Thing 14: reliable sites

I found the Librarians Index to the Internet very useful for a broad topic such as "buddhism" but as soon as I tried one of my student's history day topics I got nothin'. I tried to search for "minneapolis teacher strike of 1970." Apparently that was too specific for this index. I would have a hard time selling this to my kids for history day but maybe for another project I could tell them about this tool. I would probably compare it to a search engine like Google so that they could make the connection.

I liked how the Internet Public Library had the KidSpace and Subject Collections with Sub-headings. Again, it was not helpful with a specific search.

I did not like docuticker since I could not figure it out at all. I thought it was very unfriendly. I would never introduce this to my kids.

DMOZ and Complete planet were just "okay". I gotta be honest and say that I did not LOVE any of these sites very much. In a "google-world" it is hard to work with other ways of doing searches.

I also think it is important for kids to learn to evaluate sites for themselves. It is a good skill to have. Even though they get impatient and want immediate answers. They need to work on slowing down and looking at the reliability of sites.

Thing 13: databases

I spent some time playing around with InfoTrac Junior Edition and Kids Infobits. The first thing I noticed is that when I entered the databases through my school's web page they looked a lot more userfriendly than using elm4you. I wonder why they have different looks depending on how a person enters the database. Since I am in the middle of the World Religions unit that I teach, I decided to search for Buddhism to see what would happen. I really liked InfoTrac Junior edition. It pulled up a variety of helpful sources. I also liked that it had the "see also" button. It opens up more options for kids to look at. It might really help a student narrow down a research topic that is too broad. I also really liked the tool box. I would like to use the following tools with my students: how to judge information, how to write a conclusion, and how to write a thesis statement. I need to collaborate with the LA teacher on my team and figure out how we can do this together.

Even though it was obviously meant for elementary kids, I liked the Kids Infobits a lot. I liked the way that they provided subject areas and narrowed that down into topic areas. I found that they had a topic on "religions" which I am sure will come in very handy.

a VERY cool thing...

The Central Minneapolis library and the Minnesota Historical Society hosted a History Day Hullabaloo this past Saturday. I told my kids all about it and really tried to sell them on the idea. I offered a TON of extra credit. I figured if they spent a Saturday at the library and if their parents drove them downtown they deserved a sizable reward. Around 20 of my students went to this event. Most said that it helped them a lot with History Day but everyone agreed that the library was really cool. Can you believe that?! 8th graders said the library was cool! I am very excited about this!

Thing 10: copyright and plagarism

The quizzes were much more challenging than I thought they would be. I only got a 14 out of 21 on one of them. I guess I am glad that the ones I got wrong were because I was erring on the side of caution. I am also glad that I have a wonderful media specialist who can help me when I have a question on copyright. This is a great time to collaborate!

How do you deal with issues of plagiarism in your class?
The student automatically gets a 0 on the assignment, with the option of redoing it. I will take a phrase that I know they did not write and type it into Google. When the web site comes up that they plagarized, I print it off and attach it to the assignment. The kids can not deny anything at that point.

However, more importantly, I think it helps to be more proactive at the beginning. A well designed project makes it hard to plagarize. For example, with history day the kids have to connect their topic to a theme and explore its historical significance and impact. This kind of analysis demands that they use multiple resources and their own interpretation. Very hard to plagarize.

What resources do you use to teach these concepts?
For the first project that I have kids complete, my media specialist gives a mini-lesson on plagarism and citation. With easybib.com citations are a breeze. I find some 8th graders are already experts at notetaking and paraphrasing. Others are simply not there yet. Whether they are being mentally lazy or just don't have the skills, I am not sure. I often assume that kids know how to take notes, but I am not sure if they have ever actually been taught. Modeling is a powerful tool. Sounds like another great way for me to collaborate with my MS....

Thing 16: MnLINK

It's official. I am in LOVE! MnLink Gateway is my favorite 'thing' so far. How have I gone so long without knowing about this resource?! I have been playing around with the basic and advanced search options. I am amazed that I can access libraries throughout the state. This has been a real eye opener for me. I didn't realize how everything is networked. Wonderful! I always thought I had to ask a media specialist to guide me through the ILL process, now I know how to take care of this on my own.

I have already included a link on my teacher web page for the kids to access MnLink. I am planning on showing it to them today. I am going to do a really vague search like "Jackie Robinson" vs something specific like "Minneapolis teacher strike" to show them how a tool like this is effective with a specific subject. I also want to show them how to do an advanced search for a title since many of them found titles in the works sited pages of other resources they have been using.

I am nervous that they won't have the sources in time for History Day in a month, but it is worth a shot. It will be very helpful for kids who make it on to the next level of competition.

Next year I will have to show them MnLINK right away in November when I introduce history day. This is the perfect kind of long-term project to use ILL.

Thing 17: One New Thing

While exploring the world of databases, I discovered Historical Newspapers. (Thanks, Jeanne!)What a powerful tool to use in my classroom. Especially when it comes to the kids finding primary sources for their History Day projects. When I introduced this to the kids they were SO excited. To see newspaper articles the way that they actually appeared so mnay years ago was really cool. There is also a timeline that shows the context of that time period.

I also like the "this day in history" feature. I have seen this many times before but Historical Newspapers shows the article that went along with the story. Like today is the day that the Roe V Wade decision was handed down and the New York Times article is there to read.

Unfortunately, this is a subscription that we may have to let expire because of lack of funding. So, using what I learned in my administration program (it's hard to say no to kids), I asked a couple of my students to write a letter about what the Historical Newspapers database has meant to them. A very "cheesy" technique to be sure, but if we are truly interested in doing what's best for kids then we need tools like this to assist them in the research process.

More things 7 and 8...

I used the relfection sentence starters that I found with the RPC to monitor my students' progress on HD. I used a variety of senteces, but the one I liked the best was "I need help with...so, I will..." I thought this was a great sentence because it got the kids to identify an issue and then how they will solve it. They didn't just complain but they had to think out how to solve the problem. Many of the kids' solutions were things like..."I will blog about it"..."I will try ask.com" or "dogpile.com"..."I will try the media center databases"...I was so pleased that kids were referring to the tools that I had demonstrated for them. Without this reflection I would have never known how they wer using the tools. This showed me how important reflection is as a part of the research process.