Library challenge -- At last!

Lesson 1a and 1b

1. Worldbooks for kids -- I chose the manatee, after not finding information about the possum. The information provided was short and to the point, no clutter to get lost in and it even offered a video of a manatee, one thing i found disappointing in the video was it had no sound, which in my opinion was a bit of a loss for kids, it is always interesting to hear how animals sound to create a more vivid picture in our minds. (The picture at right is from the US geological survey and it is in the public domain for that reason.)

2. Worldbooks for students -- This section had more information about the mammal, it provided a pronunciation sound of its name, a very nice picture and the same video. While it provided more information I feel that it is still geared to lower primary grades. I find both posts very similar with the only difference being the article is slightly longer for the student version. I did like the option to translate the text. The translation however was fairly poor at least in the Spanish translation I read, however it would help a ELL.

3.Worldbooks Advanced -- The country I chose was Brazil, since this is a place where manatees live. The information given on this country was very varied and it offered different aspects of the life in Brazil. It also had several pictures of interesting sites related to the country. In my opinion the information available on the country will be good for a variety of subjects, from art to social sciences.

4. Worldbooks Discover -- The article i read had several options from being read aloud to you to also having it translated in a number of languages to assist you in understanding it. I like that the site has a dictionary and the read aloud feature. The features mention before would help a poor reader of English or an ELL learner.

One feature I found particularly found useful was that you are able to save your research in a folder, this would help if you are unable to finish your research but also in proving your work.

Lesson 1c

1.Worldbooks enciclopedia estudiantil -- I chose the Spanish version since I am a Spanish High School teacher. The visual dictionary is very easy to use and it offers the additional bonus of the pictures for students just learning the language they would be able to find information but it could also be used by ELL students to help them with reports or gaining information on the subjects they are learning in school.

2. The read aloud feature would help students of the Spanish language in listening to the language, while the article is not read by a native speaker this feature still has merit in listening and pronouncing the words they are learning, for an ELL student who has difficulty reading or is a slow reader the read aloud option is excellent in being able to gain information for school.