Activity 10: Transparent Language



 

 Well, I have to say I am impressed. I last used this when it was Byki and it seemed okay..lots of online flash cards that you could flip over and practice learning different words, phrases, etc. But this seems better, practicing the alphabet, learning each letter and then being tested until you have it down and the various parts where you listen and then practice and you can test your speech (I have to take some of this for granted because I am working at the desk so anything with sound or that requires me to speak I can't really do right now, but it looks good.)

 

 



 

 

I like the vocabulary section as it looks like there is quite a bit you can learn there and I also like that grammar is included too. Something I liked from Byki that they've kept is the turtle icon which slows things down which I think can be important at first. I like the quizzes and the practice. 

 

I think it is good there are ways to connect with others learning the language and that there is a word of the day and even study materials and online help and ways to use this on mobile devices. In fact this reminds me that I have this icon on our ipad so I think I will show this to my son who is working very hard on learning as much Russian as he can. Coolski! (That's a vocabulary word you won't get in Transparent Language-mostly 'cause it doesn't exist..but it should!) 

 



Activity 9: Catalog Tips and Tricks

Well, there was certainly a lot to this activity, but it was a good reminder and informative as well because I did pick up a few things.

 

 

One thing is extended display when you do an author search, it is good to see the titles listed along with the authors' names. This makes it easier to pick out which author record you need.

Another thing that I found interesting is the reminder that you can click only available titles and limit it to a specific location to hone in on those titles that should be available at your agency.

I have used the Book Bag features of the catalog before, especially when making lists of materials to pull for displays, class visits, etc. and it's nice that I can e-mail it to my work address and then print it out.

I'm not sure I knew about saving preferred searches or if I did I had forgotten this. I will have to remember that you seem to have to be logged in to do this which makes sense since you are saving it I do like that you can check "mark for e-mail" and then click update list and be notified if there are updates to the collection that match your search terms. This is cool.

I did know about linking to records and searches..I have used this in blogs and other postings It is good to have a reminder about e-book records. There is an e-audio book record that I'm confused about. I looked up an author like-Stephanie Bond and I found a record for:

 

 

but when I click on this I am taken to an entry in One Click Digital but there is no way (I can see) to request it. When I login it refreshes the page and I no longer see this entry and when I try to look it up by title or author I can't find it. To which I say..wah! I don't know whether anyone actually reads my ramblings, but if they do I wouldn't mind listening to this e-audio book if we have it/could get it, etc. etc.

 

Learning about how to request issues of magazines was news to me...have to remember that to get a specific issue you click on the request button, log in, choose the pick up location, click submit and then you have a page where you can click on a bubble next to the various issues available.

 

I am supposed to tell about some tricks I use with the catalog. Can't think of any. I do like the Popular Searches as these make things easier for customers as a rule. Sometimes there are links that lead to nowhere or items that should have been cleared from the catalog but aren't or sometimes someone clicks on the wrong button and something says it has arrived, but it hasn't really..., but otherwise the catalog seems mostly good. As far as promoting it I know that staff offer training to people who ask for it or as part of answering questions when it seems appropriate. I think we may be working on some online training. Another thought is maybe posting catalog tips from time to time on the website and/or Facebook as reminders to people of what can be done in the catalog.



Activity 8: Points of View Reference Center

I've thought this database is a good thing ever since it replaced Opposing Viewpoints



I looked up Ukraine and found an Overview and some articles but it didn't have the "Related Information" that was listed in this activity and that I found under other subjects. I then realized that there was a side article on the main page saying that Crisis in Ukraine was an upcoming topic so I suppose once it is fully done it will have these side links to magazines/journals/transcripts. I think it is good that these are there, but one does have to examine them carefully to see if they are related enough to what you or the student is trying/needs to say in his/her/your paper.

I would recommend this database to students who are researching pros and cons and/or current topics that have been in the news that they might need different opinions on. I think this database also has good information on how to write papers, evaluate resources. This could also be useful for people who are trying to get an overview of an issue and the different positions people have taken on this issue. 

I did some more exploring and under Reference Shelf (on the right hand side of the page) there is a link for charts and graphs that lists different topics it has charts and graphs under in alphabetical order and you can search it. It would be nice if there were a Charts and Graphs category under Related Resources. Also under "More" on the top of the page there is a section for images/video where you can search by topic. I think this would fit better under Related Resources. Also the videos come from Video Encyclopedia of the 20th century...what is this? I don't see any information explaining this on the website, but I did find this information when I did a google search on Video Encyclopedia of the 20th century.

Activity 7: NoveList

I've used NoveList for a while and I find it fairly helpful when customers are looking for readalikes or suggestions for books in a certain genre. It is interesting to know that there are audiobook reviews on NoveList and listen alikes for audiobooks.

I looked at several of the Recommended Reads lists and they seemed pretty good. I also discovered that Novelist has a new feature called Keeping Up that explores different genres and includes information on the genres for people learning to look more, lists for adults, teens, older kids, info on audiobooks in the genre, fun reading maps and more!

I searched for the book "The Cowboy and the Cossack" which is one of my favorites

 

 

and it gave me several title recommendations which lead to some other recommendations and there were several that sounded interesting:

 

As for what other tools I can suggest to help people looking for good books or audiobooks I think our links under Books and Literature: Selected Websites are pretty good and I would recommend GoodReads and LibraryThing as good places to look for recommendations too.