Wrap-Up

Wrap-Up

1.       I believe my biggest discovery was Learning Express Library.  I liked that there was something for everyone on this site.  The test practices would be helpful for all who are getting ready for testing.  I shared the information about this site with the counselors in our high school and hope that they too will be excited about the wealth of information on this site.  Over all, there are so many helpful things on this site.  One other discovery that I made that I think is especially helpful to educators is the handout that is provided for the different databases.  These handouts can be used to help introduce teachers to the various sites at the state library.

2.       One thing that I could do to let teachers know about the different data bases at the state library is to use the handouts to introduce teachers to the data bases.  I could ask the principal if I could have a few minutes during a staff meeting to introduce one of the data bases.  Or I could e-mail one of the handouts to teachers each week to showcase the data bases that are available through the state library. 

Ancestry

Ancestry.Com

I actually spent more time looking at my dad’s information than my own.  Once I got started, I just kept finding more things to look at.  I was able to look at the marriage certificate for my grandfather, discovered the burial information for my grandmother, and viewed a military document for my grandfather.  I discovered that one can learn find out a lot about herself and family while looking at this site.

I enjoyed looking at the information on my grandparent.  What I discovered when I searched my grandmother’s name was that her father was born in Wisconsin and her mother in Iowa.  I continued to look back and discovered that my grandmother’s paternal grandparents both emigrated from England.  I would enjoy spending more time looking into my ancestry.  I believe that one could spend hours upon hours looking at this website. 

Heritage Quest

I tried to search for information about Valley Springs, where I live, and Brandon, where I work, but was unsuccessful with this search.  So I tried Sioux Falls.  I had a little better luck here but did not find anything that I felt was helpful.  I believe that I would need to have a more specific search in mind in order to be more successful.  Or maybe I just didn’t know what I was doing.

Sanborn Maps

I searched for Sioux Falls in Sanborn Maps.  Several different maps came up from this search.  As I looked at these maps, I kept wondering how I could recommend the use of this site with teachers.  I think that geography teachers might be able to compare maps to show growth of a city throughout time.  It would be a good way to show human-environment interaction.