Crystal Pyramids, Bermuda Triangle and Snopes

Well, apparently the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle has been solved after all this time!  Score one for modern technology and sonar.  It seems that there is a HUGE crystal pyramid underwater using some totally unknown technology, which is why there has been such a loss of planes and ships.  
See the link below:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/1945098/crystal-pyramids-discovered-lurking-beneath-tropical-seas-of-bermuda/

Of course, in today's world of fake news, and so many people believing everything that they read on the Internet, I can't help thinking that it is just as well we have Snopes on hand to sort out the urban myths running wild. 
http://www.snopes.com/?s=crystal+pyramid+bermuda+triangle

There are lots of urban myths and hoaxes that regularly circulate on the Internet and FaceBook - and they seem to just keep looping around.  Sometimes they undergo a slight mutation as someone updates them, but mainly, they just keep on going.

The best way to check these sort of facts is to run it through snopes.com which is a independent fact checking site.  
Please see the link below:
http://www.snopes.com/frequently-asked-questions/

Probably a good site to pass onto your students - and your friends.

Library Lessons and End of Term.

Year 7 Library Lessons are now over and I hope the classes learnt some skills that will help them with their research. I am noticing lots of Year 7s using the Dewey decimal chart to help them find information

They have spent some time learning how to use Boolean Operators to refine their web search, how to take notes and how to evaluate the Web sites that they find. 

I think the highlight of the note taking class was learning how to turn one piece of A4 paper into an 8 page notebook!

Boolean Searching is a big part of being able to easily find information on the Web as it helps to refine the search down to just what is needed rather than having millions and millions of sites to look through. If they remember nothing else, hopefully they will remember how to do this.

The fun part of this lesson was the Research Frenzy game where the class was in teams competing to see who could answer the most questions in a set time. Each team started with either books or computers and then swapped over halfway through so they could try both methods.  At the end of the lesson, the jury was out as to whether computers or books were better - I think it came down to how well they could use the encyclopedias as to which they preferred.

We also had a few teams trying to break the record set by last years class in this activity.  Whilst they didn't manage to set their own record, they did draw equal with last year's group, so well done.

With the end of term approaching, enjoy a relaxing break - and make sure you find the time to kick back with a good book and READ.  What better way to spend your break?

Resource Link

Resource Link is a blog that I visit regularly and read the post. I find that they are very interesting, not just for library staff, but for educators as well. This week they have put up a blog post about Twitter, and it's uses to teachers. Being that we live in an isolated location, this is just another tool that educators in the Barkly District can use to educate our young people.

http://resourcelinkbce.wordpress.com/

Library Lessons with year 7s

We have had a couple of great lessons with the year 7s this week, discussing whether or not everything is true on the internet and learning how to evaulate websites.

The first part of the lesson involved the students constructing Al-foil Deflector Beanies (otherwise known as AFDBs) while Library Staff explained that this was to keep them safe from mindcontrol rays.  We had some pretty awesome beanies happening as they decided to make a fashion statement, since they would be wearing it. 

They also had lots of great ideas for saving the endangered Tree Octopus, involving bridges, tunnels and lots of signage. 

Then they were introduced to Google MentaPlex and everyone had a go at trying to 'think' their search term at the spiral. 

We then went back, and using a checklist and working as a group, evaluated some websites to see whether they were real or hoax.  This generated a fair bit of discussion as to why people would put up things that are not true and how you can tell if it is a hoax site.  They were very unimpressed that people would provide such wrong information - but were happy to test out various sites to see if they were good or bad. 

They were not all that happy with Carrie and myself either - for 'tricking' them - but hopefully we are back in their good graces now.