Coming to a Close

As the electronic resources challenge comes to an end, I would like to thank the wonderful ladies who put this challenge together! What a great way to get a chance to explore resources that I am now using on a regular basis! The biggest discovery I found throughout the challenge was the Learning Express Library where it offers the practice tests to determine the areas students are low in.  Here in WMS, we are working on low standards in Informational Text and the Learning Express Library offers a resource to see what areas we need to work harder on before we begin district testing here in a few weeks.

As for promoting the resources, I am already doing this.  My students are currently working on research papers and I had a large majority of students who found all of their resources from the state library (which they loved because almost all of them provide the citation for them)!  I have also discussed the resources with many of my colleagues, especially the Learning Express Library!

Again, thank you!

AncestryLibrary, HeritageQuest, and Sanborn Maps

On AncestryLibrary, I tried searching my own name and found zero results pertaining to myself.  Most of the results I found were only based on my last name (I also tried my maiden name as well to see if I could find anything there and no luck).

Next on AncestryLibrary, I chose to search for information on my maternal grandfather.  I was able to find information on his birth certificate, marriage certificate, and death certificate.  I was also able to find information of a school, church, and library directory.  I found it interesting that they list the social security number?

When searching for pictures linked to South Dakota, I was amazed at the number of resources that were yearbook pictures from various locations around the state.  I found an interesting link of a club started at what was called Wesleyan School (I assume what is known as Dakota Wesleyan University now) which was called the Bolivian Club.  Apparently it was a club founded by 3 students who were interested in Bolivia, South America, which eventually grew to 30 members! A very unique group in my opinion! Very different from any college group you would find today.

I have tried several times to open the HeritageQuest link and each time I try it brings nothing up but a blank white page? I am not sure if the link is not working or if it is an issue on my end??

In Sanborn Maps, I chose to search for information about my hometown of Parkston, SD.  I chose to search for the information from 1928-1938.  I was able to see a plot map of the city and where the homes were located at that time.  Very interesting to see all the homes so separated from one another! How different from today where some houses seem to be right on top of one another!

WorldCat, CAMIO and More

WorldCat


In the WorldCat catalogue, you can search in many different ways including by author, material type, composer, ISBN number, and various others.  I chose to search the title Where the Red Fern Grows.  There were 180 records found, but only 161 of them were in English which I found to be very interesting.  A total of 2045 libraries worldwide have the first item! Wow! Not too surprising considering the novel is considered a classic. The top library is Black Hills State University.  The novel had several descriptors including: Hunting dogs -- Juvenile fiction.; Human-animal relationships -- Juvenile fiction.; Dogs -- Fiction.; Hunting -- Fiction. When I clicked on the authors name, I found a total of 439 results, with only 235 of those results being books.  When I went into the information, the majority of the results were Where the Red Fern Grows.  I liked that it also contained a link to the citation for the page (very useful for students working on research papers!).


Using the OAIster search, I found an article on Agriculture Mediation and Counseling.  The information was about a farm program available to SD farmers for additional assistance.  I could see the information being helpful if you had received a copy of a pamphlet or handout and lost your copy.  I could see it being helpful because you could find a new copy with all of the information and contact information.  I liked that you are able to access a link with the information without having to print it out (save a tree).


In CAMIO, I found many interesting links on the Sioux.  I found that a lot of the results were Costume and Jewelry   I also liked that the information contains the creator and the museum location.  I could see this resource being a great tool for incorporating the Oceti Sakowin standards in the classroom.  It would be wonderful to have pictures of actual materials that we are discussing.  I could also find this being helpful when discussing different artists within pieces of literature.  What a great way to get students exposed to art! I could see the personalizing favorites being very helpful to have students present.  How neat is it that the search engine puts the information into a slideshow for you and allows you to compare certain images.