ER Challenge: Week 10 - The End

Well, of course, all of the resources are so information-rich, reliable, and easy to use. There's just nothing to criticize among any of them. Even though I was fairly familiar with most of them, still, I don't think there was one week/lesson where I didn't uncover something previously unseen or not fully understood. Frequently, those happy discoveries were new enhancements and improvements offered by the vendors since I'd last worked with a particular resource. That vendors continue to develop their products, often in response to public demand and perceived trends, is such a testament to the validity and value of these resources.

All in all, though, and perhaps this is because I'd not used this one much yet, I found Ancestry Library to be really interesting, fun, and--yes, addictive. That's the one where, after using it the day I started the lesson and not finding what I thought should be there, that evening (while away from the computer) a thought about an alternative search technique popped into my brain. And when I tried that the next day--success in finding what I'd looked for before, and some more piqued curiosity and possible conclusions as to a spelling discrepancy in 10-years-apart census records. How effective this would be for getting students to think and draw conclusions! I'm going to show Ancestry Library to my mom, who has mucho time on her hands and really would be interested in this stuff. Perhaps it will inspire her to get a RCPL borrower's card--can't be a bad thing in her world.

So, thanks, Julie and Jane, for this effort. Your time and, especially, the preparation that went into making these lessons easy and worthwhile for participants--just so commendable.