ERC 2015 - Lesson 1/World Book Online

Lesson 1a: Reaquainting with World Book Public Library Edition
It was nice to go back and explore the WBO Public Library Edition, again. I realized there was much I'd forgotten about these sites, so had some pleasant moments rediscovering the plethora of helpful information and resources provided via the WBO-PLE. :)

Lesson 1b: World Book Public Library Edition - Advanced Challenge

1. Since I am still trying to come up with a good activity to present at the Jump Start Workshop in a couple of weeks, I thought I'd venture into the Activities section for some ideas to get my brain going. I explored several of the various activities, within the 4 different categories (Think It!, Be it!, Make it!, and Teach It!) and found some activities that could be customized to apply to my needs. Then, I did some further searching, under the classification "Important People", thinking perhaps I could find inspiration in that area. I love how this WBO for kids is so thorough and offers so many options for the person wanting to research. Within minutes, I'd discovered a lot of heroes and information related to each one, simply by doing a search. The videos provided are a very nice touch, also. :)

2. I love WB-InfoFinder! The Virtual Tours are terrific and so fun to watch! I did notice the following broken links under the "Unusual Places" videos: The Spam Museum, Elvis Presley's Graceland, Mutter Museum, International UFO Museum and Outreach Center, and the Spy Museum. It has always been fun (for me) to visit museums and interesting locations, the weirder the better. Given the virtual tours available in this category and the others, I spent more time exploring that probably necessary for this lesson. Let's call it an investment, shall we?

As far as how to use these with patrons, I can think of several ways to do so.  Perhaps a student comes to me, challenged with writing a report on someplace they'd like to visit. I could suggest they view the various videos for inspiration/ideas of places to visit. Another suggestion I could offer them would be for them to explore the research tools feature, to see if any of the information provided might aid them in their quest. This is a terrific resource, especially given the many ways one can locate information - via the A-Z, By Subject, Images/Videos, etc. In the past year, I've shared with a lot of parents and kids about the WB-Online via the SDSL website, encouraging them to get their E-card from the state library. It's really nice when a patron returns to the library and extends thanks for learning about the SDSL website and the terrific resources that are free to the public. 

3. My search for Jane Austen's Emma produced several tools which may prove beneficial to my patrons. Those patrons with visual or reading challenges might appreciate the ability to hear the text read aloud. Patrons might find the ability to save projects, print, translate (lots of languages!!) the text and email sections very helpful in their research.

Under Related Information, the websites & Back In Time Articles are interesting to check out. I glanced through a couple of the articles (out of 13 related) to learn more and also discovered a lovely website related to Jane Austen and her home in Hampshire, England. That's a really nice resource, for anyone wishing to learn more about her.

The Related Encyclopedia Content section has 22 items, including articles on Parody, Book Collecting, other books by the same author, information about film directors (creating films from novels), and so much more.  Each of those links, once clicked, takes the reader to a page about that subject & even more research tools. This can be a tremendous resource for the curious patron! :)