Lesson 1 - World Book Online

World Book Kids

Killer Whales also known as Orcas live in our worlds oceans, especially the cold water areas. Despite their name they are actually dolphins.

World Book Online Info Finder

More information at a higher level. It has a sound clip to hear what the whale sounds like in its environment along with a picture and video. It provides the same information as the kids site but with more detail. It talks about the animal itself, its size, habitat, what they eat, how they live and what their life expectancy is.

There are also links to special reports and other websites about the topics. I really like the way that the information is laid out. It provides great info but the info doesn't get lost in a ridiculous amount of unnecessary information.

Reference Center
So the lesson asks that we look at the information provided on the left and right of the country we want to research and then to look at it again after we have selected the country. At least that is what I got out of the instructions!

I picked Ireland as the country that I wanted to do a little research on because I swear in another life I am going to live in a cottage by the sea on the shores of Ireland. Anyway...when I search Ireland there are great things on the left of the screen like Encyclopedia articles, maps, sounds, pictures and web sites. These are all great options that I think my patrons would utilize. On the right there are articles that relate to Ireland. These are nice but I don't think they would be viewed as much. After selecting Ireland from the list of options that are available I looked again at what was on the left and the right. I really like the info presented on the left. I think my patrons would utilize this side because curiosity gets the better of you. It is easy to just start clicking on the different options and sift through all the info. This would great if you are just curious about the topic at hand. On the right there are more encyclopedia articles and the option for additional websites. Honestly I love all the information that is right there at your fingertips and so easy to search. I found that I spent a great deal of time just clicking in and around all the different topics related to Ireland.

This was a great exercise and now I know that when my patrons come in with the intent to dig a little deeper on a subject this is a great place for them to go and search around.