Lesson 7

I did a search on “Allergies in babies.”  The latest thinking (as I am told by my daughter-in-law!) is no honey or nuts til the baby is two years old.  I got one page of books; they ranged from arthritis help to reflexology to herbs for a healthy pregnancy. There were a couple books that perhaps could answer the questions I had. I was amused by the scope of books that came up in response to my query.

I found several books on the Constitution and  books that dealt with interpreting the Constitution. I also found a pdf of the Constitution, and also an AP book on U S history that might be relevant.

I did a search on Nebraska, since I am from there. I found information on Nebraska football ( of which I am a huge fan!) Native Americans, pioneers, and some information that I did not think relevant to what I was looking for.

This site gives a person access to a different section of information than what you may find when you do just an internet-based search.

Lesson 6

When I checked out the titles available in Gale Virtual Reference Library, I was surprised. I knew they are “selected” titles, but frankly I had expected more availability for more obscure research items.

I did research on Bahai faith, since I know a family that follows that belief.  I knew nothing about it prior to reading the article.  It is an offshoot of a sect within the Muslim religion, and it preaches good works and peace oneness to its followers.  I thought that was a very interesting idea, since the Muslim faith and its beliefs regarding peace or conflict are in the forefront of the news right now.  The article also mentioned that the spiritual center for Bahai is in Israel.  This is an interesting fact:  all the world’s major religions have a claim on Israel!  The article was very complete, and covered the history and basic beliefs of the faith very well.  The article also had very complete citation information, making it easier for someone who has to write an English paper with citations and bibliographies.

The “Listen” feature did not work on my computer, but I think it would be a great feature for those who don’t read well or learn better by listening.

Kelcy25 was the only blogger who had this section done already.  I enjoyed reading her comments; she does a great job writing and explaining things! I enjoyed her references to clothing inventions/discoveries in the 1910s!

Lesson 1 C

In using the Spanish dictionary, I realized how much of my high-school Spanish I have forgotten!  It is easy to see, though, how ESL students could used this to translate terms for classes in school, such as science and geography, giving them a better grasp of the subject in their own language.

As a former homeschool mom, it was difficult for my children to hear Spanish spoken by a native.  This would be a very helpful for those trying to learn Spanish on their own.  These articles could easily help those who are struggling with second language difficulties.

Lesson 5

I love to garden, especially growing flowers. I love roses, and am always searching for new roses that are hardy to our cold winter climate.  I especially like the David Austin roses, but they are marginally hardy to only zone 5, whereas we are zone 4 here, and sometimes even a zone 4a.  I was disappointed in that all I could find on Proquest was one article referring to flower arranging, two books referencing David Austin roses, and the remainder of the articles referred to the patents held on the production of David Austin roses. I thought there would be more general information available, such as you find where you do a regular Internet search.

I read the librarian queen’s post.  I thought it was very interesting, since diabetes runs in both my and my husband’s families.  She had some insightful comments, and writes in a very relaxed manner. Enjoyed her blog!

One of my sons is studying to be a pastor, so I did a search on his chosen profession.  Beginning with “pastors,” there were 89,163 articles.  I then narrowed down to “rural white male pastors,” and there still 2935 articles.  I further narrowed down to “rural white male evangelical pastors,” and there were still 1703 articles.  Upon further checking, some of the articles included did not fit my parameters, since there were a number of “African American” titles included, and some articles that I believed had no place under the “evangelical” term.   I was surprised by how many total articles there were, and how comprehensive the subjects were.  Even when I reduced my search field, I still thought there still was a lot of information to choose from!