online atlas reviews

Who would have imagined that there would be so many sources for atlases. Yet it became evident that not all sources are of an acceptable quality or for children and youth. I have chosen two online sites in Riedling’s Webliography that seemed to me, less popular than others. Of these, I found not similarity to the atlases I used in grade school and high school. Times have definitely changed with the addition of “interactive zooming” and real time satellite images of locations. 

The Lonely Planet www.lonelyplanet.com

A first glance this site truly looked like a travel site and not an atlas site. Headings on the home page listed areas such as hostels/hotels, shop, and travel deals. There was a banner for advertisements, and I also notice after a short time, a set of scrolling images pan through one called, “Naked Places: best places to get undressed”. Highly unsuitable for a elementary web user. I was a bit turned off, and thought this would be my thumbs down site. 

But as I continued to explore, the site began to show its flavor; exciting and interesting information and facts on all types of places around the world. The home page was easy to read and navigate, with a clear map of the continents, that lead to galleries of pictures, top destinations, and copious amounts of detail about locations. The article linked to the “Naked Places” had some curious stories about places where nudism was used to generate an event or symbolize a belief. For example in Antarctica, “nudies dash – steaming and screaming – from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station to the geographic pole (which is marked with a pole, of course) and back.” The links to top destinations included links to fast facts like currency and population, things to do, when to go/weather, history, practical info, and a printable google maps link for roads.

Currency of the site seemed excellent. It included a travel advisory to people going to Jakarta because of volcanic ash that was spewing on the capital today. 

Excellent site as Riedling said. I think the reading level would be a bit high for elementary, but the intermediates would enjoy the fast facts and picture galleries.

The second site I chose was called Maps on Us at www.mapsonus.com

This would be my thumbs down site if I was looking for something to garner interest and excitement.  It began with a simple, mostly white home page. It seemed obvious that it was a map site, but mainly for acquiring directions. I thought this might turn students off, since most would not be looking for driving distances, and highway turnoffs. There was a large interactive world map, but it was very slow to load, and didn’t really ‘zoom’ as quickly as one would hope. I noticed about half way through my perusal that it said it provided directions for the US. Therefore, I shouldn’t have been surprised moments earlier when I typed “Nanaimo” into the search bar without success.  

I also found the tabs on the home page ineffective. The ariel view and “bird’s eye view” tabs provided exactly the same information, and the search bar at the top was not labelled as such. The topographical views looked much like you would find on Google Earth, but did not zoom nearly as much as Google Earth (to see the cars on your street). When I finally did get around to requesting a US location, it did not have the information on“Fargo, North Dakota”.  Seriously??  That’s pretty much when I gave up on it.

Article Review #3 School Libraries and Student Achievement in Ontario

School Libraries and Student Achievement in Ontario

The Ontario Library Association

(a study done by Queen’s University and People for Education)

As the push for higher achievement on large scale literacy and numeracy tests continues, and as school libraries are subjected to public education financial cuts, how much commitment has been made to maintain quality library programs in schools?

The study preformed by Queen’s and People for Education linked positive student achievement to the presence of professionally staffed and accessible school libraries.

Over 50,000 students, mainly from grades 3 and 6, in over 800 Ontario elementary schools with trained and untrained library staff were assessed.  The results of the study made it imperative that resources and staff in school libraries are integral parts of the new policies to improve student achievement in Ontario. Also noted in the study were the following findings; grade 3 and 6 students in schools with teacher-librarians were more likely to enjoy reading and in schools with teacher-librarians, grade 6 students were more likely to attain a level 3 or higher in standardized reading tests.  On the other hand, schools with untrained library staff, or no library staff, tended to have students score lower achievement levels than their counter parts. Thirdly, positive reading behaviors lead to higher math and science results, and larger schools tended to have higher reading enjoyment scores when they had a teacher-librarian present.

“It has been demonstrated that, when librarians and teachers work together, students achieve higher levels of literacy, reading, learning, problem solving, and information and communication technology skills.”  FLA/UNESCO School (p2)

A variety of other interesting points were identified in the study. One focus in particular discussed how studies done by US individuals found that 90% of the difference in test scores was due to ability and background, while 50% of student achievement was attributed to socio-economic factors. The Ontario study, concluding that a 5% difference could be made in student achievement by integrating a quality library program, proves quite a valuable piece of the solution.  Other discussions in the study included the evaluation done by Keith Curry Lance, who identified that students in US schools with well staffed, well stocked and well funded libraries were likely to score 10-25% higher on standardized tests. And the data in Alberta and British Columbia, which highlights that library staffing is declining rapidly, as funding is reduced and money is being allocated to alternate programs.  

References

Queen’s University and Education for the People (2006), School Libraries and Student Achievement in Ontario. Ontario Library Association, Toronto, Canada. 

Article Review #2 Trends in Print vs. Electronic Use in School Libraries

Trends in Print vs. Electronic Use in School Libraries

by Scott Lanning and Ralph Turner

To mark the release of the 2nd edition of Essential Reference Services for Today’s School Media Specialist (Canning and Bryner 2009) two librarians from the Gerald R Sherratt Library in Southern Utah University, Cedar City Utah, completed a comparative survey on print vs. electronic reference sources. 

They also recognized a comparison between academic and school libraries, using these two resources.  In their research, they chose to take detailed data of the use of print and electronic sources at the academic level (B.A., Masters, PhD) and surveyed the use at the school level (grade school and high school).  And in their resolve they found that electronic sources are favored at all levels in both types of libraries.

 At their own academic library in 2009, Gerald R. Sherratt Library, they found that electronic databases were used 16 times more often than print circulations. (663,785 electronic - 41,950 print) . The same inference and comparable data was found at other academic library levels, regardless of accreditation. But there was a realization that the higher the level of education the more print sources were used. 

“The more in depth the research needs, the greater the percentage of book use”. (p 213) 

Does this mean that higher levels of knowledge and information are found in print sources, or that more confidence is instilled in print sources compared to electronic sources for evidence serving a higher level of academics? Does this mean the reference collection at the academic libraries is more adequate than that found in school libraries, where reference resources do not serve the needs of its population? Or is it simply that people prefer one format over the other?

In school libraries, again the use of electronic resources drastically outweighed the use of print resources.  The print resources still can not compare with “enhanced searching, a wider range of sources and multimedia materials”. (p 217) But, it was found that the lower the academic level of the students and the smaller the size of the school, the more print sources were used. (p 217) Considering the fact that smaller sized schools might have less people to draw from, and thus smaller budgets, does it mean they produce a clientele with a lower GPA, and an environment which is not moving toward the importance of technology in education?  Regardless of school size, and wealth, schools must be aware of the draw towards media, and media tools for students. They must be willing to accommodate individuals from all walks of life, age, ethnicity with electronic resources.

Trends in popular electronic resources include Google, Ask and Bing. All three of these resources cater to individuals who appreciate an easy to use search box, colourful graphics and an endless amount of results for each query. They make it difficult for popular print resources such as World Book Encyclopedia, Compton’s Encyclopedia, and an assortment of biographies, dictionaries, almanacs and atlases to compete. These print resources are organized, available at different reading levels and can be found in every library, but they are also cumbersome, often outdated and do not lend to the “one click” response. Put simply, use of printed resources is dissolving. The one solid reason why they are still in use is because individuals are not trained, or savvy enough to use electronic resources. “Resources have changed, as have the tools and skills needed to access these resources”.

Therefore it is not only the job of the teacher-librarian to organize and administrate. It is a responsibility to provide and engage library users with new types of search engines, web portals, and specific resource sites. We are creating life long learners, and not consumers of the past. “ We seek to teach and inform, for we know that now more than ever, information literacy skills are vital in creating a better student and enlightened citizen” (p 219).

References

Lanning, S & Turner, R. (2010). Trends in Print Vs. Electronic Use in School Libraries. The Reference Librarian, 51:212-221. 2010. Taylor & Francis Group LLC

Article Review #1 Motivating the Lifelong Reading Habit Through a Balanced Use of Children’s Information Books

Motivating the Lifelong Reading Habit Through a Balanced Use of Children’s Information Books  

by Ray Dorion

Information books inspire!!  This article discusses the advantages of using quality children’s information books to encourage more students to read. It also provides practical ideas for teacher librarians (and teachers) to help motivate young readers. He begins by explaining that information books can be used for pleasurable reading or for research, but that several studies have identified their role to increase student reading interest and reading preference. (Monson & Sebesta 1991, Morrow & Gambrell 2001 and Sanacore 1992). 

Traditionally, teachers tend to use narrative text for instruction, and illustrations to engage readers. The interest and excitement over information books is rarely established. What Dorion hopes for, is a balance between fiction and information books, as equal tools for teaching literacy. (p40)  Researcher, Louise Rosenblatt (1989,1991), suggests that there are two reasons for adopting information (truth or fiction). An “efferent stance (the search for information), and the aesthetic stance (a relation to reading through thoughts, feelings and personal experiences)” (p 41).  Literacy teachers must teach students how to see a text from both perspectives, then the student will not  automatically look to an information text for research information, and a novel for entertainment. From my experience, “The Guinness World Book of Records” is the one place you can read from both perspectives, without trying too hard. 

Not until the 1960’s did children’s information books become ”legitimate literary forms”. (p44) And since then, many prestigious awards have been created to recognize the value of information texts for children. It has been recognized, that just like fictional writers, information advocates have since begun to draw attention to the importance of their work. Russell Freedman (1992) explains that the key to a quality information text is “to pursue that elusive quality called ‘truth’” (p42), which prompts a sense of exploration and discovery in an information book. This quality is also parallel to the essence of a fictional story book, that shares feelings and ideas that inspire and motivate. (p42)  Also, Dorion explains that it is not necessarily the awards, pictures or content of books that catch the attention of young readers. They are drawn to certain types of literature due to the enthusiasm a respected adult has shown towards it. If the same attitudes are felt by teachers towards information books, “we know our students will quickly follow our example (Hickman 1983) (p 44). It also works to survey student interests and ensure those topics are included in text selections.  Respect their interests and give them opportunity to increase their reading proficiency levels. 

Some strategies to encourage reading information texts include reading aloud and providing shared and individual reading activities. “We read aloud; we read along; we read alone (Cooper 2002) ... we read a lot” (p 44). Learners need direct instruction, but they also need practice. Browse through information books with students, but also provide and highlight for independent investigation. As a teacher librarian, one must use  displays, posters and location to drawn attention to information books. Introduce them in book talks with classes and use reading records or contests. Incorporate book buddies (older readers) to read together, organize author studies, create projects to write and publish their own information text, pictures, graphics, cover design, table of contents, and bibliography. Also in addition to information books, Dorion suggest newspapers, magazines and websites are excellent sources to encourage “information “ reading. 

References

Dorion, R. (2003). Motivating the Lifelong Reading Habit Through a Balanced Use of Children’s Information Books. University of Prince Edward Island, Canada. School Libraries Worldwide. Vol. 9, Number 1, 2003, 39-49.