Info Trac Student - this is a database of periodicals for high-school students. They have access to a variety of full-text magazines, newspapers, podcasts, reference books, current events, the sciences, culture, health, government, history, or sports.
a) Appropriateness - the aforementioned are both appropriate for students at the levels they are intended for.
b) Usability - I did not find this to be a user-friendly database; it was time-consuming to search.
c) Content - Not much information was found for the information I was searching for.
d) Credibility - I did not find any evidence to support suspicious information or content.
Topic for research - Bullying
Since bullying is so endemic in our country, and we cover the issue in schools trying to intervene, bullying would be a great topic to research, especially under the heading of current events. As you can see, I was prepared, in the aforementioned, to compare and contrast the two databases in MeL. However, as I tried to research the topic of bullying on both of these two databases, I did not find the usability worth my time. It may be appropriate for specific areas of research at different levels, but it did not seem to lead me to the information that I was looking for. The content is very concise without enough elaboration on the topic. I would trust the credibility of the information, since it is a database compiled by the State of Michigan for educators and MI students at different levels.
Actually, the only aspect that I found usable was the bibliographical citation information in both APA and MLA. The more they see and get to utilize the formats for citing researched information and borrowed narrative text for written response to reading, the more they understand the format, the more they will remember how to use it. Students, however, may find the podcasts intriguing. There is such a push for student technology in the classrooms (BYOD), that having access to sites like this will make research easier for them and less intimidating. I think up through eighth grade, students need to be doing the thinking and writing of sources borrowed for research. However, 9th and up, why not curtail the research process?
Item #3
Ah Ha database research moment . . .
In doing a search for a topic related to the novel I am using for my unit of study, I came across the sketch below. I have to say that I did not come upon it with the click of a button or a simple search. The MeL information took some time to find. I dug deeper into the InfoTrac Junior database and found a separate database for kids and one for teens. The ages/grades are broken down better and topics are easier to search for without frustration. This then took me to "eLibrary" to where I actually typed in my keyword. Moreover, I really liked the sidebar that provided additional forms of information on the topic of choice. I did not find the text I wanted; however, I had the option to look under the following: 5 newspapers, 13 pictures, 189 magazines, 1 map, 11 books, 1 website, and 30 transcripts.
Actually, because of doing this assignment, I have located information that I have been searching for for months now-
Makah Tribe: People of the Sea & the Forest
::: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest :::
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/renker.html
Copyright(c) 2010 ProQuest Information and Learning
I have what I need to do the culminating activity/writing assignment for the novel Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs. I will use this information along with the information attained by Skyping a middle school in Neah Bay, WA, where our story takes place. We will have a question and answer session with their students and ours about the culture now compared to the information we gather from eLibrary about the history of the Makah culture. Yeah me! :) I love 2 get the students 2 love 2 learn.
Makah Indians whaling at entrance to Fuca Straits Drawing by H. W. Elliott, 1883
Image ID: figb0204, Historic NMFS Collection
Credit: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
(c) 2001 National Oceanic & Administration (NOAA)
MLA citation: Makah Indians whaling at entrance to Fuca Straits Drawing by H. W. Elliott, 1883 -- ID: figb0204. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 15 Oct. 2001. eLibrary. Web. 14 Mar. 2012.
APA citation: National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)(Publisher). (2001). Makah Indians whaling at
entrance to Fuca Straits Drawing by H. W. Elliott, 1883 -- ID:
figb0204[Photograph]. Retrieved from http://elibrary.bigchalk.com
Item #4
Topic of research -
Pascua, Maria Parker. "Ozette: A Makah Village in 1491." National Geographic. 180.4 (1991):
38-53. Print.
Item #4
Topic of research -
Pascua, Maria Parker. "Ozette: A Makah Village in 1491." National Geographic. 180.4 (1991):
38-53. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment