Part 1
Scanning the titles available in the Gale Virtual Reference Library was indeed like browsing the shelves in a reference collection. I was intrigued by The New Dictionary of The History of Ideas, published in 2005, so I scanned the table of contents in the 6 volumes. Many intriguing topics there to be explored:
v.1 Abolitionism to Common Sense
v.2 Communication of Ideas to Futurology
v.3 Game Theory to Lysenkoism
v.4 Machiavellism to Phrenology
v.5 Physics to Syncretism
v.6 Taste to Zionism
Because I am also an artist, I was drawn to the Taste article, which I found to be well written, presenting a broad overview of the history of "taste" and how it has evolved over time. The article began by defining terms, differentiating between "taste" as an objective criteria that can be described and "personal taste" which varies and is harder to define.
I think this would be a great source to start with to obtain an overview of a subject or an idea. If you are looking for something concrete like information about a particular disease, this would not be the place to go....but if you are interested in ideas, looks like a fine source to me!
Part 2I am interested in ideas about language and the power that the language that we speak has over the thoughts that we have. Languages have different structure and different ways of articulating ideas, events and objects. I am curious to know how the very structure of our language plays out in the rise of our thoughts and the arena of thinking.
I first began my search with the terms Language and Thinking, which yielded 910 results, many of which came from the volumes I first delved into from The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. This was actually not much of a surprise. I think I narrowed the number of hits by 50% by adding the term "thought" as another filter. I began again with Linguistics, which also yielded quite a few hits, most of which came from The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. I did choose one article, that was actually quite brief, titled: "Sun Language Theory", which came from the Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. The article discussed a theory that arose and gained a following in the 1930s, which proposed that Turkish was the mother of languages. I played with the "listen" function and was able to understand clearly the reading of the text. If I were in need of this option, I would certainly appreciate that the words and phrases are highlighted as they were being read. A great feature!
Overall, I found I was really drawn to The New Dictionary of the History of Ideas and may just go back and browse when I have time....ha, not sure when that will be!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Challenge Week 4: ProQuest
I did several different searches on ProQuest, partly as an experiment, but also because there are so many possibilities for exploration! I've been quite fascinated by the TED Talks whenever I've seen one...these short video presentations are always stimulating and opportunities for learning across the disciplines. I thought I'd investigate if there were some interesting articles that discussed the TEDTalks themselves and their impact on culture. Of course, the initial search I did just using those terms "Ted" and "talks" brought up way too many erroneous responses (about 25,103) that included the words Ted and talk, so I used quotation marks, allowing the search to run as one term and not two....much better, with 184 hits! When I added the filter of peer reviewed, I got down to 16! Nothing in those hits really seemed to intrigue me, so I moved on in my investigations and switched to "strategic planning" along with "public libraries" and found 524 hits. If I had more time, I'd be reading a lot of those articles! But, the main thing is that I know where to find them when the time comes.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Challenge Week 3: SIRS Discoverer and SIRS Issues Researcher
SIRS Discoverer
ew....week three....easy to get behind! What a great wealth of resources. These databases are great tools. I looked up the armadillos and was surprised by the number and range of articles. I think it is very helpful to have a clear identifier that lets you know the article contains a graphic, as sometimes that is the thing people are really looking for. Discovered some interesting things about the armadillo in my brief tour.
The sidebar Database Features provided another set of handy tools. I took a look at France for my country and got a quick overview of the history timeline, a map, picture of the flag, population, etc. All the basics were covered, with many links to provide more information.
Under the Maps section, I chose United States and noticed there were territories and some other subsets listed, rather than just the states. I chose American Somoa first, since I was curious as to where that was actually located in the big scheme of islands....but the map of Somoa didn't provide a large enough context, so I still only know that it is located in the Pacific Ocean, but would have a hard time finding it on a larger map.
I moved on to the United States Historical maps and pulled up a map of Chaco Canyon....there are a lot of maps to discover here that really enhance and provide visual context for learning history. The map entitled European Exploration and Colonization c.1000 to 1643, for example, might just be a better way to get an overview than by reading any text. Great tool!
I took a look at the Science Fair Explorer and opened the Junk Drawer.....and delved into the Case of the Water Walker exploring water striders and surface tension. I sure wish these resources had been available when I was a kid.....science becomes a fascinating topic and relevant to each kids life, as they explore science through their own environment!
SIRS Issues Researcher
I was amazed at the long list of issues that are presented on the left. Because of recent events and the relevancy of the topic these days, I chose gun control. A good overview is presented, along with a quick look at pros and cons and an interactive component at the top. A broad spectrum of resources are listed below, with the ability to limit and filter them....another fantastic tool. I used to catalog a series of print resources for our academic library that aimed to tackle these issue based topics, but never came close to provided the rich resources that this site does.
The curriculum pathfinders provided another great avenue for research. Because I am an artist, I chose the Fine Arts and found lots of places to travel through the eye-catching subject headings and research ideas that caught my eye. There were also plenty of articles, some with images, some without, as well as interactive insets. Another useful feature was the list on the left that you know the types of sources, so you could filter the search and hone in on the topic.
Week three was another great discovery!
ew....week three....easy to get behind! What a great wealth of resources. These databases are great tools. I looked up the armadillos and was surprised by the number and range of articles. I think it is very helpful to have a clear identifier that lets you know the article contains a graphic, as sometimes that is the thing people are really looking for. Discovered some interesting things about the armadillo in my brief tour.
The sidebar Database Features provided another set of handy tools. I took a look at France for my country and got a quick overview of the history timeline, a map, picture of the flag, population, etc. All the basics were covered, with many links to provide more information.
Under the Maps section, I chose United States and noticed there were territories and some other subsets listed, rather than just the states. I chose American Somoa first, since I was curious as to where that was actually located in the big scheme of islands....but the map of Somoa didn't provide a large enough context, so I still only know that it is located in the Pacific Ocean, but would have a hard time finding it on a larger map.
I moved on to the United States Historical maps and pulled up a map of Chaco Canyon....there are a lot of maps to discover here that really enhance and provide visual context for learning history. The map entitled European Exploration and Colonization c.1000 to 1643, for example, might just be a better way to get an overview than by reading any text. Great tool!
I took a look at the Science Fair Explorer and opened the Junk Drawer.....and delved into the Case of the Water Walker exploring water striders and surface tension. I sure wish these resources had been available when I was a kid.....science becomes a fascinating topic and relevant to each kids life, as they explore science through their own environment!
SIRS Issues Researcher
I was amazed at the long list of issues that are presented on the left. Because of recent events and the relevancy of the topic these days, I chose gun control. A good overview is presented, along with a quick look at pros and cons and an interactive component at the top. A broad spectrum of resources are listed below, with the ability to limit and filter them....another fantastic tool. I used to catalog a series of print resources for our academic library that aimed to tackle these issue based topics, but never came close to provided the rich resources that this site does.
The curriculum pathfinders provided another great avenue for research. Because I am an artist, I chose the Fine Arts and found lots of places to travel through the eye-catching subject headings and research ideas that caught my eye. There were also plenty of articles, some with images, some without, as well as interactive insets. Another useful feature was the list on the left that you know the types of sources, so you could filter the search and hone in on the topic.
Week three was another great discovery!
Learning Express Library -- Week 2 Challenge
Wow, another powerful resource on the state database...Learning Express Library! There are a lot of people out there who could make great use of the tools available here.
I chose to take the GED practice test and found the process very simple and self-explanatory. I answered the first several questions in the first section on Reading Comprehension and was pleased with my score. This morning there was quite a hilarious eruption here at the library when my co-worker and I discovered that we had both chosen the same test, however I had been under the very mistaken assumption that I was doing the GRE (not GED!) prep test! But, that led me to go back in search of GRE preparation skills and practice tests and didn't find them anywhere. This seems to be a big missing component of the Learning Express, unless the GRE is represented somewhere that I'm not aware of.
The second exercise involved exploring the Job Search and Workplace Skills. This section also includes a wealth of information for college students entering the workplace, as well as career changers later in life....and everyone in between. Resume writing, professional practices, business writing (including grammar and spelling instruction) are all presented in clear and easy to read sections. I downloaded a whole 200+ page e-book on resume writing.....how could you not have a stellar resume with all that help?!
I looked through the e-book Career Changer's Manual which seemed very helpful. As someone who has sought new career and workplace possibilities throughout my life, I can identify with some of the reasons people seek a change in career, along with all of the fears that go along with it. This book provides down-to-earth and practical ways to evaluate your situation and provides tools to move forward.
Over all, I found the Learning Express a very helpful site with a great deal of very practical help!
I chose to take the GED practice test and found the process very simple and self-explanatory. I answered the first several questions in the first section on Reading Comprehension and was pleased with my score. This morning there was quite a hilarious eruption here at the library when my co-worker and I discovered that we had both chosen the same test, however I had been under the very mistaken assumption that I was doing the GRE (not GED!) prep test! But, that led me to go back in search of GRE preparation skills and practice tests and didn't find them anywhere. This seems to be a big missing component of the Learning Express, unless the GRE is represented somewhere that I'm not aware of.
The second exercise involved exploring the Job Search and Workplace Skills. This section also includes a wealth of information for college students entering the workplace, as well as career changers later in life....and everyone in between. Resume writing, professional practices, business writing (including grammar and spelling instruction) are all presented in clear and easy to read sections. I downloaded a whole 200+ page e-book on resume writing.....how could you not have a stellar resume with all that help?!
I looked through the e-book Career Changer's Manual which seemed very helpful. As someone who has sought new career and workplace possibilities throughout my life, I can identify with some of the reasons people seek a change in career, along with all of the fears that go along with it. This book provides down-to-earth and practical ways to evaluate your situation and provides tools to move forward.
Over all, I found the Learning Express a very helpful site with a great deal of very practical help!
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