Lesson 3

January 31, 2012
I am now on to last weeks challenge. With any luck I will finish this today and be on track the rest of the weeks.
SIRS Discover - 1. When looking up armadillos I liked the reading level information, the citation at the end of the article, and the graphics and subject icons were helpful to know if you wanted to read the entire article. The site was easy to move around in and would be helpful in a research project or just for fun.
2. The country I chose was Gabon, the information available initially was the subject and graphics. Immediately, I could see that there were three levels of teacher resources to list the facts of the country. I liked the availability of this information for the teachers. When I actually clicked on Gabon there was lots of information about the country from population, economy, geography to history. Very interesting.
   The Maps of the World icon I searched South Dakota. This site could be helpful in finding graphics for a report or power point.
   I went to Road Trip Car Games. This was under activities; exercises, games and sports. It was fun to see the different games available to entertain kids. It is nice to do something besides watch a video!

SIRS Issues Researcher - 1. Under the leading issues I chose obesity, there were 651 sources. The ability to narrow my search was a great option, as that is way to many articles to research. I liked the map showing the increase in adult obesity since 1985. The sources were further categorized by newspapers, magazines, view points, reference, web sites, and graphics/media. There was a basic definition and also a pro/con section discussing whether this was a government issue or personal one.
   The research tools section was helpful from the topic overview to picking a topic and organizing notes. Helpful ideas for new researchers and old.
2. Curriculum Pathfinders I chose math the following is a list of topics to choose from. Anything you want to learn about is available. There was also two interactive activities basket math and absurd math. I am going to post this and go check out the absurd math now, 

Algebra Arithmetic Geometry Statistics Equations and Problems Equations Logic Probabilities History Ancient Numerals Greek Mathematics History of Mathematics Mathematicians Tools Calculators Math Exercises Math Games Math Homework Help

lesson 2

January 31, 2012
Well I am really behind in this challenge. Chasing two teenagers around is keeping me very busy.

Today I logged on the the Learning Express Library. It was easy to get an account. I took the California 8th Grade Math Test. I liked the format and the feedback after the exam. I can see this being helpful to an incoming 8th grader to know what is coming in the following year. Any student who struggled in 8th grade math could use this for a summer study.

I logged onto Creating a Great Resume. I liked the fact that you could save what you had done if you get intrupted and need to stop. Also, at the end you get help on saving your information to a flash drive so you have it for your next job search. The site referred to another course about what you want from your career, this would be helpful for anyone who has not defined what their goals are.

Writing Skills Success in 20 Minutes a Day, 4th Edition was the ebook I chose. It has been a long time since I did any writing and this course looks like it would be a great refresher for me. I am always looking for writing challenges for my children and I am sure I will find them in the Lerning Express Library.

lesson 1b & 1c

I liked the World Book Info Finder. There was a lot more information then on World Book for Kids. This would be great for the kids who want more information after listening to the WBK.

The World Book Online Reference Center has close to the same information as the World Book Advanced either search would allow you multiple resources.

The L'Encyclopedia Decouverte was confusing. I did find the visual dictionary but did not like that all the icons were in a foreign language. Maybe I did not know how to change that to English but I just had to guess at what the words meant. I did like being able to switch to the different languages once you got to the dictionary.

 Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos, was interesting. I can see our Spanish classes using this to improve their pronunciation. Also, as a practice in listening to the language.

Lesson 1a

World Book for Kids was great. I can see my grandkids loving this site. The video was short enough for younger age kids to pay attention. I also liked that with just a click the kids can be read to.

World Book Student gave more information in a smaller font, while still allowing the student to be read to. So many kids have reading issues. Including this feature gives students the same information in a format they can relate to. I liked the work sited information at the bottom of the page.

World Book Advanced has lots of information. On the first screen today's headlines, research tools, and a place to store and work on your research were available. I especially liked the research site. Through the years as my children worked on papers for school we ran into problems because our home computer was not compatible with the schools. My kids ended up retyping lots of information on reports. Having a site to save and work on your research is very helpful.

I am new at this blogging! It seems I got a little wordy. On a personal note, I am recovering my kitchen chairs and this lesson was a welcome relief from a job I am totally unqualified for. Now I guess it is back to the grind or we will have nothing to sit on for supper!

When I researched Afghanistan the breakdown of information on the left side of the page was very helpful. I also liked the Facts in Brief section. The ability to choose the articles you want to review right away gives your research a clear direction from the start. This site was easy to move around in and should be very helpful for anyone needing to research a topic for personal use or for school.

World Book Discover gives you several options for searching for information. I liked the option to transfer the article into different languages. Also the option to have the article read to you is available. If you were not fluent in the English language both of these options would be helpful. I personally liked the video on the great depression. I did not know that the camps that sprung up all over were called "Hoovervilles", named after our president.

January7, 2012

Today I set up my blog. I am crazy grandma dawn because one of my sons-in-law named me that six years ago and it has stuck as a screen name. I am very new at this and so far my blog name is not on the library site so who knows what will happen or if I am really signed up.

I am excited about this challenge. I have been thinking of taking classes online and this should help me. I also still have teenagers at home. Maybe I can wow them with my new found knowledge!