being bogged down with information they didn't need. I especially liked the pictures of the country. Too bad Doug only sees it from the underside.

Patrons are also able to print by the category they need instead of printing the whole article which can save time and paper and alleviate the hastle of having to sort through unwanted information.

LI Challenge Lesson 1a2

What luck that I should be able to search further on my good friend the naked mole rat. Upon typing this in the search bar, I was linked to a page about mole-rats,  which is defined as any variety of small rodents adapted to underground life. Their was however a different picture of my pal-

World Book illustration by John F. Eggert

 which seemed even less flattering than the one I had grown to think of "so ugly, it's cute." At the bottom of the page there was a link to the more specific mole-rat in question. The original profile picture emerged and I read some of the same material I had in World Kids but there was much more information added and included some scientific terms like eusociality, which means their colony resembles that of ants and bees, with one queen female.

So while I don't think I will be bringing one home anytime soon to cuddle with and replace my dogs, I do have a new appreciation for my hairless friend even if he does not resemble the Disney Disillusion.

LI Challenge Lesson 1a1

Before I started my assignment I spent some time getting to know the features in World Book Kids. I played a few games, looked at some of the activities and science experiments. Later I had my daughter play some of the games with me and she seemed very interested. Little does she know that I will be using this over the summer to keep her skills up. Mwahahahaha. I also intend to encourage kids at the library to use this as an alternate to the hours of uneducational games they play at the library.

Back to the assignment. I didn't really have a particular animal in mind so after narrowing my search to animals and then mammals, I clicked on an abritrary page and was lead to the n sewction, where I was acqainted with the naked mole rat. A fond memory came to mind as I recalled watching Kim Possible with my daughter and being enamored by the pink bundle of cuteness named Rufus.

Disney did a good job of smoothing out the rough spots because to my dismay, the real version of a naked mole rat was a far cry from the cute, energetic, coolness of Ron's side kick.

Is it the black beady, squintish eyes? The long, over protruding buck teeth? Or just the pink wrinkled, hairless skin that gave me cause to withdraw from the computer monitor. Anyway, when I got passed the initial shock I found out that naked mole rats live underground feeding on the underground parts of plants. They live in colonies of about 80 and only 1 female and 1-3 males breed for the whole colony.

Although he wouldn't make a good pet, his picture did kind of grow on me. Is that a smile I see behind those teeth?

Credit: © Frans Lanting Studio/Alamy Images