ProQuest

1. I did a search on Olympic Host Cities.  Over 10,000 results came up.  So I did an advanced search to narrow down the number of results.  For each result, you have an option of  "previewing" the article.  This is a nice feature.  One can get an idea of what is contained within the article by looking at the preview.  Once you click on the article, you can read it but also find other articles that are similar by viewing "Similar Documents" on the right hand side.  I used the sorting feature and really liked that I could read articles about the current Olympic host city and upcoming cities that will be hosting the Olympics.  It is nice to have the option to "sort" the results.  Another nice feature is that a citation is given for each article.  Students and their teachers will appreciate this feature when doing research.  Students who are doing research, also have the option to "save" the article to "My Research".  This feature is nice for those doing extensive research and wanting to save articles for viewing later.

I did email an article to my own email address.  When I went to that email, the article was right there.  This might be a useful tool for students doing research.

1a.  I viewed Mark Kenefick's blog on ProQuest.  I found that I agree with him when he says that ProQuest is geared towards higher level learning.  I have shown this site to our high school students and feel that they can handle ProQuest.  But younger students would struggle with getting through this data base.


2. Publications:  I was surprised at the number of journals available through ProQuest.  I did a search found the magazine "Voices from the Middle" a journal for middle school teachers.  Journals from 1997 were available for viewing.  One can also view issues that are from the most recent journals.  I clicked on this and found 14 items from the December 2013 issue of "Voices from the Middle".  I also looked for journals that were available for librarians.  Several library journals were available.  It will be a good place to look back to in the future. 

SIRS

SIRS provides a wide range of options for searching – actually, it is pretty easy to get caught up in all the information and topics in SIRS.  The two minute video was helpful at introducing the data base.  I would recommend this video to those just beginning the use of SIRS.

SIRS Discoverer – the first thing that comes to mind with SIRS Discoverer is the fact that the subjects are listed with a graphic.  This is appealing and easy to read.  I think students would find that the graphics make their use of SIRS easier to navigate.

1. When searching for armadillos, I liked that there were options for narrowing down the search.  One can sort through the information by relevance, date, or Lexile.  Using the Lexile ranges would be helpful for a teacher who would like an article that is readable for the students.
2. The Country Facts section is a great section for a geography teacher.  There is a plethora of information provided on countries.  A student can find information for every country in the world. 
3. I selected several maps to look at in the “Maps of the World” section.  One that would be useful in geography is finding a time zone map when teaching about different time zones.  Other options in the map section would be using the earthquake hazards map of the U.S. and the Tsunami in the South Pacific map when discussing hazards that occur in the world.
4. I couldn’t select just one other area in the “Database Features” sections.  There were too many of interest.  The first one I looked at was the one on the Olympics.  This section gives current information and articles on the Olympics in Sochi.  It would be a great source for helping students find current information about what is going on in Sochi.  I also liked the Biography link.  This source would be helpful to our 6^th grade teachers who put on a Wax Museum event in which student research a person from history and then portray that person at the wax museum.  These teachers would find this site helpful.  They could use the Lexile readings to help students find articles that are appropriate for them.  I also like the “Science Fair Explorer” section and would love to share this with one of our teachers who helps with the elementary science fair.  She could share this site with parents as they try to find science fair projects for their child.  These extra features are a great help to teachers and parents alike.

 

SIRS Issues Researcher

1. I searched “Afghanistan” and found a great deal of information on this topic.  The topic overview provided a map of conflicts throughout the world – Afghanistan was included on this map.  There was a link to a political cartoon as well as a link to the pros and cons related to this issue.  This particular link gave information on both sides of the issue.  When you search for a topic, there is box that lets you know the number of articles on your topic.  This is helpful as one can search by type of source.  If you only want to search magazine articles, you can narrow the search to just find that.

2. Curriculum Pathfinders – My favorite subject is social studies and under social studies, I especially enjoy “geography”.  This was my chosen topic.  Searching in geography brings up 284 results.  But the search can be narrowed down by choosing “matching subjects”.  Under each course subject there were video links to help with a particular topic. 

I enjoyed looking through SIRS.  It was hard to stop searching and looking through this data base as there was so much to see.  I think if a person has a particular topic to research that this site would give them a lot of help. 

 

 

Learning Express

I found that I could get lost in Learning Express.  There is a lot to this website.  I think this site would be a helpful tool for the school counselors.  In fact, I e-mailed the counselors at my high school the two page flier that is provided.  I hope they will take a look.  I think they would find Learning Express helpful and useful for the students they are guiding into higher education or career placement.

I took a couple of tests in Learning Express.  I like that at the end of the test, there is feedback right away.  A person can view the answers and know the results without waiting.  That is an important feature in testing.  I then searched the careers and looked at a couple of options.  The Green Careers connected me directly to an eBook about Green careers.  There weren't any tests for this career just information.  In looking at other careers, test preparation is available as well as information about the career.  I think if someone were interested in a particular career this would be helpful. 

I searched for the career "social worker".  There were several tests for this search, but some were for "postal workers" and other careers with the work "worker".  No courses were available for social worker, but there were a couple of eBooks available.  The eBook option is nice for those who want to save the information and come back to it later. 

There is a lot of potential use for Learning Express.  It is just a matter of getting the word out to those who might be able to use those who would benefit from its use.

Mango

The language I chose was German. 

1.  I learned that there are 105 million native speakers of German and 80 million non-native speakers.  I am not sure what I was supposed to learn about the culture of Germany.  Maybe I missed where this was, but I didn't see where I could learn about culture.

2. I think if someone were studying a language that Mango would be helpful for practice.  The lessons were very repetitive which is helpful when studying something new - I liked that.  I also liked the option of using audio to record my own voice and match it to what it should really sound like.  This immediate feedback would be helpful to someone learning a new language.  I also liked "Little Pim"  This is a fun way for a younger person to be exposed to the language.  What I did not like about Mango is that I felt it was a bit confusing at times - not very user friendly. 

I have shared Mango with the Spanish teachers in our school.  They like that they can share this site with their students.  It is a helpful tool for their students to practice the language that they are learning in school.

Chiltons

Because I am not very car oriented, I found this data base to be a bit frustrating - but it may prove to be more helpful for those who do know a bit more than I.  I did like the videos that were provided as a tutorial.  I think they would help those who are more visual than print oriented. 

Here is what I found out about my own car.
1. 3 Things to do at 30,000 miles a) replace the air filter   b) replace the automatic trans axle fluid   c) service/inspect brake hoses
2. Technical Service Bulletin:  Issue Date - 7/25/2003 - MIL Illumination, Erroneous DTC P0456 - Evap Leak Monitor
3. Brake System - Directions are given on how to bleed brakes and a videos are provided as instruction