MODULE 3
Selecting/Evaluating Tools and Integrating Effective Technologies
I created a Symbaloo account to organize the database book marks available in my school’s library. These are relatively new and the system is still being developed. This is being done centrally by Resource Services, a section of the Education Department, Public Schools division. RS has purchased territory-wide licenses for the databases and there are resources available at all levels.
Up front, I should admit that as a classroom teacher I did not access any of these with my students. Now as a teacher-librarian, I am trying my best to sell other teachers on the idea of using them as a starting point for research. Some are interested but want to spend time looking at the resources themselves first. So far I have not had anyone come in specifically looking to have their groups take a tutorial in using the database system though. I won’t give up!
On the library home page (controlled by Resource Services also – something of an issue with TLs), there are links to the resources. The database links are portals to more specialized resources offered by the suppliers. For example through the EBSCO portal, students can access Canadian Points of View, NoveList, the Canadian Student Research Centre, Funk & Wagnalls New Encyclopedia, the Canadian Reference Centre, Academic Search Premier, and MasterFILE. Gale Learning allows access to Canadian Periodicals, the Gale Virtual Reference Library, and Global Issues in Context. We also have subscriptions to the National Film Board, Curio, Learn 360, and Access Learning.
Having explored a little of what the databases have to offer, I can see some benefit to students in their research processes, particularly in the initial stages. Things like World Book, for example, give students an initial understanding of a topic and provide links to other resources. Once they have an idea of the details it can help them narrow or refine their research question making the process more efficient.