3. Using World Book Advanced, go to the E-Book Center (bottom center of the home page). Feel free to browse for ebooks, but please look up either Andersen's Fairy Tales or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Note the special tools available and the Related Information. How might this be useful for your students?
Nice that there is a section for e-books.  I did not know this.  I think students will be delighted that this is available.  Sometimes the actual book can be hard to find at the local or school library. 
The students can listen or read the story.  Excellent.
I guess the related information gives the student tools to quickly move to other areas of thought.  The student may also read the biography of the author. 

Using World Book Student, go into one of the following special feature sections: "Explore," "Biography," “Behind the Headlines,” “Quizzes and Activities” or one of the Research Tools that are new to you. Report your findings and mention ways you could use these with your students.
Today 1/30/13 I'm going to check out Biography centers, Authors in World Book Student.
I decided to research Lois Lowry since I've just recently reread The Giver, Gathering Blue, the Messenger and Son.  World Book Student gives a brief synopsis of Lois Lowry's writings.  There wasn't alot of detail about her life.  It's good they give a "How to cite this article." 
I decided to Explore South Dakota also.  I liked that they give the option to read an article or listen to it.  Once in South Dakota, I was able to pick biographies or facts about our state.  Very interesting.  I like that the student can e-mail the article, print or save the article. 

Good Morning, I am starting my advanced challenge with World Book Kids.
I chose World of Animals and then I chose Ants as my subject.  I read the article, saw a video and played a couple of games.  I think this is a great learning site.  I will recommend to students or to home-schoolers who are looking for specific animals to study.  Sometimes we only have a book or two for them to check out but if I show them this site, they should be able to continue their adventure.  I like that it even allowed me to watch a National Geographic video on fire ants.  Definitely goes farther then the book version of World Book.  1/22/13

1. What was your biggest discovery?

I really enjoyed the Learning Express Library. I have pointed this source out to many patrons but I've never taken any of the tests. I think this will be very useful especially now that I know all the different tests available. Commercial driving test will be big! and resume writing, etc. I'm going to use this source lots!

2. How will you promote or use the resources with your patrons?

When a reference question comes my way, I try to direct patrons to the State Library databases. Even if I find an answer within our collection, the potential for more research is just a click away. They always seem to appreciate being shown this wonderful wealth of information!

Thanks for this opportunity to learn more about the databases!

AncestryLibrary: Search for your own name in AncestryLibrary and report the results.

I guess I'm not very important. I finally found my name in U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1. At least it had my address from when I lived in Watertown and my current address here in Brookings. It is fun to search for people on this site.

In AncestryLibrary, search for a grandparent or great-grandparent and see if you can locate them in the census. Report your findings.

I found my grandparents marriage license. Cool!

In AncestryLibrary, Perform a search under the "Photos and Maps" tab for "South Dakota" as the keyword. Report your findings.

I love the Library of Congress photo collection. I don't know how that would help patrons much but it was interesting.

In HeritageQuest, there are over 28,000 family and local histories in their online historical books. Search for a place or browse the publications. Report back on something that interested you.

Lots of family histories to look at.

Sanborn Maps, select South Dakota. Then select your town or a town with which you are familiar. Choose a date. Look at the first page containing the Index. Then navigate around the pages and see what you discover. Try to find a building on the map that is still in use today. Report your findings.

I found the Ward Hotel in Aberdeen, South Dakota. My Dad even worked there. I don't even know if it's a hotel now. The map is not real user friendly and it took some time to get to the location but once there, you see stuff about construction. Nice to know it's there.

LEARNING EXPRESS LIBRARY: I started taking the ACT English Practice Test 1. I only answered 5 questions but I did get them all right. I can see why this would really help those people who are getting ready to take these tests. What did you think about this test experience? It's great. I've already recommended to to patrons but I've never tried a test before.

In the lower right hand corner of the page, click the link for eBooks. The list will open in a new window. Browse or search through the titles and take a look at one that interests you.

That's really terrific.

1. Type “Sitting Bull autograph card” in the search box, using the quotation marks. Click the link and read the description. What did you learn about Sitting Bull? He toured with Buffalo Bill. I didn't know that. And that I clicked on Cornell University Library and found myself on their site with their address and hours, etc. Very nice.

2. Do a search of your own. What results did you get? What institutions have the materials? What other observations can you make about this resource?
I put in my maiden name and found two genealogies from Wisconsin Historical Society once of which might be my great, great grandfather on my dad's side. He came from Ireland about 1828.
Looks like a great site to do research on genealogies.