Beading, Wreath Making, Photography, and Costumes, oh my!!!! Yikes, the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center could really get me in trouble and might create a need for a self help group!!! The vast array of resourced should satisfy most anyone's creative needs. Once again, I found the tutorial to be very clear. I like the format and think it is setup very user friendly.
I chose Arts and Crafts and then went to Creative Costumes & Halloween De'cor: 50 Projects to Sew and Craft. I wished I'd have had this resource, one Halloween night a couple of years ago, when my husband chose out of the blue to attend a Halloween dance two hours before it started (he ended up being a broom)! There was an option for Tabard style costumes. Being unfamiliar with that term, it intrigued me enough to lead me in that direction and to a wonderful resource. I discovered many designs available for costumes made consisting of back and front panels that are hung over the shoulders by straps that are attached leaving free movement of the arms and legs. Regular clothing (which may be color coordinated) can be worn underneath. This style is made for safety and comfort and the designs were cute as can be. There were also suggestions of adding bling with the addition of battery operated lights and simple accessories. There was a dragon, tin man, bumblebee, and a fairy on the site I first visited and many great ideas in other magazines offered as well!! I particularly like the PDF sites as they come with great photos and directions. This provides a great free resource for kids and parents to be creative and save money by making their own costumes. I loved it and now am eager to check out possible Christmas craft ideas, but must find restraint for today!!!
My library did not have any of the magazines listed, but I think the fact we are not duplicating a good thing!!! I liked the fact when I clicked on the Help site, I discovered help was available 24-7!!!
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Week 3 Newspapers and Newstand
First, I would like to apologize to anyone who might have stopped in and noticed, I didn't complete the homework. I have a very set schedule at school and do not have the flexibility to easily teach anyone something other than what I need to do each week. I have scheduled a common slot of time with a first-grade teacher to show her Marvel this Friday afternoon, so I will not be able to finish this week's Discover Exercise until the weekend!
I found the tutorial very informative and easy to use. When thinking about searching for something of interest, I immediately recalled earlier that week half listening to the news my husband was watching as I was getting ready for work. I somehow missed the beginning of a segment about a high-profile murder case of a 12-year-old girl, in Maine, that took place in 1988 (I'm not sure I feel comfortable putting names here, so I won't). A man was convicted in 1989 and has been in prison ever since. Catching only the tale end of the newscast, I did hear enough about new DNA evidence that incrimated someone else. The question of "What if this person has been wrongly imprisoned?" for 23 years nagged at me and left me a bit at odds, so when this opportunity arose, it was the first thing that popped into my head. When I typed the convicted person's name in the keyword box, the list that came up seemed to have no rhyme or reason to the order articles were listed; the dates came up askew with different years (June, Sept, May, June), but I did find I could type in 2012 and easily found what I needed. As it turns out the DNA does implicate someone else who was a suspect at the time, but there a few significant leads and very substancial evidence that pointed to the person now serving time. When I tried to create the alert, I recieved a message stating a server error caused my requested action to fail. Please try again and contact us if the problem exists. After a couple other attempts, I gave up.
The ability to check archived stories gave me the idea to check on a story that that I read several years ago that referenced a discovery I had made as a young girl, in Franklin Cemetary, in Vienna, Maine. There a handful of very unique stump-shaped gravestones which have the words 'Cut Down' carved along with the personal information of those buried there; most have an arm coming out of the stump and there is one which has a flower! The story told of some man's mission to find information. I had intended to cut out the article but guess it slipped my mind and before I knew it I realized it was gone. When I typed in stump-shaped gravestones, I was able to retrieve the article, but unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything more. If anyone is ever in Vienna, Maine. The cemetary is on Tower Road and they mentioned stones are really pretty cool to see! I'll return over the weekend to try and blog the Snapshot and finsih this week's Crafts and Hobby search. I am creative person and am chomping at the bit to explore what may be available to satisfy my creative mind (but am a bit anal and have to do things in the proper order. . . perhaps, that's why I am a librarian :)!
It's Friday and I met with one of our school's top-notch first-grade teachers. I showed her how to access Marvel and showed her how to navigate the many sources it has to offer. I had searched through and found a few articles pertaining to Butterflies and Mexico that I thought she could use with her class (they have been studying Monarchs and are participating in a pseudo migration unit and have sent butterflies to Mexico). She was as impressed as I was and loved it and said she'd take some time to play!!!
I found the tutorial very informative and easy to use. When thinking about searching for something of interest, I immediately recalled earlier that week half listening to the news my husband was watching as I was getting ready for work. I somehow missed the beginning of a segment about a high-profile murder case of a 12-year-old girl, in Maine, that took place in 1988 (I'm not sure I feel comfortable putting names here, so I won't). A man was convicted in 1989 and has been in prison ever since. Catching only the tale end of the newscast, I did hear enough about new DNA evidence that incrimated someone else. The question of "What if this person has been wrongly imprisoned?" for 23 years nagged at me and left me a bit at odds, so when this opportunity arose, it was the first thing that popped into my head. When I typed the convicted person's name in the keyword box, the list that came up seemed to have no rhyme or reason to the order articles were listed; the dates came up askew with different years (June, Sept, May, June), but I did find I could type in 2012 and easily found what I needed. As it turns out the DNA does implicate someone else who was a suspect at the time, but there a few significant leads and very substancial evidence that pointed to the person now serving time. When I tried to create the alert, I recieved a message stating a server error caused my requested action to fail. Please try again and contact us if the problem exists. After a couple other attempts, I gave up.
The ability to check archived stories gave me the idea to check on a story that that I read several years ago that referenced a discovery I had made as a young girl, in Franklin Cemetary, in Vienna, Maine. There a handful of very unique stump-shaped gravestones which have the words 'Cut Down' carved along with the personal information of those buried there; most have an arm coming out of the stump and there is one which has a flower! The story told of some man's mission to find information. I had intended to cut out the article but guess it slipped my mind and before I knew it I realized it was gone. When I typed in stump-shaped gravestones, I was able to retrieve the article, but unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anything more. If anyone is ever in Vienna, Maine. The cemetary is on Tower Road and they mentioned stones are really pretty cool to see! I'll return over the weekend to try and blog the Snapshot and finsih this week's Crafts and Hobby search. I am creative person and am chomping at the bit to explore what may be available to satisfy my creative mind (but am a bit anal and have to do things in the proper order. . . perhaps, that's why I am a librarian :)!
It's Friday and I met with one of our school's top-notch first-grade teachers. I showed her how to access Marvel and showed her how to navigate the many sources it has to offer. I had searched through and found a few articles pertaining to Butterflies and Mexico that I thought she could use with her class (they have been studying Monarchs and are participating in a pseudo migration unit and have sent butterflies to Mexico). She was as impressed as I was and loved it and said she'd take some time to play!!!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
. . . still Week 2 Brittanica:
Okay, so I just realized I didn't target the assignment! I got lost in checking things out because: 1. I am curious, 2. It seemed logical for me to scope the PreK-2 Learning Zone as well as the Britannica Elementary Edition, and 3. I have suffered a recent loss which interferes with my focus at times. At any rate, I did search information on the wombat which lives in Australia. I discovered that there are three different kinds. The common wombat lives in the hilly woodlands, the hairy-nosed wombat lives in the southern part of the country where it is dry and grassy, and the Northern hairy-nosed wombat is endangered, and primarily found in the Epping Forest National Park, in Queensland. Their habitat as been compromized by humans and there is a movement now to find ways to protect them.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Week 2 Britannica
I opted to check out the Learning Zone and found it to be a very user friendly interface for the little ones. The guide shortcut offered in the lesson did not seem to be working.
I found the Explore section to be a great tool and will use it with grades K-2. The second grade is currently studing the continents. The map was nice as were the short videos, although some would have been better if there had been a narration accompanying them (Alaska had some amazing footage as did the volcanic activity on the Hawaii video; both could have been enhanced with some facts). Also, it would have been nice to see something on the Northeast and Southeast regions for comparisons to the different regions. I'll be sure to share with our Art Teacher about the Southwest Arizona video of the Suaro National Monument and info on the Saguaro Cactus as she does a unit on Desert Life. Our first graders study Africa and China, the topics of elephants, gorillas, lions, and the safari peek at Kenya's wildlife will be a great resource and the market life and furniture videos will add a glimpse of the African culture. The piece on the panda will be great to do with China (I wish there was more with the culture). I did not seem to find an opt out button if by chance you clicked on the wrong flag; it seemed you were obligated to finish the entire clip (I did find a continual run option though). I felt the clip on Antarctica way too short (31 seconds).
The Play section had some fun math activities and the Read section was filled with oodles of words, their definitions, and where the derived from. Unless I am missing something, I personally think the format might get boring having to click the arrow to get the next word. The alphabetical order was nice, but I wonder if having the entire list (these lists could be done alphabetically i.e, all the "A", "B", and "C" words on a page to choose from; then they might not have to scroll through those words they might already know. . . just a thought). I did love the audio addition to this.
Lastly, the Draw section. . . I had fun with this. One could chose to work freestyle or use the How to Option and place a picture there to copy. I liked the variety of colors, ability to widen your line, and thank goodness for the eraser. With some practice getting used to the draw tool, I managed to draw a great alien. Unfortunately, I was unable to print (the button seems to be disabled).
I did check out the teacher lessons which were another great addition. I found the Learning Zone to be something I will use and had fun with this!!! I also hope to check out the elementary section sometime this week as well.
I'm back. . . I liked the Brittanica Elementary section very much. The home page was very engaging, and I think students will love the chance to vote on a question and see how their answer compared with others. The Did You Know? and Daily Buzzword were nice features. I became excited for the opportunity to access the World Atlas because I thought it might be useful with a country unit our first grade does but was quickly disappointed to discover the use of maps was disabled, thus, was unable to use it at all. The kids will love the Animal Kingdom. I like the layout of choosing by groups or habitat. This will be very appealing to several teachers in our school and give the ability to enhance the curriculum. The Subject section had a wide variety of choices. I'm thinking that the reading level and some of the subject matter (World Religion and Health), may be over the average elementary student's interest and ability so might have to be teacher driven, although, the other subjects like Animals, Sports, Fine Arts will be extremely popular! I loved the interactive depth offered with the user-friendly point and click feature with great graphics and videos. Our first grade teachers will love the Plant section when they teach plants in the spring and will find the charts and graphics very handy! The Brittanica Elementary section offered a magnitude of knowledge in a fun and engaging format!
I found the Explore section to be a great tool and will use it with grades K-2. The second grade is currently studing the continents. The map was nice as were the short videos, although some would have been better if there had been a narration accompanying them (Alaska had some amazing footage as did the volcanic activity on the Hawaii video; both could have been enhanced with some facts). Also, it would have been nice to see something on the Northeast and Southeast regions for comparisons to the different regions. I'll be sure to share with our Art Teacher about the Southwest Arizona video of the Suaro National Monument and info on the Saguaro Cactus as she does a unit on Desert Life. Our first graders study Africa and China, the topics of elephants, gorillas, lions, and the safari peek at Kenya's wildlife will be a great resource and the market life and furniture videos will add a glimpse of the African culture. The piece on the panda will be great to do with China (I wish there was more with the culture). I did not seem to find an opt out button if by chance you clicked on the wrong flag; it seemed you were obligated to finish the entire clip (I did find a continual run option though). I felt the clip on Antarctica way too short (31 seconds).
The Play section had some fun math activities and the Read section was filled with oodles of words, their definitions, and where the derived from. Unless I am missing something, I personally think the format might get boring having to click the arrow to get the next word. The alphabetical order was nice, but I wonder if having the entire list (these lists could be done alphabetically i.e, all the "A", "B", and "C" words on a page to choose from; then they might not have to scroll through those words they might already know. . . just a thought). I did love the audio addition to this.
Lastly, the Draw section. . . I had fun with this. One could chose to work freestyle or use the How to Option and place a picture there to copy. I liked the variety of colors, ability to widen your line, and thank goodness for the eraser. With some practice getting used to the draw tool, I managed to draw a great alien. Unfortunately, I was unable to print (the button seems to be disabled).
I did check out the teacher lessons which were another great addition. I found the Learning Zone to be something I will use and had fun with this!!! I also hope to check out the elementary section sometime this week as well.
I'm back. . . I liked the Brittanica Elementary section very much. The home page was very engaging, and I think students will love the chance to vote on a question and see how their answer compared with others. The Did You Know? and Daily Buzzword were nice features. I became excited for the opportunity to access the World Atlas because I thought it might be useful with a country unit our first grade does but was quickly disappointed to discover the use of maps was disabled, thus, was unable to use it at all. The kids will love the Animal Kingdom. I like the layout of choosing by groups or habitat. This will be very appealing to several teachers in our school and give the ability to enhance the curriculum. The Subject section had a wide variety of choices. I'm thinking that the reading level and some of the subject matter (World Religion and Health), may be over the average elementary student's interest and ability so might have to be teacher driven, although, the other subjects like Animals, Sports, Fine Arts will be extremely popular! I loved the interactive depth offered with the user-friendly point and click feature with great graphics and videos. Our first grade teachers will love the Plant section when they teach plants in the spring and will find the charts and graphics very handy! The Brittanica Elementary section offered a magnitude of knowledge in a fun and engaging format!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
My Blogging Debut
I am a Library Media Ed. Tech. in a K-5 elementary school. I must confess that setting up this blog was not as seamless as I had expected it would be. This was probably due to the creative domain name my husband and I came up with when looking for the perfect address to define who we are. Not far into the process, I received a message that Google+ was not available for our organization. Fortunately, I married a very tech savvy guy, who straightened out the issue.
A few years back, I had a quick introduction to Marvel. Unfortunately, it was late spring, the library was winding down, and I didn't find the time to play. School vacation came and went, and it became "out of sight, out of mind". I am grateful for this opportunity and believe it will be a great avenue to explore, learn, and become familiar with all Marvel has to offer. Already, I have discovered it appears to be a valuable tool for research, with my students, in the library. I love the quick and easy navigational tutorials that were available and found some time to delve into the Kids menu. The Search-a-saurus site is very user friendly and will be great for the younger student.
A few years back, I had a quick introduction to Marvel. Unfortunately, it was late spring, the library was winding down, and I didn't find the time to play. School vacation came and went, and it became "out of sight, out of mind". I am grateful for this opportunity and believe it will be a great avenue to explore, learn, and become familiar with all Marvel has to offer. Already, I have discovered it appears to be a valuable tool for research, with my students, in the library. I love the quick and easy navigational tutorials that were available and found some time to delve into the Kids menu. The Search-a-saurus site is very user friendly and will be great for the younger student.
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