Okoboji, Iowa

Sitting on the porch of our 108 year old cabin in Okoboji, Iowa, enjoying the sunset!
It is so beautiful, peaceful, & I remember great times with family.
I have been so  blessed.
The planet revolves around and I sit and enjoy the beauty of the lake.Wow...

I am amazed the old cottage keeps standing. .Our son and daughter-in-law are helping us perserve the cabin and think my folks would be proud of what we have accomplished. We have tried to keep it as original as we can.Wish they were alive to see what we have done but know they are looking down on
us and giving us their blessings.

Tomorrow I leave for school in Madison South Dakota.
It will be fun to meet up with old tech friends.

Electonic Resource Challenge utilizing the State Library

My biggest discovery was what our State Library has to offer our students & staff.  Expecially at "no charge" to our district!

I was aware of some resources, but did not realize the depth nor wealth.What with budget cuts the "no charge" in our district is huge! Our K-12 students will continue to utilize the electronic resources that will enhance & be very benificial, when doing reports,science & geography fairs, plus various classroom projects. I am proud to say we have made use of some of the electronic resources but realize there is so much more to show them.I hope I can remember all!

For our staff, I am hoping I can convenience our Superintendent to have an in-service to showcase the value & resources available through the State Library. I feel the electronic resources would enhance the staff's instruction and be a way to enrich their classroom teaching. 

With everything going & being electronic these days, the electronic resources will strengthen our district in meeting our tech plan, utilizing our smartboards. 

I want to Thank ...all who were involved in this course and especially.... making me think outside the box! Some of the challenges were a stretch for me,some overwhelming, but I am glad I took the challenge!

Ancestry

 When I searced for my folks who were born in 1910 & 1914 I did not find any information and the same was with my grandmother.

I did search under Birth, Marriages & Death for my name and it came up with my mother's obituary.

It  listed a niece's name. Looking at another  name showing in another newspaper who had printed her obituray, listed an aunt's name. When you viewed record it went into detail of towns, perons names listed,etc. So if a person wanted to find a relative this would work.

I searched for myself and found an address that was not correct. I then searched for my husband and found his address not correct. I was curious about the wrong address information and  I am not sure I would utilize this program as for me. However, if a person was wanting to do research on their family I would direct

them to this site.

I searched for my birth in Sac City, Sac county of Iowa. It reported back that birth place of Sac City

was not found. Again, I believe if you  know what information you are looking for, the historical purposes, I think this site would be a great asset.

I could not find Edgemont listed so I selected Deadwood, SD. I picked the first map and ended up looking at all of them. It was fun to see and compare the maps.

ArchivedGrid

Did not realize Sitting Bull after the battle of Little Bighorn led his tribe into Canada, where they stayed until surrendering to the U.S. forces.

I did a search on John F. Kennedy as students always need materials on presidents.In my findings the information was broken down into various areas. This would assist a student looking up various information regarding their president.

General information was listed for the proposed site of his library. Legal and financial files relating to his attorneys work toward the library and the foundation. I found interesting the way a person could utilize the contact information to recieve more material, data in regarding their subject.

Did not realize Paul Revere was know for making a silver tea urn & that he actually made 3 of them.

When I typed in Sioux I was wondering what would be found. It amazed me the history of the Sioux found in the paintings from George Catlin and how he captured images from self-torture,worship, war dance, etc.

I searched for Renoir and am impressed with his paintings of portraits.

For an Art teacher I think showing various artists to students and seeing how history was captured is terrific.
Also knowing the medium used in the paintings, how long it took to paint, plus being able to compare artists to students. Having students utilize this site is going to be a delight to gather various information regarding an artist and their works. Not only do I see the artistice benefites but being able to tie in with a history project!

World cat

I want to read "The girl with the dragon tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. The

 book is fiction and deals with a Journalist who is is hired to investigate

the disappearance of an heir to a wealthy family.

I found 2325 libraries world wide that own this book with the Alexander Mitchell library listed first. Reading the abstract to see if a book would be of interest is a plus which would let the student be aware  if they wanted to select  the book or not. The desctriptor lists, missing persons, rich people, corruption, murder and investigation, all fiction, giving the reader a closer look at the book.

In Edgemont, our school library has utilized World Cat and find it a great resource.

OAIster database:I am not familar with this section and when I typed in South Dakota I was not sure what I was looking for. The title "Log Shanty with flag, woman and seven boys" caught my eye. General information revealed the use of an image and where you could contact for the picture. There was only one library which showed this picture, possibly located in South Dakota around 1908. Not sure we would use.... unless looking for pictures.

NetLibrary

I searched for 21st Century Skills. Using the basic search I received 525 ebooks. The titles ranged from various challenges, visions, skills needed, to best jobs for 21st century skills. However, when I did a keyword search on 21st century skills and or technology skills I received no information. I was somewhat surprised as to the publication dates as most were older than 2004.

What I did like was the assessibility and usability. I consider students would like accessing the ebooks on line do to their ability and familarity in reading on line. I believe the ebooks are a great addition to any libray in providing additional material, plus the idea of having access to the ebooks immediately. We all procrastinate till the last minute and students are no different in getting their reports done. The student can access 24/7 which works on their timeline and lets them integrate their findings into their report!

Gale Virtual Reference Library

I chose "wind energy" for my topic under bacic search. I was surprised as to the amount of information one found plus giving reference to the benefits & drawbacks and the economic impact of wind energy.

I liked the simplicity of the research. Both  high school & middle school students would be able to utilize.  Having  the article read too was a nice element, as a student could return to the reference to go over again, to help understand & reinforce. I thought the citation tool feature was benificial to help explain & provided examples for formatting.

 I can see staff utilizing on a smart board and or on their wikki space. They would be able to highlight the areas they want to reinforce and have it read to the students for modeling what information they are seeking in a report.The side bar and the dictionary are  nice features, which again supports and strengthens the information a staff member, would want their students to remember.

PROQUEST:

PROQUEST:
 Looking and researching on Proquest for our district is used for high school students.When students come in and need information from a journal, newspapers or magazines they are directed to utilize Proquest. Being a small district we are not able to offer a wide varitey of articles so Proquest offers our district the content at a click of a mouse.

I do think proquest is somewhat overwhelming. Students always want to use the quickest way and trying to have them use the advanced search makes them have to think more indepth and sometimes outside the box! They just want an answer immediately and at their fingertips.They will be glad when furthing their education that Proquest is available to them!

Do not see elementary using this site.

SIRS: Discovery

In our district, I find this site to be useful for Elementary students and staff. The  websites featured are great .... being a tech coordinator, I know they will be educational and trusted sites, so students are safe in searching.

This is a great tool to use with the smart board as the classroom teacher can show the features, familarize & demonstrate to their students how the site works before students are assigned their project.

 This site is useful for not only articles, but the added features of pictures,or activites within their report.

Students can search according to publication date and know the reading levels. Thus it gives each student, no matter their reading level,  a feeling of accomplishment and understanding for thier article. 

The SIRS-Issues Researcher is utilized by our High School English/Speech teacher for "all" her  high school students. 

The students love it as the research is all at their  fingertips.

If a student has difficulty in finding a subject area they are able to choose a topic. 

Each topic is by catogories.The Pros & Cons of a subject, website links,along with the ability to understand the quick search, search syntax, search methods, sorting, etc. assist in building good research skills.

The Curriculum Pathfinders, under the data base featue, goes along with our teaching of 21st Century Skills. It reinforces staffs lesson plans in the areas of Math, Scienc, Social Studies, Language Arts, Fine Arts and Health.

Wihtin the toolbox feature the powerpoint presentation could be utilized as a rubric & the research guide for critical thinking, is superior for a student to use in doing a research project!

Learning Express Library

Learning Express Library

Elementary School I noticed only for 4th grade and seemed limited.
Middle School offered the  high school entrance exams which are great for students coming in from a home school learning enviroment.
High School offered a mutliple area for any student who would want to gain or improve their knowledge.

For our District the Learning Express Library is a great asset. Our Guidance counselor take the students to the site in a lab setting. Students are encouraged to do the ACT, ASVAB, etc. tests. It is a great way to expose our students what jobs are available,the knowledge you need for that field of study and lets students know if they truly are interested in that field of study.

My husband is looking at getting his electrician license and so I put him on Learning Express Library and had him take the exam 1 practice test. He was very impressed and so thankful to know what he needs to brush up on. His computer skills are the hunt and peck type and he found this site easy to manage.

I downloaded the  e book "Goof-Proff Personal Finance".
I found the book easy to access and gathered some rather great information from
"Not Saving Smartly for your retirement years"!

I would highly recommend this site.

World Book

Searched Penquins:             

World Book Kids:
Students would be able to utilize with ease, on a level students in the lower grades would be able to comprehend. Very colorful and gets students engaged.

World Book Students: goes into more detail allowing more search options. For the teacher shows which  content standard is covered.

Advanced: So much information for anyone looking to complete an assignment for their country..All search items are listed with ease for a student to find listing independently, maps, pictures, people, economy,etc.

Discover: Well set up and ease of use. Students and staff have information at their finger tips.

All ways of searching on World Book is a  great way to utilize with a smart board in introducing & showing students how to research, know what is offered and  what content a student could use.

Today

Shared a great moment with a teacher friend today.

I think it is so tragic about the incident in Arizona.
Makes me sad to think of how much anger there is.

Tonight.... putting a puzzle together.