Alabama Virtual Library: Britannica Elementary

My favorite AVL resource for elementary students is by far the Britannica Elementary database. The interface is very user-friendly, and it promotes authentic information searches rather than sheer visual browsing. There is always a fresh "Activity of the Day" and every single time I open the database there are current headlines in the "Student News Net."

Personally, I have always found Britannica Elementary to be most dependable when guiding young kiddos in information searches. This is a fun database that does have learning games and high quality visuals to engage their attention, but also 

Some of my favorite Britannica Elementary features:

• There is a timeline creator that can be really helpful for research activities about historical figures. 

• On the home page there is a "Discover America" link that students can use to discover facts about each state (with visuals of state flowers, flags, birds, etc.) as well as the states' geography. This is a solid tool for supporting the curriculum of those grade levels who teach U.S. states and geography. (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th)

• Also on the home page there is an "Animal of the Day" section. The animal articles always include vibrant visuals and links to nurture the children's curiosity about information beyond the article. 

• Every article has three features that are VERY important to our role as school librarians today. One is the ability to translate the article into Spanish, which benefits our English Learners. The second is the ability to click a button to have the article read aloud (in chunks) for the students who struggle with reading. The third is the ability to easily generate a citation for the resource. This promotes ethical use of information. 

Troubleshooting Basics (5th Edition)

*Today's post is from a series by Dion Station, school librarian at North Jefferson Middle School. 

The computer starts up in "safe mode"?

At times your computer could develop a problem which causes you machine to boot up in what is called "safe mode".  The easiest way to try and solve this problem is to run a "scandisk".  

1.  Click on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Scandisk.

2.  Place a check on "Automatically fix errors."

3.  When Scandisk finishes, reboot your computer to see if this fixed the problem. 

4.  If the computer still boots up in the Safe Mode, click on Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Defragmenter.  If you receive the message "You don't need to defragment this drive now," continue with the process anyway. 

5.  When Disk Defragmenter is finished, reboot your computer to see if this fixed the problem. 

6.  If the computer still starts up in safe mode, you need to contact a computer technician.

Just for Fun

*Today's post is by Marcia Amason, one of the school librarians at Shades Valley High School/JCIB. 

If you enjoy making pictures, being creative with pictures, sharing pictures, and motivating others with pictures, then you will love Big Huge Labs!   One of the many utilities on the site is the Motivator.  Using the Motivator you can use your own digital photos to create your own inspirational, funny, parody, or  motivational poster for any occasion.  The possibilities are endless, especially for use in today’s library media center. 

To begin, click on the browse button to find a photo that you want to use and upload it.  Select your cropping option, orientation, border, and colors.  Next, enter the title of your poster and the motivational text.  Click on the box, add credit to the image, if the image belongs to someone else, or you can give yourself credit.  Now, you are ready to click the big blue Create button and see the finished product! 

When you are satisfied with the poster, you can download it to your PC in JPEG format; share it via e-mail, Flickr, or Facebook; post it to your wiki, blog, or website; and print it to run it through a poster maker if you want a large poster. 

We had fun making our poster!!  It was easy and it is FREE!! 

Happy Thanksgiving

Snaptab

*Today's post was written by Meg Brooke, one of the librarians at Shades Valley High School/JCIB. 

Going to conferences and getting free posters is always a treat.  Or, opening that mail that has a fold out poster…..Woo hoo! New color, instruction, and promotions for the library walls! With our wonderful poster maker at the IMC, we’ve all been able to enlarge homemade computer pages to poster size as well.  We love displaying seasonal and promotional posters, but storage became a real problem in our library as they piled up and slid around after being laminated. They were a heavy pile, too! 

Our problem was solved when we found the WallFile Snap Tab organizer online. It takes up a small space on the wall of our storage room, and we’ve found that it’s very easy to organize and actually see what posters we have so that they can be pulled out and used for various seasons and promotions. No, we’re not on the payroll or getting a kickback for sharing about this company with you! :) You might have someone at home who could make a similar product and you’d only need to purchase the tabs, or some of you might know a handyman or even have someone in your PTO who’d try this. We found that the organizer was affordable, and it works well. In order to save even more money, we used post-its to organize the topics, months, seasons!  If this is something that would make your life less hectic, check out more information at www.snaptab.com. The picture below just gives you an idea of what it looks like, but seeing it on the website gives a larger, clearer picture.

PS----They do have larger products for maps, too! :)

Troubleshooting Basics (4th Edition)

*Today's post was written as part of a series by Dion Station, school librarian at North Jefferson Middle School.

The mouse doesn't work?

Check to make sure the mouse is still properly connected to the computer.  If the mouse has been disconnected, you may have to reboot your computer.

Like the keyboard, the mouse pad is sitting in the open most of the time getting dusty, wet, slimed, or anything else that happens on your desktop.  The mouse (if you are using the kind with the rolling ball insert...an infrared mouse would be immune to this) then rolls over whatever has collected on the mouse pad and gets inside, gumming up the works.  To clean the mouse pad, wipe it off occasionally with a damp cloth or get a new one.

You also need to clean your mouse regularly, as often as twice a week.  If you turn your mouse over, you’ll notice a round ball with a cover over it.  This cover can be twisted off and the ball will come out.  Roll the ball on a clean, lint free cloth.  Then take a look at the rollers inside the mouse.  Take tweezers, a screwdriver, or even your fingernail to scratch the dirt and lint off the rods.  Next, you should look inside the mouse and clean out any other dirt or lint that is hiding in there.  Finally, replace the ball and twist back on the cover.

Troubleshooting Basics (3rd Edition)

*Today's post is written as part of a series by Dion Staton, the school librarian at North Jefferson Middle School. 

The keyboard doesn't work?

1.  Press Ctrl + Alt + Del (all three keys at the same time) to bring up the Task List.  Select any program that says "Not responding" and click the End Task button.  Repeat until all tasks are ended.  Check periodically to see if the keyboard will work.

2.  Check to make sure the keyboard is still properly connected to the computer.  If the keyboard has been disconnected, you may have to reboot your computer.

3.  If all else fails, then turn the power off.  Wait a couple of minutes before turning the computer back on.

Special Note

One of the dirtiest parts of your computer is the keyboard.  Regular cleaning will help keep the keyboard working properly.  First, blow compressed air through the spaces in between the keys to remove dust and lint.  If you shake your keyboard upside-down this will also remove some of the particles.

Another keyboard problem that could occur is when you turn your computer on and you get a message that no keyboard was detected or you get into Windows but are not able to type.  Remove the keyboard connector for the CPU, examine the pins in the connector to ensure they are straight, and then reinsert the connector.  Also, check and make sure the mouse and keyboard connectors have not been switched.  If the keyboard still doesn’t work try connecting, another keyboard that you know is working.  This will determine if you need a new keyboard or if you have a CPU problem.