Lesson 7 EBooks on EbscoHost

I've listened to testimony during session from parents that have children with Autism and have tried Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and say they are getting great results so I wanted to read more on this subject.

Applied behavior analysis is the field of study that focuses on the principles, methods and procedures of the science of behavior. ABA focuses on the behavior of people. Interventions are directed at changing environmental events to improve behavior. Differential reinforcement of other behavior is used as a way to provide social reinforcement for appropriate play, academic activities, self hygiene and so on.

Typically, target behavior and the events that proceed and follow the responses are counted for several days. This develops a baseline and treatment is withheld so that a later change in behavior can be evaluated. Following this baseline assessment a behavior plan of action is developed. The plan includes target responses, consequences that follow different actions and long term goals.

It was easy to search for chapters in the book and go to the specific chapter I wanted to read on ABA.

Next I searched for appropriate titles for students for Constitution Day. My search showed 38 titles. Since there wasn't a lot of information on ages of students I looked for different titles for different ages. One that would work for younger students was "Colonies and Revolution" which is a juvenile nonfiction. There was a dictionary of American History that I thought would work for information and a companion to the US Constitution and it's amendments for older students.

For the next task I followed the directions using PB Publisher and Oklahoma and came up with 61 search results. Everything from "Boots and Saddles: Or, Life in Dakota with General Custer"  to "A Tour on the Prairies". Everything was listed as University of Oklahoma Press.

Another interesting learning lesson for me.

Lesson 6 Gale Virtual Reference

I started out searching the Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer because my husband has a very rare form of cancer so I like to search out information on his type. I found that there are only one to two cases of neuroendocrine pancreatic tumors for every 100,000 people. The average age of diagnosis is 53 years of age and he was diagnosed at age 56. It talked about the shot he gets each month (Sandostatin) and through the references I found out how nutrition can help with the symptoms.

I used the search feature to see if there were any other articles on neuroendocrine tumors or carcinoid tumors in the Gale library. There were a couple more that I looked at to see what more information I could glean. Then I tried out the "listen" feature. It wasn't bad, but it would take some getting used to listening to the computer voice. What a great reference this was for me. The article was easy to read and understand. The encyclopedia was 2010. I don't know when they put out an updated version, but I think it would be great to get the newest information because cancer research is changing all the time.

I then used the search at the top of the page to look up the Mediterranean Diet and found an article called the Anti-Cancer Diet which has a lot of the principles of the Mediterranean diet. Since the Anti- cancer diet talked about the Mediterranean diet my next article was on this diet. I learned it isn't really a diet as it is a way of life. How many times you should eat red meats per month, what you should eat weekly and what you should eat daily.

I checked out Tolliver's Tablet and found she learned about the highlighting of words and sentences in the listen feature so I went back and utilized it on a paragraph in one of the articles I was researching. It is a nice feature. I also checked out Karen's Blog and found she looked up the Encyclopedia of Cancer too.

Lesson 5 Proquest

1. I searched for prediabetes and then narrowed it down to magazines. I found an article that I wanted to read titled “Do You Have Prediabetes.”  It was a good article and I’m glad I read it. It was in relation to women’s health and it had an easy quiz to see if you should visit your doctor.

Because the first article got me interested I looked up another article. This one was on how treating prediabetes might prevent a full-blown disease. It talked about a study of 3,000 people who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: one group was asked to make lifestyle changes; a second group was given the drug metformin, which lowers blood sugar; and the third group was given an inactive placebo. The goal of the program was for participants to reduce their blood sugar levels to a normal range.

The new study was to look at these individuals years later. What they found was that patients who were able to return to normal blood sugar levels, even for a short period, could prevent or slow progression to full type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that people who reduced their blood sugar had a 56 percent reduction in progression to diabetes during nearly six years of follow-up. And this was regardless of how those normal blood sugar levels were achieved (exercise, diet, medication) and even when it was only for a short time.

What I found interesting is that it didn't matter how people got back to normal blood sugar, whether with diet and exercise or with metformin or placebo, but just the fact that by getting back to normal it prevented or slowed the progression of the diabetes. The next study will need to be looking at whether the regression improves other long-term health care outcomes such as heart disease, kidney disease or blindness.

I’m so glad I read these two articles. Time for me to make an appointment.

1. a. I read Mike’s blog and commented on it. I really enjoy reading what Mike writes because it is always interesting and I usually learn something. Way to go Mike.

2. My background includes many years in special education so I looked for special education. There were three publications dealing with the topic of special education in the title. When I changed it to search for special education in the subject that number went up to 28, which included scholarly journals, trade journals and magazines. This was a good reminder for me to remember to search in different ways.

Lesson 4:

SIRS Discoverer
1. Look up armadillos (or your favorite animals) and discuss the results. Note if you find pictures and the various reading levels of the articles. (Remember, articles in SIRS Discoverer are selected, so you may not find something from yesterday's news.)

When I looked up armadillos I found a number of articles ranging in reading levels from general reading, to easy and then to moderate. There was a variety of Lexile scores to help determine the right one for students. I loved the variety of articles that were available from Ranger Rick to National Geographic. There were also a number of pictures you could choose in the list of articles.

2. Some of the most useful features in SIRS Discoverer are the "Database Features" located on the right hand side of the window. Explore this section by:

• selecting a country in "Country Facts" and noting the information located there.
• I selected Canada. There are basic facts, a map, the flag, major historical events and additional resources at the bottom of the page that includes teacher resources.
• selecting a map in "Maps of the World" and discussing a potential use.
• I looked at the World Historical and US Historical maps. Wow!! There’s a lot of maps here. I think I could find some of these useful in my genealogy study, but I found myself just paging through and looking at some of the interesting things they’ve mapped out. The Indian cultures over the years, the different wars and battles fought in our country, the explorations.
• selecting one other area in "Database Features" and discuss the information located there.
• I chose the special “Olympics” section in the database features. It has everything from websites, to newspapers to magazine articles. The reading level goes from easy to challenging and there are a number of photo links also. A great variety of articles on all aspects of the games and the host country.

SIRS Issues Researcher
1. Select a leading issue and discuss the information located there, noting the topic overview, research tools and articles.

I chose the issue of bullying. Bullying is a form of abuse that can be emotional or physical. Many children and teens are bullied at school every day. Some of these victims become depressed and lose interest in their schoolwork. There have been too many instances where young people have committed suicide to escape the torment of bullies.

The research tools that are listed would be very helpful to anyone doing research on a topic. I thought the statistics and note organizer were very helpful.  Also, the amount of articles and the way you’re able to narrow your search for the type you’re looking for (newspaper, reference, graphics, etc.) is very helpful.

2. Select "Curriculum Pathfinders" on the right hand side of the window and mouse over the course subjects, noting the range of topics covered. Pick your favorite subject and discuss the information located there.

I looked at the subject of Health. There is quite a range of information listed under health; everything from community and environmental health to wellness and diseases. The page has two interactive links as well as a wide range of courses. I can learn about obesity and stress management all in one location. This is a site I’ll be visiting again.