AEA's Webisite

For those of you who have not been to the AEA website recently, it looks very different than the last time you most likely saw it. The thinking was to have a more “user friendly” site to the public.

Things you might be looking for:

Online Resources and the Databases:

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and select, “media library.” This will take you to a number of different links. “ComCat”- this is a way to do interlibrary loan through the school library. If you are interested in this we will need to work to set up a school account, so please talk to me. “Media Net” is the AEA catalog of books, DVD and other resources. “Online Databases” are the databases that I have been highlighting over the last year. “World of Media” is the newsletter article and blog that AEA puts out about using technology and resources in the content areas.

 

Online Databases: I am in the process of revamping the main library page, the elementary library page, and the MS/HS library page. I will have all of these databases linked from the library page. If these are databases you frequently want students to use, you also could link them from your own web pages or have a link to the library page.

World of Media

Did you know that World of Media that comes from the AEA each month is now available online?
http://wom.aea11.k12.ia.us/

World of Media is set up into curriculum areas and offers tips of online resoruces and using these resources in your content area. While many of the tools that are out there are great for all areas, this does explore all areas that people may teach. This is also a great way to see what others are doing that is innovative with technology, creative use of technology, and is also student centered.

This is currently set up as a blog. It has older "world of media" going back to 2008. At this point you can not search for topics, but all of the posts are in the "in this issue" and by clicking on the arrows you can easily browse the titles of articles in that month's issue. Many of the short articles include links for the sites they are suggesting.

Discovery Science- DE Streaming

Also part of Discovery Education is Discovery Science. This is only currently available through Heartland (www.aea11.k12.ia.us) under the “resources and research tools”.[You can access it through Iowa AEA online (http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/) but since you have a Heartland AEA online you will be directed to Heartland's extra features, i.e. DE Science.  After you log in, you will have the option of going to DE Streaming (which I featured in the previous blog post) or DE Science. After clicking on DE Science, you will have the option of “elementary” or “middle school”.

Under the Elementary Science you can search: earth science, life science, and physical science. These are broken down into smaller topics with tabs and pictures. In the elementary section when you start to get information there are four levels “learn, explore, demonstrate, and extend.” There are also is a glossary of terms off to the right hand side of the page.

Under the Middle School Science you can search: physical science, life science, earth and space science. In the middle school there are virtual labs, explorations, interactive videos, integrated science simulations and more under the “Interact” tab. Under the “watch” tab are video clips and under the “read” tab are articles. Many of these could be teacher directed or student explored. * For those of you that teach the elements - chemistry or physical science- under the middle school section there is a "feature" with an interactive periodic table.

Discovery Education Streaming- DE Streaming

Discovery Education Streaming [also called DE Streaming or United Streaming]
Many of you are already using DE Streaming to show video clips on particular topics. For those of you that may not be familiar with DE Streaming, this is one of the many resources through Iowa AEA and Heartland AEA (www.aea11.k12.ia.us). Video clips are available on numerous topics. Besides showing the videos in class, these videos can also be a dynamic way for students to research about topics in your class. It is VERY easy to search topics. You can also download videos that you want to use over and over and save them to your computer. If you want a video clip at the last minute, this could be helpful. (There are clips for library and using the library, so you should be able to find almost anything that you want).
The videos that are available range from short (less than 1:00) to full length programs being 30 minutes to 45 minutes and some are even an hour. Many of the full length videos are divided into segments so you can watch a 5-10 minute part instead of the entire full length vide. Some of the videos that are in the 2 minute- 4 minute range are great for giving brief explanations on topics. One of the advantages of DE streaming is that you can pause and restart the video. If you are asking students to take notes from the video clip, if all students have a laptop, or are working in one of the computer labs, all students can work at their own pace. When they need to pause to take notes, or write something down, they can. [On a side note, having all students trying to access the same video can really slow down the down loading/ buffering of the video. If you have multiple videos that students are supposed to watch and have students start with different videos, it helps with the speed of downloading of videos].

SIRS Researcher

In a previous post, I did highlight the use of SIRS researcher as a tool for major research topics, in particular research papers. I compared this to the new “Point of View” that was added to EBSCOhost this year. This can be accessed through AEA11 www.aea11.k12.ia.us under the resources area. It also can be accessed through Iowa AEA online www.iowaaeaonline.org.

Last time I blogged about this resource I mentioned that SIRS can help in the development of a thesis topic in addition to providing pro/con articles to give both sides of an argument.

When you first get to the information on a specific topic there is a Yes/No box. There are links to articles showing support and opposition of this controversial topic. There are also research tools to the side including: Timeline, Global impact, Statistics, Research guides and note taker. The Timeline, Global impact, and Statistics tools can be helpful in gathering information for the information, project, or report. The research guides and note taking tools are helpful in the organization of material. Below these aids are the list of articles and additional information.

Additionally, SIRS like EBSCO and Worldbook allow students to email any articles. SIRS also has the read aloud feature that many of the other AEA resources also have.

Taking notes from an article in a google doc

If you decide not to email an article you also can copy and paste an article into a Google document. This can allow you are students to use a highlighter and comment feature. This can be an additional way to take notes, practice study techniques and note taking- students can share articles they are looking at and their comments can be what use to be “note cards”

Using this highlighter technique can be a great way to demonstrate, use and check for understanding for learning strategies like selective highlighting. By doing this in a document, students have the option to do multiple colors in their highlighting. For example they can do big topic in once color and supporting details in a second or third color.  

Additionally, instead of handing in current event article in print as an email attachment they can copy and paste and have it all in the shared google doc and write their summary at the top. You also could ask them to high light important information from the article that would help them write their summary. The teacher can then use the comment feature when grading.

I copied and pasted an article in from EBSCO. I have highlighted information and added a comment to demonstrate this. This type of document could also be shared with students from teachers. Teachers could add comments about pictures or additional items in an article that could help supplement a lecture or activity.

Emailing articles to google apps email

After learning about Google Apps during our all day professional development, I thought it would be helpful to remind everyone that you can email many articles that you read to an email account. Now that all students 6-12 will have an email account, this is a great way for them to have access to articles that they are using for research. It is a great way for them to have access to them regardless if they print it off or send it as an email.

If you are able to email through the resource there will be an icon. Typically this is on the top of the screen or at the top or bottom of the article. For many of the databases, this simply involves clicking on the icon or the link. This will bring students to a screen asking them to type in the email address, subject and message. Some of the databases will have additional options with regards to how you send it and the format in which you send it.

EBSCO host 2

 EBSCO is a great resource compiling mostly periodicals (newspapers and magazines).

When logging in to EBSCO from AEA’s website (www.aea11.k12.ia.us) and after you log into EBSCO using our school’s user name and password, you will have a number of different databases that are a part of EBSCO. one option that you have is EBSCO 6-12 search history. When you click on this link, there are a number of options and different types of searches you can do. Some of these I have already highlighted or discussed briefly. Some of these other searches I will identify how they might be helpful in what you may be doing in the classroom. The more specialized searches include:

Professional Development Collection, ERIC, MAS Ultra: School Edition, Newspaper Source, Middle Search Plus, Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Primary Search, Academic Search Elite, Business Source Elite, Master File Premier, Topic Search, Health Source: Nursing/ Academic Edition, Vocational and Career Edition, Health Source: Consumer Edition, Regional Business Edition, Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, Teacher Reference Center, Advanced Placement Source, Literary Reference Center, Newspaper Source Plus, History Reference Center, Science Reference Center.

Below each of these links for a search is a brief description about each search and item that are included as part of the search.

EBSCO host

EBSCO is a great resource compiling mostly periodicals (newspapers and magazines). Other resources I have highlighted that are part of Ebsco are: Kids Search, Student Research Center, Searchasaurus, Literary Reference and Points of View.
Besides the general Ebsco search, there are more specialized searching for certain topics and content areas, targeted especially for high school students. Some of these more specialized searches include: “Advance Placement Source,” “ History Reference Center,” “Newspaper Source Plus,” “Science Reference Center,” and plain “EBSCO”. There are links for each of theses through AEA 11 http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ under the “Resources and Research Tools.”
All of these searches (General EBSCO and all specialized searches) are also available through Iowa AEA online http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/ and selecting EBSCO as well. After logging in with the user name and password scroll down and you will see links for these specialized resources that are a part of EBSCO. While you can search the general EBSCO and get the same articles, it helps in providing an ease in the search for a particular topic in the subject area.
In searching any of these you can type in a key word in the search box or use some of the advanced search option to include multiple words or the type of article you might be looking for.
Ebsco, can be effective if you are including current events or news articles as a part of your classes. Additionally if you are requiring students to do research on a topic, this can be a place for them to get information from reliable sources.

Kid’s Search, Student Research Center and Searchasaurus

This resource is also available through AEA 11 http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ under the “Resources and Research Tools.” You will need to go through EBSCO to access them. While you can get to this through AEA you also can use EBSCO to get to this as well which is linked through Iowa AEA online http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/ and selecting EBSCO as well.
What is it: This helps to find articles and information on topics students might be researching. This searches current newspapers, magazines, books and encyclopedias, animals, biographies, radio and news transcripts, state and province reports, primary source documents, and photos.
A student can search and have all the results or limit the results by clicking on the type of information they want (i.e. just magazines or newspapers). Additionally when students get their list of results on the left they also can narrow their topic down. For example with “Volcanoes” it gave options for “United States” and “Volcanic eruptions.”
One advantage of the magazines is the inclusion of the Lexile scores which helps to give the reading level and difficulty of the text. This way if students do know their lexile range, they can look at an article and know it’s difficulty prior to even opening the article. Reading level is also sometimes included for the state reports. The photo option when selected individually, will give a thumbnail of the photo if it is available. Lastly there is an additional encyclopedia and dictionary that students can search for information. This can be a great addition to Encyclopedia articles that students might find through Worldbook. Searchasaurus - K-5 (left)
Kids Search 6-8 (pictured above) Student reseach center 6-12 (right)

Novelist k-8 plus and Novelist plus

This resource is also available through AEA 11 http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ under the “Resources and Research Tools.” While you can get to this through AEA you also can use EBSCO to get to this as well which is linked through Iowa AEA online http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/
What is it: This is a great source when looking for titles of books. It searches both fiction and nonfiction. It additionally provides information on the books. Novelist k-8 is for elementary and middle school while Novelist plus is for middle and high school.
At the top you can do a basic search typing in the title, author, or subject. If it is something that it recognizes, it may prompt you underneath trying to finish what you are typing. On the left hand side there are other searches you can do. These are some of the topics under Browse: Award winners, author biographies, book talks, recommended books, book discussion guides, and curricular connections.
It also allows you to do more advanced searches and search for “alike” books by reading level or genre. Additionally it also allows you to focus on a target audience. You also can focus on fiction or nonfiction.
You can also get additional information on a particular book result that you get in a search including subjects/themes that are covered, a short summary, awards the book has won, book reviews, author websites, and other recommended reads.

Teen Health and Wellness

This resource is also available through AEA 11 http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ under the “Resources and Research Tools.”
What is it: as it sounds topics are related to teen health and wellness. Topics are listed and then are narrowed down into smaller topics (tree search). Also some article have related topics listed on the left part of the page.
The major topics include: Body basics; Developmental disabilities and disorders; diseases, infections and conditions; diversity; drugs and alcohol; eating disorders; family life; friendship and dating; green living; grief and loss; mind, mood, and emotions; nutrition, fitness, and appearance; safety; sexuality and sexual health; skills for school, work and life.
There also is a glossary that students can use and refer to. Lastly if you are reading an article, resources (both fiction and nonfiction) are included. If you want to incorporate fiction titles in with units, this could be one possible way to do this. This resource is also great in that it gives the “how to cite this article” at the bottom of each page. Additionally there is a link for how to cite this article that will bring up a new window with just the citation.

Nettrekker

This excellent resource is also available through our AEA website http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ under the “Resource and Research Tools”.
This searchers for websites that other teachers have recommended for being age appropriate and having good content. This is a great place to have students start in their research. While this is good for more broad and common topics, it is not as good for more specific and unusual topics. This is especially useful as students want to “use the internet” but making sure that the first information that they find is useful, helpful, accurate, appropriate, and at their reading level. I also have pointed out to students that with Nettrekker, you get 1-10 hits with Google you get 1,000,000. There is quite a difference there.
You can search for a topic two ways. First you can type the subject in the search box. You can also do a tree search by clicking on one of the topics listed on the page. It will then bring up another page and help you narrow down your topic. When you get a list of websites on the right it will indicate the recommended grade level. It also will list features that that website has. You can also toggle between the Middle School, Elementary, and HS level. Even if you log in as one, you can go to a higher or lower level. This is a great feature for special education students or TAG students.
On the right there also is an additional features box which can also be helpful in providing additional resources, while these features may not be available or connected with every topic, the ones that are included, there is great information available.

Living Green Digital Library

This resoruce is also available through AEA http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ under the "Resource and Research tools." What is it: This resource, also like the Early People and Inventions and Inventors is also available through Worldbook providing basic encyclopedia information on “Living Green.” It includes how climate change is affecting different areas and how people can better use things in the environment. Additionally there is information on choice people can make in what they choose to buy to use renewable resources and leave less of a carbon footprint.
Areas that are included: consumable goods, durable goods, forests and wetlands, green buildings, green transportation, mountains, deserts, and grasslands, oceans, islands, and polar regions, pollution, and producing and obtaining food.
Other features include- interactive features, activities, lesson plans, videos and animations, glossary, index, and dictionary.
Also like the other World book sites you can toggle between them. There are also links for other related articles.

Early People's Digital Library

This resoruce is also available through AEA http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ under the "Resource and Research tools."What it is: This is about ancient and early civilizations. This is great for Social Studies classes. Some of the civilizantions that are included are: African (Ghana, Mali, and Songhai), Ancient Egyptians, Ancient Greek, Ancient Romans, Australian Aborigionies, Aztecs, Chinesse (Shang, Zhou, and Quin Dynasisty), Inca, Indians of Notrh America (Eastern, Northwest, Southwest, and Great Plains), The Maori, Maya, Artic, and Polynesians. There are activities, websites, articles, videos and more related to each of the main topics. Like the invetions and discoveries digital library this is also through world book. You can toggle between the different parts of world book so even if you go to a World book Student article you can then go to a worldbook advanced article (high school level). Worldbook also has a dictionary, additional websites and videos that can be searched.

If you click on one of the main topics in the Center, you then get a list of smaller articles related to the topic (i.e. food, clothing, traditions, women, farming, traditions, rise and fall of the civilizations). Many of the articles include pictures.

Points of View Reference

This resource is also available through AEA (http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ ) under the “Resources and Research tools.” As always use the AEA username and password.
Points of view reference is part of Ebscohost [this is the main database for newspapers and magazines].
After you log in you will be prompted to click on the points of view search.
Search capability: You can do a tree search by the listed topics or areas that are listed. You also can type in the categories and topics in the search box. The topics are listed by “browse by category” and “view all topics”
If you click on the topic in the “view category” you can then narrow down your topic.
Students will then be presented with articles. Specifically they will be presented with articles from the books “points of view” that are specifically designed to present opposing view points of current controversial topics. Students can also click on the tabs for periodicals, newspaper, radio or news transcripts, primary documents, books, biographies, images, and videos.
Additionally if you click on the article, it will offer that point of view and off to the right it will include a link to the counterpoint article (which should already be included in the other list of articles under the points of view tab).
There are also numerous research guides of how to write a research paper, how do an oral report, debate, create a bibliography and more.
This resource is comparable to and would compliment SIRS issue researcher which is offered as a part of Iowa AEA online (and can be found on the list of resource on Heartland AEA’s website). In doing a search for “endangered animals” both have a wealth of information. Both provide newspaper and magazine articles for research on speech or paper topics. They help students to include the counterpoint and multiple arguments for a topic. SIRS at this point seems to possibly have more topics, but if you have a topic that is found on both, the combination of these two resources together can help students with presenting both sides of a topic in a paper. Additionally SIRS seems to try to form a thesis more for students that a student could argue in favor for or against. Points of view does not offer a thesis but simply compiles the articles for the students.

Teaching books.net

Teaching books.net
This is also offered through AEA’s website http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/. Like the previous resources it is under the “Resources and Research Tool” and has the same login.
This is an additional resource for teachers k-12. This is not just for reading or English teachers, this could effectively be used by all teachers. There are various resources available through the site. Many of these you could find through a Google search, but it is all in one convenient place here.
Ideas how to use it- This is great in trying to incorporating fiction in content areas (historical fiction, books that present themes or content[ global warming, war, math or computer science]- i.e. science fiction authors from a time period)
Author Programs- “virtually meet authors and illustrators” actual programs/excerpts (radio) that people have done, or ideas if you are doing an author unit

Book guides- “stimulate informative discussions about books” lessons related to a book, written by authors, illustrators, publishers and teachers
Book readings- “add a new voice to titles” Audio eceprts, some have audio books where the book is read to you available; list of possible books
Author websites- “Official websites for authors” websites about the author and other additional resources
Educator Area- additional materials and resources to more effectively use teaching books.net
Thematic booklists, booklists, and award books.

BookFLIX

This is also one of the resources that is just through Heartland AEA http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ . Like the other resources I have highlighted it is also under the Resources and Research Tools. The log in is the same username and password for all AEA things.
What is it? – This is geared toward lower elementary. Books are divided into categories. For example one of the categories is “People and Places.” Book are paired into fiction and nonfiction. The fiction book typically is able to be watched and is animated and is read aloud. The nonfiction book typically is just able to be read, but included the color illustrations. For example “The Man Who Walked Between the Tower” and a nonfiction book “New York City” are paired together. Besides the paired books there are also games that are related to the books. There are also website links that go along with the book themes. There also is meet the author feature.
This could be used in the classroom for a shared reading. It also could help with themed units or to have some additional information and go deeper with a theme besides what you already do. This site also seems very easy to use that students could read books with the computer on their own. This could be great differentiation for high or low students.
Additionally on the home page of BookFLIX there also is a “resources” link. With the resources link there is additional ideas and information on paired readings as well as the ability to browse the titles.

Inventions and Discoveries Digital Library

How to get there: Go to Heartland’s website http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ and under “Resource and Research Tools” select the Inventions and Discoveries Digital Library. This is sponsored through Worldbook. You will need to log in using the AEA username and password.

What is it: On the home page you can search by general topics. You can click on these broad topics and then you will be provided with narrower topics that you can search from. The articles that come up are generally come up are short and broad. However, at the bottom of the page, additional articles in Worldbook student are already linked. Since you have signed in once, you don’t have to sign in again. You also can toggle between (go between) all of the Worldbook pages at the bottom or the top of the page. So even if you go to a World book Student article you can then go to a worldbook advanced article (high school level). Worldbook also has a dictionary, additional websites and videos that can be searched.

General Topics that are listed: Agriculture, Architecture and Engineering, The Arts, Astronomy, Communication, Economics, Industry and Manufacturing, Mathematics, Medicine, Personal and Household Items, Transportation, and Warfare.
Other Digital Libraries - Early Peoples and Living Green - look for more on these later.
Did you know…. That you can triple click on any word in a Worldbook or Worldbook related article and look up a word you do not know. Encourage students to do this for words that they do not know.