CAMIO would have to be my biggest discovery. I try to integrate art into the elementary school world in many ways, and this is going to be a wonderful resource for me.
I've mentioned lots of specific ways I'll be integrating these resources into my school in earlier posts. Now that I have a sense of all the options available, there are 3 general things I hope to do next year: 1. Ask for 10 minutes at monthly faculty meetings for the first few months of the year and demonstrate just one site per month for the teachers. 2. Ask for 20-30 minutes at a PTA meeting to show parents a few of the sites (World Book, the testing site, and whatever othersthey're interested in.) This will also encourage them to get library cards so they can access the sites at home. 3. Put log-in instructions in the school newsletter in hopes parents will explore on their own.
This has been a great course. Thanks for offering it! I especially appreciated the ability to do it on my own uneven time schedule!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Lesson 9
I searched for my exact name and birth year and, being a privacy bug, I am relieved to say I got 9 hits and none of them were about me. Even looking for voter and census data, I got no hits.
Searching for my grandparents, I found better results if I left off years from the search. I ran through a number of searches with no results, even though I know they filled out census forms and voted. When I left off either years or state names, I was able to come up with some good results.
Strangely, I routinely get good results when I search for people in the 18th and 19th centuries. Perhaps because there are not as many records to search through. It is interesting to me that I can get marriage records for an ancestor from 1804 more readily than I can for one from 1920.
Keyword searching South Dakota under the Photos and Maps tab brought up 5 categories of photograph collections (including 3,000+ high school yearbooks!) and 4 categories comprising 150 maps. To actually view a map, I need to install an Ancestry Viewer, which I am not permitted to do on my school computer, but even so, this is another great resource!
Searching for my grandparents, I found better results if I left off years from the search. I ran through a number of searches with no results, even though I know they filled out census forms and voted. When I left off either years or state names, I was able to come up with some good results.
Strangely, I routinely get good results when I search for people in the 18th and 19th centuries. Perhaps because there are not as many records to search through. It is interesting to me that I can get marriage records for an ancestor from 1804 more readily than I can for one from 1920.
Keyword searching South Dakota under the Photos and Maps tab brought up 5 categories of photograph collections (including 3,000+ high school yearbooks!) and 4 categories comprising 150 maps. To actually view a map, I need to install an Ancestry Viewer, which I am not permitted to do on my school computer, but even so, this is another great resource!
Lesson 7
I learned that the Cornell University Library apparently has a card signed by Sitting Bull in an envelope. I was also reminded of the highlights of Sitting Bull's life, and I noticed that there may be an alternative way to spell "Hunkpapa." If I were researching, I'd have gotten a lot of ideas for additional research topics including the Ghost Dance, Sitting Bull in Canada, and Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. I'd like to know how Cornell got the autograph card, but I think that would take a different kind of research.
Next I searched Sally Hemings. I got 19 hits, all of which looked entirely pertinent. The documents are primarily at University of Virginia, but also Howard University, Smith Library of Regional History, and UCLA. The descriptions are very objective, and one yearns to read the full texts. Maybe in a few years this will be possible. Meanwhile, a researcher could go far with what is given in the current format: additional topics to research; the ability to construct timelines of people's lives and whereabouts; their personal financial ups and downs, schools attended, friends and business associates, other family members, etc. This resource would be invaluable in planning research trips to be sure one ends up at the right library for the holdings one wishes to access. It eliminates a lot of "hit or miss" searching. I'm not sure if many documents will be available for copying or borrowing, but the site does give information on who to contact to find out about copying options.
I love CAMIO! What a resource! Many pictures of Revere's silver work came up. The National Endowment for the Humanities sent our school a set of posters that include the Paul Revere portrait and the Grant Woods painting, and a few pictures of his silverwork. Students really connect to his work and are excited to know he did something besides ride his horse on April 18, 1775. I've been asked for more examples of his silverwork, and now I'll be able to show them some.
I was struck in the Sioux search by the variety both of the works held and the museums holding them: shirts, pipes, drawings, dolls, and parfleches held by leading museums from Boston to Quebec to San Francisco. I will be making a point of showing this search to my students during Native American month next year. Native and non-Native students alike do not seem to realize how unique it is to live amid Sioux culture. What an ego-boost for young Native American students to see that their culture's artwork is prized and collected all across our continent.
I searched for the work of a girl from my Brownie troop, Cindy Sherman. I got 6 hits, and was relieved to see they were all "school-room appropriate." Still, I would pre-search artwork before showing the site to students as I work in a fairly conservative community with younger students.
This is a great resource to expand rural children's exposure to artwork, and to enrich curriculum with art. I could send links to Mondrian for teachers doing squares and rectangles; Rousseau for jungle studies, etc. The possibilities are endless.
For the last question, I searched Georgia O'Keeffe first, and was disappointed to get only one hit. That's not enough to trigger the slide show, so I searched Renoir instead. The slide show feature would allow teachers to open up the image on their Promethean boards, then open a clear screen over it, then use their stylus to draw and mark all over the painting to show features, highlight perspective, discuss use of line or color or brush technique, and on and on. Plus setting up the slideshow ahead of time makes lesson planning a snap. I can't wait to start using this in my lessons next year.
Next I searched Sally Hemings. I got 19 hits, all of which looked entirely pertinent. The documents are primarily at University of Virginia, but also Howard University, Smith Library of Regional History, and UCLA. The descriptions are very objective, and one yearns to read the full texts. Maybe in a few years this will be possible. Meanwhile, a researcher could go far with what is given in the current format: additional topics to research; the ability to construct timelines of people's lives and whereabouts; their personal financial ups and downs, schools attended, friends and business associates, other family members, etc. This resource would be invaluable in planning research trips to be sure one ends up at the right library for the holdings one wishes to access. It eliminates a lot of "hit or miss" searching. I'm not sure if many documents will be available for copying or borrowing, but the site does give information on who to contact to find out about copying options.
I love CAMIO! What a resource! Many pictures of Revere's silver work came up. The National Endowment for the Humanities sent our school a set of posters that include the Paul Revere portrait and the Grant Woods painting, and a few pictures of his silverwork. Students really connect to his work and are excited to know he did something besides ride his horse on April 18, 1775. I've been asked for more examples of his silverwork, and now I'll be able to show them some.
I was struck in the Sioux search by the variety both of the works held and the museums holding them: shirts, pipes, drawings, dolls, and parfleches held by leading museums from Boston to Quebec to San Francisco. I will be making a point of showing this search to my students during Native American month next year. Native and non-Native students alike do not seem to realize how unique it is to live amid Sioux culture. What an ego-boost for young Native American students to see that their culture's artwork is prized and collected all across our continent.
I searched for the work of a girl from my Brownie troop, Cindy Sherman. I got 6 hits, and was relieved to see they were all "school-room appropriate." Still, I would pre-search artwork before showing the site to students as I work in a fairly conservative community with younger students.
This is a great resource to expand rural children's exposure to artwork, and to enrich curriculum with art. I could send links to Mondrian for teachers doing squares and rectangles; Rousseau for jungle studies, etc. The possibilities are endless.
For the last question, I searched Georgia O'Keeffe first, and was disappointed to get only one hit. That's not enough to trigger the slide show, so I searched Renoir instead. The slide show feature would allow teachers to open up the image on their Promethean boards, then open a clear screen over it, then use their stylus to draw and mark all over the painting to show features, highlight perspective, discuss use of line or color or brush technique, and on and on. Plus setting up the slideshow ahead of time makes lesson planning a snap. I can't wait to start using this in my lessons next year.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Lesson 9
I will have to report on AncestryLibrary later since I do not have access at this time.
I went to HeritageQuest various locations in Iowa, Nebraska, and Virginia. Some hit; some did not. Putting in more information was not helpful. I was disappointed that all my searches led only to bibliographic information and a form to request the article. "Places" was not a very rewarding tool for browsing. However, I had much better luck exploring "People." Many imporant and obscure books are available in full text; individual's names are searchable, and the pages where hits occur are clearly indicated. Here again, less information in the search box got me more accurate hits.
On Sanborn Maps of Custer for 1910 I found the Kleemann House on the corner of 6th and Custer St. (now Mt. Rushmore Rd.) and two banks still in use. The maps were clear and I appreciated the various sizes available. Clearly these maps come from a fire insurance company: piles of lumber are noted all around Custer!
I went to HeritageQuest various locations in Iowa, Nebraska, and Virginia. Some hit; some did not. Putting in more information was not helpful. I was disappointed that all my searches led only to bibliographic information and a form to request the article. "Places" was not a very rewarding tool for browsing. However, I had much better luck exploring "People." Many imporant and obscure books are available in full text; individual's names are searchable, and the pages where hits occur are clearly indicated. Here again, less information in the search box got me more accurate hits.
On Sanborn Maps of Custer for 1910 I found the Kleemann House on the corner of 6th and Custer St. (now Mt. Rushmore Rd.) and two banks still in use. The maps were clear and I appreciated the various sizes available. Clearly these maps come from a fire insurance company: piles of lumber are noted all around Custer!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Lesson 8
I am skipping over Lesson 7 because I am working from home. I'll submit it later.
I thought the test experience at Learning Express Library was very positive. Unfortunately, the initial homepage seems cluttered and frenetic. As a librarian, I'll probably need to walk patrons through registering and finding the right tests or ebooks the first time they use the site.
I looked through tests under Elementary Education. The promotional materials claim the tests are for ages 4 years to adult, but judging by the elementary math section it looks like they meant 4th grade through adult. 4th grade is the earliest level math test I could find offered. I took Algebraic Thinking and Patterns. The test loaded quickly; instructions were clear; scoring was accurate; the explanations were very clear and complete. I especially liked that they explained all the answer choices and why each was correct or incorrect. The "Congratulations" remark just before you view your test results was really encouraging.
I also looked at the high school Grammar Practice 1 exam. The initial instructions were totally confusing and unnecessary. They would stop patrons before they even got to the first question. In the actual test, the instructions are repeated just prior to the group of questions you need them for, and the questions are perfectly clear. Here again, the librarian would need to walk many testers through the first few steps in order for them to get the benefit of the exam. This is unfortunate, because some users will just quit and never ask a librarian for help and thus never reap the benenfits of this very useful resource.
I will probably alert my elementary students' parents to this site for summer review.
I looked at two ebooks, "Think You Know Your Vocabulary" and "Algebra Success in 20 Minutes/Day." Both took literally several minutes to load, which could be frustrating for patrons on limited time internet access computers. Once loaded, the program moved between pages quickly. For the visually impaired, the adjustable font size is helpful. This site really opens up the world of self-education to anyone on almost any imaginable topic!
I thought the test experience at Learning Express Library was very positive. Unfortunately, the initial homepage seems cluttered and frenetic. As a librarian, I'll probably need to walk patrons through registering and finding the right tests or ebooks the first time they use the site.
I looked through tests under Elementary Education. The promotional materials claim the tests are for ages 4 years to adult, but judging by the elementary math section it looks like they meant 4th grade through adult. 4th grade is the earliest level math test I could find offered. I took Algebraic Thinking and Patterns. The test loaded quickly; instructions were clear; scoring was accurate; the explanations were very clear and complete. I especially liked that they explained all the answer choices and why each was correct or incorrect. The "Congratulations" remark just before you view your test results was really encouraging.
I also looked at the high school Grammar Practice 1 exam. The initial instructions were totally confusing and unnecessary. They would stop patrons before they even got to the first question. In the actual test, the instructions are repeated just prior to the group of questions you need them for, and the questions are perfectly clear. Here again, the librarian would need to walk many testers through the first few steps in order for them to get the benefit of the exam. This is unfortunate, because some users will just quit and never ask a librarian for help and thus never reap the benenfits of this very useful resource.
I will probably alert my elementary students' parents to this site for summer review.
I looked at two ebooks, "Think You Know Your Vocabulary" and "Algebra Success in 20 Minutes/Day." Both took literally several minutes to load, which could be frustrating for patrons on limited time internet access computers. Once loaded, the program moved between pages quickly. For the visually impaired, the adjustable font size is helpful. This site really opens up the world of self-education to anyone on almost any imaginable topic!
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