Thing 8

I know I need to go back to revisit Things 3 & 4 as they were more difficult for me, but I decided to move on to the Things I know more about. Thing 8 Going Deeper: Databases & Online Resources. I use the HCL databases almost daily. What I like is that with more frequent use I become faster & more skilled at digging deeper to find the info. that my patron (now with new admin. customers) needs. I usually work with the high school students and their project or report is always due the next day! So after a search of the catalog or paper reference materials that I know quite well after 35 years of use, I show them how to use the online resources/data bases. Students don't really care at that point, they just need the information & they needed it yesterday. So I walk them through the steps, help them choose the search terms and then go through the articles. I show them how to check the box so they can email the articles to themselves at home so they can get home to get to work to save their grade. If I am lucky enough to have a time frame of a week or 2, I take the patron to a terminal and walk them through the procedure so they can be more independent in their use.

At school we go to Online Resources on the MPS Homepage. I project the steps on the mounted projector and we work through the datebases unit by unit. For ex. we use the African American registry in Jan. & Feb. Students especially like looking up who was born on their birthday. They can find a more current person that we don't have a biography for. We go to Culturegrams for state & country reports. We can dig as little or as much depending on the grade level of the students. I begin using online resources in 2nd grade. I want this process to become 2nd nature to students so we use it often. First graders like to go to Tumblebooks Library to listen to a story. Then they enjoy taking the little quiz and playing the puzzle or fill in the blank game. We also do an animal report using World Book online. Next year I will include more of the MPS data bases in my teaching. We didn't have time to explore them all. I have learned now that I can email the database contributors with suggestions to make changes for easier use. My view of data bases has changed. I see them as user friendly tools to use to make student understanding easier and more compact. Often we don't have up to date written materials or enough materials for everyone to use. I remember just a few years ago, the paper copies of Culture Grams. I would xerox them back to back. Now we also have more efficient use of resources. We can just read the information online and not have to have paper copies at all. Students can readily revisit the site for additional or supplmental information. I can't wait to go another step next year and have students email me their assignments through Google Docs. In watching how others from MILI have used the Web 2.0 tools, I learned how much more efficient this method is! It makes teaching so much more fun for the teacher too. It is empowering. Online Resources are an invaluable resource in these budget restricted times. They are a necessary part of the curriculum. I would be lost without them.