Can we Razzle Dazzle the Electronic Library of MN?

When this is all over, I'm going to read every MILI blog. 

I'm feeling like I'm treading water technologically, staying in a comfort zone with the databases, those old buddies of mine. There's been numerous introductions to CultureGrams - grade 9 S.S. students researching a South American country (love the comparison graphs!!!).  

The ELM databases get better and more appealing, but there's no pizazz to them. Does reliability have to look so plain-Jane?

The Discovering Collection with the chemistry class and Urban Education class got a "Why didn't anyone ever tell us about this before?" and 'so much better than Google". Was that kid for real?  

ProQuest Newstand results were international and useful on the topic of 'urban education' and 'achievement gap' and but it was hitting only foul balls with searches for elements in chem class. 

EBSCO Host was phenomenal! Right-on the money in searches for concerns of acrylic nails (chem class research project and EBSCO has several cosmotology trade/scientific journals.)

How do you, dear reader, help students think about the complexity of reliable journals vs. Google search results? Should I bring in the Onion newspaper or a tabloid with a baby with two heads or the image of the Virgin Mary on the refrigerator to compare with the WashingtonPost? Election ads? It's a big move up into becoming thinking readers and it's media literacy, too. Who's the creator? What's the purpose? (Is it to entertain, pursuade, or inform.) Who's the audience?

Shopping for productivity tools

I've backtracked to Thing 4: Online Productivity Tools and found I don't need them...too productive already.  My life is too simple and I'm a social sloth who doesn't need to share her calendar, personal or professional, with many others for either coordination or for the curious. 

But if for you, every night is an outing with friends or projects, GoogleCalendar can be your pet. It's a dream for an in-demand babysitter or school principal, letting others see the schedule of availability and to allowing certain people to change events (a secretary, a mom, a team coach.) Requires a Google account to edit it. Nice looking, too.

I love making to-do lists and misplacing them just as they're needed. www.ToDoIst.com or www.tadalist.com might help. The to-do lists you make are emailed to you and other designated persons. ToDoIst.com lets you shuffle your priorities in the list and check them off, the most satisfying moment of all. 

Who is reading your blog?

Your audience is bigger than you think. After posting that dry blog about CultureGrams, the project manager of CultureGrams emailed me, saying he'd come across the blog (via a human or automatic search). I appreciate his offer, asking for suggestions about the product or giving help with links, etc.  I recommended one tech mistake to fix and requested adding an image to the paragraphs about government, etc. You can't go wrong with an image. It's like adding a bright broach to a classic navy dress.

CultureGrams and the Election, tied together

Susan Sarandon is threatening a move to Canada if John McCain becomes the president.

Seal and Heidi Klum it's 'Germany here we come!' if it's a VP Palin next week.

Tina Fey will leave the planet.  Where would you go when the going gets tough?

I started the CultureGrams intro with pictures of the rich and famous listed above, and asked the 10th grade students what country they'd consider? How would they get solid information to determine if the governmental system of this country is more palatable? Not just facts but customs and traditions? They said Wikipedia but today's new answer was CultureGrams. 

Unique in it's heritage, CultureGrams was conceived by Mormon missionaries to acquaint others of the faith who might visit and attempt to convert the locals. So it was best not to offend them with a handshake instead of a kiss (usually on the cheek). The 'database' (an unpalatable term) of states and countries is now written by long-time residents. The graphs and tables, either custom made or originals by students, compare literacy rates for women and men, life expectancy, gross domestic product, etc. and are all pretty clear to the kids. 

I had to point out the Human Development Index rank, a UN developed evaluation based on freedoms, education, jobs, and opportunities. Look how good we've got it! But kids found out the dating and marriage customs amusing, while I was mesmerized by the diversity of their country selection and their verbal analysis of the data. But without an easy link to it on our webpage they'll still pull up Wikipedia with their Google searches. Google is their 'binkie', an addiction that they won't give up without bribes.