Week 2: SIRS Issues Researcher

1. Our MS and HS English teachers already value and use SIRS Issues Researcher. I am usually responsible for doing a presentation in their classes before students start researching. My point being, I thought I was pretty familiar with SIRS Issues Researcher, but it looks like they have added some new features since this spring!!! I'm glad I noticed now! (Yet another plus from taking this class.)

• The interactive feature is new. I went into a handful of topics to see if it was just for the "Your Top Ten Pro vs. Con Leading Issues", and it appeared to be there for all, if not many. Our English teachers will love this addition.
• I've never gone into the "more" under Topic Overview. Is this a new feature, or did I overlook it before? This is gold. I love the further research offered, the organizations, primary sources, and key figures.
• The research tools continue to be informative: timeline, global impact, statistics.
• Just out of curiosity, do you know how often the Top 10 Leading Issues are changed?

2. The Curriculum Pathfinders is news to me. There was quite a range of topics: Math, Health, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Fine Arts. I went into Algebra and clicked on the first link: Algebasics: Show Me How, Now. This is exactly what our neighbor is looking for. He came over the other day and told me that he was contemplating a college career at age 40. He only had one year of algebra in HS, nothing since and was looking for something to give him a taste. This link has 16 sections, ranging from the basics of algebra to quadratics and applications. Once you click into a section, you have numerous examples to choose from (up to 20 from what I could see). It talks you through the problem/equation, giving you the visual of the work as you listen. Neat! I am adding Curriculum Pathfinders to my list of things to tell teachers about this fall. For example, I can see our MS Math teacher using the link I summarized above.