The Starry Rift
May 15, 2008 – 12:16 pm
The Starry Rift is a new book of short stories by many great authors. There is even a website just for this collection where you can read more about each author’s story and why it was written:
Neil Gaiman, Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Garth Nix and Cory Doctorow are examples of the high quality authors featured in this new collection.
Now We Have a Ning!
May 4, 2008 – 4:19 amI’ve now posted a GHHS Library Ning
Come visit to talk about books and participate in class discussions and activities. You can watch Shamu on a webcam and check the forecast, too!
By Jambina, Passion Quilt Meme www.flickr.com
Where’s Waldo? How to Find Destiny, our Library Book Search (OPAC)
April 27, 2008 – 1:45 pm
Where’s Waldo in Google Maps? By Si1very www.flickr.com
To search for a book in our library, you will need to know how to find Waldo. It’s easy:
- Open Explorer
- Type waldo in the address bar (just Waldo; no www or .com, etc.)
- Open Gig Harbor High School
- Check out interesting links on the Home page
- Click Catalog
- Enter a title, author (last name first), keyword or subject.
- Click the matching link
Finding Research Books for Exhibitions
April 27, 2008 – 1:40 pmIf you are looking for a print source for your exhibition, you can follow these steps to see what we have in the GHHS library:
- Find “Waldo” which is really Follett Destiny, our OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog). Of course you can use the link above or in the blogroll to get there, too.
- Click the Catalog tab.
- Type in one broad search word that summarizes your topic.
- Click the Keyword or Subject button.
- Click the Browse Subjects tab (top right).
- Click the subject heading that fits the best for your research topic. AND/OR
- Use the pull down menu to sort your results by Call Number. They will be in this order:
- Nonfiction 000-999 (books are in this order in the area next to the computer lab)
- Biography (under the windows at the back of the library)
- Fiction (don’t use for research)
- Story Collection (don’t use for research)
- Reference (can only be used in the library)
- Webpath Express (pre-selected websites)
If you don’t find a book in our library you can search the Pierce County Library Catalog.
Finding Online Sources for Exhibitions
April 27, 2008 – 1:32 pmWith the rise of Web 2.0, we have more resources at our fingertips and more access to information than ever before. My Space, Facebook, Blogs, Social Bookmarking on del.icio.us, Aggregate Readers, Google Docs, Wikipedia, and Flickr (photo sharing) are just a few of the Web 2.0 resources many of us use daily. We also have Google at the top of the search engine kingdom along with other popular search engines and subject directories (About.com, etc.). The most important thing to remember in research is to engage your brain in the process; to evaluate, study, analyze, synthesize and ultimately create a new product that is new simply because your individual brain has done the thinking and led you in the process. Wikipedia and Google are wonderful portals to information; you just can’t stop there!
Brain: no stopping! by gremionis
www.flickr.com
So, where else should you go?
We have a number of resources that the district pays for that yield excellent results:
netTrekker: Pre-selected websites in a subject directory format.
Proquest: Magazine and journal article database. To get the best results:
- Go to advanced search.
- Select subject in the first pull down menu.
- Type in a broad, one word term for your subject.
- Proquest will give you a list of narrowed subjects.
- Keep selecting the narrowed subjects until you have a manageable number of articles to skim.
- Check the articles that meet your needs.
- Click on the My Research tab to see the articles you selected and your search history.
- If you need to search again, return to a broader subject in your search history and narrow it differently.
- Remember to use the citation (MLA) that is already provided for you in Proquest.
eBooks: We have two eBooks so far: (password required, see Mrs. Burns)
Encyclopedia of the American Constitution
Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: This one covers the arts in Western Civilization.
Pierce County Library eSources: If you have a Pierce County Library Card, you can access many more databases and eBooks.
Citing Sources for Exhibitions
April 27, 2008 – 8:44 amIt is important to give credit to those who originally wrote or created the materials you are using for school work. As students, your use falls under the Fair Use guidelines of copyright law in almost all cases. This means that you can use it as long as you cite it. Your teacher determines the way in which you must cite your sources. At GHHS, we use MLA format for citations for major research papers. Think of it as following a pattern. You have a sample and you match the pattern of punctuation and capatilization that’s right for your source. It’s kind of like learning to read music. The notes make a pattern and you duplicate the pattern with your voice or instrument.
We have an MLA guide at GHHS that is a shortened version of an online guide created by Joyce Valenza, the librarian at Springfield Township High School. If you need to cite something we don’t show on our guide, you will be able to find it here. That’s why I call it MLA Guide: Everything but the Kitchen SInk!
Springfield Township High School Virtual Library, Art by Emily Valenza
Powerpoint Notecards: Research Timesaver!
April 27, 2008 – 8:05 amPowerPoint slides can provide a timesaving notecard option. Instead of handwriting your notecards, you can paraphrase and quote on Powerpoint slides, sort the notecards and create an outline. You then have prepared word processed material that can be copied/pasted into your exhibition or other research paper without plagiarizing because you will have already paraphrased or typed in a direct quote you plan to use on your notecards.
- Enter a title for each slide.
- Paraphrase or quote from your research(note the page # for internal citations)
- Put the MLA citation at the bottom of the slide.
- When you are finished preparing the slides, use the slide sorter view to put them in sequential order.
- Switch to outline view and you will see an outline for your paper.
- Print your slides 6 to a page and turn them in to your teacher.
Here is the example I showed to Mr. Freeman and Mrs. Robison’s classes: (this only shows the slides)
Who’s Who & What’s What?
April 21, 2008 – 4:00 amI’ve been wishing for a way to communicate directly with all of my GHHS students for a long time, and what do you know?—–Along comes Web 2.0! (Well, actually web 2.0 has been around, but now I can have access in the district.)
Libraries have become very different places than they once were over the last 20 years. The explosion of technology and information has changed what’s available to you in our library, but the mission remains the same:
To ensure that students and staff are effective users of information.
This means that the library is still a source of information in books for research and outside reading, but in addition the library provides online resources and is the place to go to find out about the best and most current sources.
Short summary of what we do:
The teacher-librarian (me, Mrs. Burns) is the information specialist for the staff and students and is responsible for purchasing and sharing the information with those patrons.
The library assistant (Mrs. Trotter) works under the teacher-librarian’s direction and is responsible for getting the books ready for check out, keeping track of overdue books, keeping the shelves in order and other library work.
My experience and qualifications:
Teaching certification and degree from the University of Denver, 1975
Masters degree in classroom teaching with a special education emphasis from PLU, 1989
Library endorsement from the University of Washington, 2002
26 years teaching music, 1 year elementary library, and 5 years at GHHS
……and continual efforts to keep up with current books and support your uses of current technologies as 21st century students!
I hope you will add constructive comments to this blog and help me continue to learn what you learn so naturally as “digital natives”!
Mrs. Burns (Karen)
Y2K8 Debut Authors
April 14, 2008 – 4:48 amNew authors, the class of Y2K8, have banded together for support and publicity. Here are the trailers for some of the newest debuts:
A Curse Dark as Gold
The Lucky Place
Bewitching Season
Braless in Wonderland