A) “The use of computers in the classroom to enhance learning” B) “Disaster Planning for Libraries”

1. Did you find relevant articles? What were they? Compare with others?

ProQuest

Earthquake effects on educational institutions and libraries of Azad Kashmir; An appraisalMaqsood Ahmad Shaheen. Library Review. Bradford: 2008. Vol. 57, Iss. 6; p. 449
Review: Lost Libraries: The Destruction of Great Book Collections since AntiquityJonathan Bengtson. The Library. London: Sep 2006. Vol. 7, Iss. 3; p. 330
Disaster Response and Planning for Libraries/Disaster Management for Libraries and ArchivesDan Forrest. Library Resources & Technical Services. Chicago: Oct 2005. Vol. 49, Iss. 4; p. 285 (2 pages)

Using a Computer-Adapted, Conceptually Based History Text to Increase Comprehension and Problem-Solving Skills of Students with DisabilitiesTodd Twyman, Gerald Tindal. Journal of Special Education Technology. Norman: Spring 2006. Vol. 21, Iss. 2; p. 5 (12 pages)
Revisiting Computer-aided Notetaking: Technological Assistive Devices for Hearing-impaired StudentsDana L Stover, Norman Pendegraft. The Clearing House. Washington: Nov/Dec 2005. Vol. 79, Iss. 2; p. 94 (4 pages)
Tech Talk for Social Studies Teachers: Evaluating Online Resources: The Importance of Critical Reading Skills in Online EnvironmentsChris Street. The Social Studies. Washington: Nov/Dec 2005. Vol. 96, Iss. 6; p. 271 (3 pages)

Ebesco

No appropriate results found in the searches tried

Emerald

Disaster management in librariesAuthor(s): Paul Eden, Graham MatthewsFacilities; Volume: 15 Issue: 1/2; 1997 Research paperIf the worst happens: the use and effectiveness of disaster plans in libraries and archivesAuthor(s): Adrienne Muir, Sarah ShentonLibrary Management; Volume: 23 Issue: 3; 2002 Research paper
Disaster recovery and continuity planning for digital library systemsAuthor(s): H. Frank CervoneOCLC Systems & Services; Volume: 22 Issue: 3; 2006 General review


The impact of an intelligent classroom on pupils' interactive behaviourAuthor(s): Túlio Tibúrcio, Edward F. FinchFacilities; Volume: 23 Issue: 5/6; 2005 Research paper
Technology in the classroom: the LSU College of Agriculture Faculty perspectiveAuthor(s): Teresa A. Summers, Richard P. VloskyCampus-Wide Information Systems; Volume: 18 Issue: 2; 2001 Research paper
Acquiring skills for tomorrow today: “Cyberspace learning for kids”Author(s): Jean Hough, Dave EllisEducation + Training; Volume: 39 Issue: 7; 1997 Technical paper


2. Navigation o Searching (what type queries did you use: simple, or complex (Boolean) o Browsing (did you know of a specific journal or resource?) o Was Full Text Search offered? Was it useful?

ProQuest uses boolean, but makes it easy. Offers to narrow the search into smaller groups.

Emerald was fast has an easy search option on homepage. Was very fast. Returned good results.

Ebesco did not allow free text searching on each page. Main search required boolean operators

3. Was the bibliographic data useful?

Emerald - yes, showed that some articles were the same.

ProQuest - yes

4. Did you read the abstract before accessing the full text?

Emerald - No, I didn't realise it was the link on the title.

Ebesco - No, link opened abstract from other databases.

ProQuest - yes

5. How was the article presented? HTML, PDF? If more than one format was available, which one did you select? Why?

Emerald - HTML and PDF.

Ebesco - HTML and PDF. Depending on where the article came from.

ProQuest - PDF, HTML and HTML with graphics

I prefer HTML for reading on screen and PDF if printing. The article was originally designed to be printed. Different rules for readability.

6. Would you read, or attempt to read the article on screen, or would you print it out immediately?

Depends how long it is. The longer the article the more likely I would be to print it out.

7. How standardised was the presentation, ie. do all articles in the service “look” the same?

Emerald - All HTML and PDF versions of articles look the same.

Ebsco - not standardised. Opened in many different styles

ProQuest - HTML documents were standardised but PDF was not.

8. How did the four services compare? Likes/Dislikes

Emerald was fast and easy to use. Offers articles in a standardised way. Articles did not have abstracts.

Ebesco was pretty slow. Pulled articles from eveywhere. Search did not work well for me.

ProQuest makes you choose up front databases to search. Good navigation. I like the way it helps narrow your search. Makes use of boolean easy through interface.

Starting a blog

Starting this blog required signing up to Google. This was annoying. It took me several tries to get it to work properly and I had to revert back to Google's homepage to be able to sign up.

Setting up the blog was easy. Being able to choose a name was good. There were plenty of templates to choose from. They looked to be well-designed and colourful, although I didn't spend much time looking at them.

The publishing screen is simple to use in WISYWIG layout. It has options to add images and video which would be interesting.

I also noticed there is an autosave feature which is good.

Overall a relatively easy process and one that is easy to repeat for frequent bloggers.