E-Z Does It: Electronic Resources (E-Books) and More

Teaching my 6th grade students how to use reference resources may be easier than I initially thought. All of them have used dictionaries and thesauruses; about a third can identify and confirm that they have used or been shown an atlas. Unfortunately, before last week, none of them seemed to know what an almanac is. Thank goodness for electronic reference resources like www.almanac.com. For the next couple of weeks, we will explore the Old Farmer’s Almanac, learning about how people take care of their pets through Pet Blogs, decide when to get married or cut their hair as seen in Astronomy Forum or remove ticks and recycle twine after reading the Made in The USA blog. Having this information online makes it more appealing to my students who love any excuse to surf the Internet; it also makes it equally accessible to their parents at home.  

Burke mentioned some advantages and disadvantages of library databases and electronic resources in Chapter 8.  One advantage that I agree with, and I have experienced, is the availability of services that can be used by multiple users.  A classroom of students can log in on a site and simultaneously participate in an activity. Having materials online is also a tremendous benefit because I do not have to be concerned with finding space for them in the library or purchase updated versions. The e-resource site houses them and updates them as they see fit.  A disadvantage that Burke mentioned that occurs with some of Chicago Public Schools’ library databases is that they run very slowly, or they simply shut down while we are working. “No data to server” is what we are told.  Something else that I find unfavorable is the lack of tangibility. Sometimes, children just need to have a resource in their bare hands to examine it in a way that can truly help them understand it.

All things considered, my school and all of the others who have access to CPS’s integrated library system, SOAR—Seeking Online Access To Resources—are very fortunate. Go to http://www2.youseemore.com/cps/linkinclude.asp to find easy-to-access library databases for students, teachers and administrators. These electronic resources are available anywhere Internet access can be secured, offering highly quality information twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.