I Was Blind, But Now I See! Learning About Reference Resources: Blog # 3
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As we learned about indexes in our course content, I had a memory of the card indexes that could be found in the university library. At first you feel overwhelmed and don't know where to start. This is what you see! A whole bunch of little drawers with little cards in them. Wait what?
When faced with trying to find information on a specific topic this is how you might feel.
When starting university this is exactly how I felt. The university library was foreign to me. I had no idea where to start when looking at those big scary cabinets! When you walked into a library and needed help whether it be at a public library or a university library the feeling was very overwhelming! Where do we start? We start by asking a librarian of course! And as always the librarian is the hero! The librarian makes you feel comfortable, is knowledgeable with the content and knows how to assist you in finding what you need.
"The Stacks" at UBC
As I result, we leave feeling confident, informed and (in my day) with an armload of books. We were guided into the right direction with confidence and ease. "Without the school librarian bringing materials and students together, the flow would either never take place at all or take place inefficiently" (Reidling, 2019, p. 5). In my experience librarians have always been so helpful and so knowledgeable, after taking LIBE 467, I now understand why!
The role of the librarian is very important and crucial to students being able to "obtain relevant and credible information that meets their needs" (Reidling, p. 3). Now that the printed cards and indexes are almost obsolete there are a lot more things for us as librarians to learn as well.
The variety of reference services school librarians provide as part of their daily activities includes helping students define their information needs, creating learning environments for collaboration, teaching students to use the online catalog and databases, and helping students distinguish good information from bad. All of these activities are criticla for developing effective users of infromation and ideas and helping them navigate the 21st-century information stream (Reidling, p. 3).
Learning about the Bibliographies, Biographies and Directories was interesting. I have many interests that I was able to pursue using some of the recommended websites. Infoplease is an interesting resource. It has so much valuable information included on its website.
Just out of curiosity I checked out Florence Nightingale (who I didn't know until now, was an activist). The information is easy to read, has sufficient headings and is informative. There aren't any pictures which I was hoping for. (I was curious to see what Florence Nightingale looked like). https://www.infoplease.com/people/biographies-18
The Infoplease website is a good starting point for researching. I wanted to learn more and was able to find the photos I sought on the worldwide web.
I also looked up Kevin Costner, one of my favourite actors and found some interesting information about him including which movies he starred in and when. One of my personal favourites was when he played Robin Hood.
I enjoyed the feature the word of the day quiz where you guess the meaning of a word. I guessed correctly. This is a fun and informative learning game.
(rak"un•tûr'; Fr. RA•kôN•tR'), —n.,—pl. -teurs (-tûrz'; Fr. -tR'). a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly. https://www.infoplease.com/wordoftheday.
I do have to say though, the pop up ads are very distracting, not to mention annoying! They changed constantly even while taking a screenshot of the site. This would be so distracting for students so possibly isn't as great a resource as I first thought.
Going back to the website it seemed as though there were even more pop-ups than before. Wait a minute, isn't there a way to have pop ups blocked? I will have to look into that further. That will be the difference between a thumbs up or thumbs down for this website.
I am not sure how I did it, but there are less pop-ups today, so I give the site a thumbs up. I can now see what is included which is a lot of interesting information! There are quizzes galore, an encyclopedia, biographies, pages on This Day in History, Word of the Day, Daily IQ, Birthday of the Day, Analogy of the Day, News of the World and Weather of the Day and many many more interesting features and articles.
The site certainly meets the criteria it has strived for as described by Reidling. "Information Please (www.infoplease.com)... published by Fen Learning, [is] a notable publisher of online learning spaces, these sites strive to provide reliable information, engage, and entertain" (Reidling, 2019, p. 40). I was so engaged and entertained I got distracted from what I was supposed to be working on. This will definitely be an issue for students as well. All in all a great reference resource that has many distractions. (I will admit, I did some Christmas shopping while working on this blog due to the pop-up advertisements. :)
Speaking of Christmas shopping, I love to buy the Guinness World Records books as a gift. I didn't realize they fell under the category of a reference resource. Students love them! The copies in our school are well worn and children love to read and discover information together. This is a great "buddy reading" resource. Reidling describes the book as "probably the most famous fact book...first published in 1956 and is divided into chapters pertaining to specific subjects, such as the living world and human beings" (p. 39).
Based on the usage of our school copies I would have to agree with Reidling regarding their popularity. "Fact books are very popular in school libraries because they are authoritative sources for answering basic questions students might pose and offer an excellent model to demonstrate how specific reference tools can be used for finding information (Reidling, pg, 39). The Guinness World Records is an excellent resource to teach research skills based on facts. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/book/2019/9/power-your-curiosity-meet-the-stars-of-guinness-world-records-2020-589088
On the other hand, the pages are very "busy" and contain a lot of information which can be both a positive and a negative for learners. In some cases there might be too much information that a student gets confused, frustrated or disinterested in the resource. https://www.amazon.ca/Guinness-World-Records-2020/dp/1912286831
Reidling describes the reference resource "Famous First Facts, published by H.W. Wilson...an alphabetical subject list of first happening, discoveries, and inventions in American History" (Reidling, 2019, p. 39). https://www.hwwilsoninprint.com/index.php My first thought was, "is there such a resource for Canada?" After searching online I found the answer to be no, not online anyway, not to the caliber of the Famous First Facts website.
From browsing through the website I found we have been fighting to save the environment since at least 1890! I learned about John Muir and his work towards having national forests and parks established. I love being a librarian! I want to learn more! I want to share what I have learned.
ACTIVIST MOVEMENTS—
CONSERVATIONISM
1026. Conservationist of note in the United
States was the Scottish-born naturalist John
Muir. Born in 1838, he arrived in the United
States at age 11. He spent many years traveling
around the United States and Canada as a forester and botanist before settling in California,
where he campaigned for the establishment of
national forests and parks, including Yosemite
National Park, formed in 1890 by an act of
Congress. He was also the founder of the Sierra
Club. California’s Muir Woods National Monument and Alaska’s Muir Glacier were named
after him.
So then of course I want to know more about this important activist/conservationist so further my search from the initial query using the First Facts Website.
Upon further review and research of John Muir, a man of whom I was so excited about, I find that there is a possibility that he used racist comments while on his travels and renamed areas that were already named by the Indigenous people of the area, the Ahwahneechee. "In 1889, John Muir, drew lines across a map of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California to propose a grand idea: enshrining what he saw as a treasure of natural beauty in the form of Yosemite National Park. Except the "wilderness"...was already named- Ahwahnee, meaning gaping mouth-like place" https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sierra-club-grapples-founder-john-muirs-racism-180975404/.
Theodore Roosevelt stands with naturalist John Muir on Glacier Point, above Yosemite Valley, California, USA. (
Many of the comments related to the Smithsonian article feel that to bring up Muir as a racist denotes all of the important things that he has done and some remind us of the fact that there have been racists all along.
Just one query on the First Facts First Facts based on the environment allowed me to learn all of this information that I had previously known nothing about. And as we learned in LIBE 467, when evaluating biographies, Katz "points out that it is important to know the sources of the information for publications...not all of the information may be accurate or included". (LIBE 467, Lesson 10 notes, p.2).
From fact books we go on to learning about directories. I have to laugh because any time I think of a phone directory I think of Steve Martin's movie The Jerk, and how he was now "a somebody" because his name was in the phone directory. I have to admit, I was almost as excited as "Mavin, R. Johnson" the first time I saw my name in the phone book! (I am aging myself as this movie was released in 1979 and showing a bit of my twisted humour by admitting I found this movie funny).
We don't see as many phone directories in print anymore since we live in a technical world and we can easily search phone numbers on the internet, or as many people do, ask on Facebook, where "friends" tell them to "google it."
There are so many online resources that I would recommend to both teachers and students. I feel empowered learning about all of these new sources of information. Before this module, I would just "google search." I am excited about all of the new things I have learned.
References
Canada 411 [Webpage]. Retrieved from https://www.canada411.ca/
Famous first facts about the environment [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.hwwilsoninprint.com/facts_first_environ.php
Florence nightingale [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/people/who2-biography/florence-nightingale
Get in the bucket and hold on [Web page]. (2020). Retrieved from https://napavalleyregister.com/news/opinion/mailbag/john-muir-get-in-the-bucket-and-hold-on/article_292a854a-a14d-5e48-8a5b-a4a4590aebe6.html
Kevin costner [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/people/who2-biography/kevin-costner
Power your curiosity: Introducing the stars of Guinness world records 2020 [Web page]. Retrieved from https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/book/2019/9/power-your-curiosity-meet-the-stars-of-guinness-world-records-2020-589088
Riedling, A.M., & Houston, C. (2019). Reference skills for the school librarian: Tools and tips. Santa Barbara, California: Libraries Unlimited.
Schema File Cabinet, (2010, May, 10). Liar, Liar [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op7Cn0rbTUI
Siera club grapples with founder john muir’s racism [Web page]. (2020) Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sierra-club-grapples-founder-john-muirs-racism-180975404/
The new phonebook is here (The jerk) [Web page]. (2013). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7aIf1YnbbU
Word of the day [Web page] (2020). Retrieved from https://www.infoplease.com/wordoftheday
Great post and tour through your explorations of the many tools, recommended sites, and important connections. You also did a good job weaving your own memories, experiences and expectations into this reflective blog post, with personal and regional inquiries to guide your brief evaluations. Overall, a good reflective blog post, that demonstrated your engagement with the materials, topics and ideas from the last few weeks of our course.
This is the second time, I've written this comment. My internet died the first time and lost it, oops. Hopefully I'll remember everything I wrote before.
Thank you for sharing all of those resources, I've never heard of infoplease but it looks like a really fun site. I also enjoy your writing style and humour.
I really liked your point about John Muir and racism. First I'd never even heard about him before, and it was interesting how he was being evaluated historically. You're very correct when you mention that racism has existed throughout history. When we vilify a historical figure due to their racism we are failing to look at history through a historical lens. We are trying to apply modern-day values to a time with different beliefs and circumstances. It doesn't work.
We do have the acknowledge the racism of famous historical figures, but we cannot discount their contributions to history because of it. We must look at their achievements and failures as a whole, and acknowledge both.
I also found it ironic, that a conservationist was racist towards indigenous people, the first conservationists on the continent.
Hello Sarah, thank you for your feedback. It is welcomed and appreciated. The information I shared wasn't necessarily to call out the racism, it was more to share how much I have/could learn from one random search using a search engine and the information that I found. Also, the point was made in one of our lessons where Katz was quoted as saying that not all sources will include all information.
I also wanted to share others' views about how they felt and whether they thought that Muir used "racist" comments or was a racist. Or if the whole article just took away from the fact that Muir "founded" Yosemite. Interesting observations out there. I attempted to show both sides of view.
Over the years our school has tried a number of different initiatives to promote reading. Fostering reading cultures in school is an ongoing challenge for children "who don't like to read." We have silent reading every day, school wide for 1/2 hour. Some students enjoy the time, others struggle with reading independently. One way that we encourage students to read are through computer assisted programs that can read to them like Kurzweil and audio books. Other ways are to read to them, introduce new books, explore their interests and purchase books that they will get excited about. https://virl.bc.ca/read-watch-listen/listen/audiobooks/ I have shown the grade K/1/2 class how to "search" for books using our school library site. This has been a great way to allow students the opportunity to look for books and to find them on the shelf based on the call number and author location. Students get excited to find books where they are supposed to be and very
They say "ignorance is bliss." Wow! Before working on this project, I had no idea the vast amount of resources and training that is available to me. I am interested in 21st-Century learning and integrating STEM/STEAM into my classroom. I am honestly overwhelmed at the prospect of "self-initiated" projects. After getting past the hurdles of living in a remote community with limited resources and the lack of professional development opportunities I realize there are many ways to improve my skills, explore new learning and make new connections. Upon searching I have found many useful websites and training opportunities. First, I would work on utilizing the Spiral Playbook to learn how to lead "with an inquiring mindset in school systems and schools" (Canadians for 21st Century Learning and Innovation, 2017). "The Spiral Playbook offers a concise introduction to an evidence-based model of collaborative inquiry" (p. 7). Using this resourc
As teacher librarians we have the world at our fingertips! I have learned it is our duty to be with the times and current in order to effectively share the world with others. Libraries are not only about books and research, libraries are a link to the outside world literally! We can travel across the world with technology especially lately since we have been reduced to communicating digitally due to Covid-19. My interest lies in becoming a 21st-Century educator. This is not an easy feat. There are many barriers like remoteness, lack of technology, skills, equipment and access to training and professional development. Many of the barriers can be overcome with the use of technology, willingness and the desire to learn. I have learned so much over the last term. Explore: Areas I have explored include how to be a 21st-Century teacher, integrating STEM/STEAM into the classroom and the benefits of using digital technology to enhance student learning. 21st-Century Teacher: Take
Great post and tour through your explorations of the many tools, recommended sites, and important connections. You also did a good job weaving your own memories, experiences and expectations into this reflective blog post, with personal and regional inquiries to guide your brief evaluations. Overall, a good reflective blog post, that demonstrated your engagement with the materials, topics and ideas from the last few weeks of our course.
ReplyDeleteHi Roberta,
ReplyDeleteThis is the second time, I've written this comment. My internet died the first time and lost it, oops. Hopefully I'll remember everything I wrote before.
Thank you for sharing all of those resources, I've never heard of infoplease but it looks like a really fun site. I also enjoy your writing style and humour.
I really liked your point about John Muir and racism. First I'd never even heard about him before, and it was interesting how he was being evaluated historically. You're very correct when you mention that racism has existed throughout history. When we vilify a historical figure due to their racism we are failing to look at history through a historical lens. We are trying to apply modern-day values to a time with different beliefs and circumstances. It doesn't work.
We do have the acknowledge the racism of famous historical figures, but we cannot discount their contributions to history because of it. We must look at their achievements and failures as a whole, and acknowledge both.
I also found it ironic, that a conservationist was racist towards indigenous people, the first conservationists on the continent.
Hello Sarah, thank you for your feedback. It is welcomed and appreciated. The information I shared wasn't necessarily to call out the racism, it was more to share how much I have/could learn from one random search using a search engine and the information that I found. Also, the point was made in one of our lessons where Katz was quoted as saying that not all sources will include all information.
DeleteI also wanted to share others' views about how they felt and whether they thought that Muir used "racist" comments or was a racist. Or if the whole article just took away from the fact that Muir "founded" Yosemite. Interesting observations out there. I attempted to show both sides of view.