Educational Resources

Presenter: Kelly Ray Library Media Specialist and Instructional Technology Liaison

GJSMS Professional DevelopmentJanuary 29, 2010

Images in this presentation are from PowerPoint clipart, from clipart.com by subscription, or used with permission unless otherwise noted.

Professional Development Objectives

Teachers will be able to: Use Destiny and the BCPS-Licensed Databases

to locate appropriate resources for instruction and student learning.

Use Destiny, the Students L:/drive, the library website, or a teacher wiki to provide student access to resources from school and home.

Practice, and ensure that students practice, ethical use of information by avoiding plagiarism and complying with educational fair-use copyright guidelines.

AVOID . . .

Research projects assigned without provision of targeted resources or appropriate search tools

Outside research projects assigned without benefit of information/media literacy instruction or appropriate guidelines

Students creating research products with no formal bibliography required

Student research products reflecting copy-and-paste plagiarism

Students using web-based media in their research products in violation of education fair-use copyright guidelines

Students not provided with sufficient opportunities to learn information/media/technology literacy skills

Role of the Middle School Library Media Specialist

Implement the Standards for 21st Century Learners by ensuring that students have opportunities to use skills, resources and tools to Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply

knowledge to new situations, and create new knowledge Share knowledge and participate ethically and

productively as members of our democratic society Pursue personal and aesthetic growth

Address 21st Century Literacies Information, media, technology literacies

Accomplish this through Direct instruction Collaborating and consulting with teachers Providing resources

Role of the Teacher

Find opportunities in your curriculum for students to use information resources, media, and technology

Schedule time on Library Reservations in advance to collaborate with the Library Media Specialist (L) to Locate & provide access to resources Design instruction & develop computer lab management strategies Plan for delivery of instruction

Take students to the Library or Computer Labs! Consider “brief research” having students use 1-2 rich resources

to answer questions or complete an organizer If using both print & online resources, schedule Mini Lab and

Library Area B and divide class in half, take turns Have students use software apps – word processing & formatting

MS Word docs, creating Excel graphs, etc.

Can’t we just

GOOGLE it?

Why not just it ? Google is a general search engine A Google search returns too many results

Students assume the first few hits are the best sources Results of a Google search often:

Are not meant for a K-12 student audience Are not published by authoritative sources Are not written at approachable reading levels Are not appropriate for school (filtered) Have not been evaluated by educators/librarians Lack features and tools included in fee-based Databases

Image Source: www.google.com

Why not just it? Our students are not skilled at:

Generating keywords from research assignments and building effective search expressions

Evaluating search results for relevance, authority, bias, currency, reading level, etc.

While students do need opportunities to develop these skills: Some topics and instructional situations are more appropriate than

others for having students use Google Must include direct instruction and instructor assistance

Please Note: Students may not use Google in the Library without teacher supervision & permission

Image Source: www.google.com

You may use only use

.gov or .org websites

No GOOGLING!(without an explanation)

Never use WIKIPEDIA!(without an explanation)

You must use at least 2 books

and 3 websites

Some DON’Ts

What about WIKIPEDIA?

Content on Wikipedia is user-generated We don’t know if contributors are experts or

authorities on the topic. We don’t know if information is accurate.

There are times when Wikipedia may be useful for casual, personal research But NOT about very important personal research

topics, like health.

Image Source: www.wikipedia.org

Why use BCPS Databases & Search Tools? MSDE, BCPS, and GJSMS are paying for access!

Usage is tracked by MSDE and BCPS Use them or lose them!

Designed specifically for education Results more appropriate for students

Include features to address learning needs, differentiation, and ethical use: Reading Levels or Lexile Scores Comprehension Aids:

Text Features Embedded Dictionaries Read-Aloud

Pre-formatted Bibliography citations Filtered Image Searching

Available from home with PASSWORDS

Why provide PATHFINDERS? PATHFINDERS:

Direct students to appropriate search tools, databases and targeted resources

May include file-paths and direct links Are accessible from both school and home

Post on wiki Post on school library website Post on Students L:/drive

Increase student success in locating information and media they need

Enable students to spend less time searching and more time reading and learning content

Create a Pathfinder for a curriculum unit topic Use with students Use as an instructional resource

Pathfinder Template Open:

My Computer Students drive Library Staff Assignments Jan 29 PD Pathfinder Template

Type in: Pathfinder Topic Teacher Content Area & Grade Level Unit

File Save As: Save in: Your H: drive File name: Pathfinder - File

name: Topic

Preview sections/Nav Bar: Destiny Resource List Search Targeted Resources Citing Sources in a

Bibliography

Text in Red: Delete and replace

Destiny Resource Lists Open:

Destiny (desktop icon) Note on Destiny Home page: Links to Databases, GJSMS

Website, BCPS onLine (Library Office website), BCPS.org homepage

Login (top right corner) Click Catalog tab Resource Lists (sidebar)

Public Lists tab Note Resource Lists already available, especially

Reference Book Lists Note Library Materials & Online Resource tabs

Create a Destiny Resource List Click Add List & Name it by topic

Hold off on making it Public for now; can make Public later. Type an annotation including teacher, grade level and

content area. Click Library Search (sidebar) Do a Keyword Search on your topic On Results List, click Title for Catalog Record

Click Add to This List from Results List or Catalog Record

Call Number Prefixes

No prefix = Nonfiction REF = Reference F = Fiction E = Everybody VC = Videocassette DVD = DVD TP = Audiotape CD = Audio CD SV = Safari Montage Video PRO = Professional Collection

WebPath Express Check for WebPath Express results (Websites) on

your Basic Search Results list Note grade levels, click title to preview If no WebPath Express results in Basic Search results, do

a WebPath Express Search from sidebar using alternative keywords

Click Add to This List for appropriate Websites OR Copy linked Website title Paste under Targeted

Resources/Websites list Click on PASTE OPTIONS pop-up icon and check

Match Destination Formatting

Make Destiny Resource List Public & Add to Pathfinder Log in to Destiny Catalog tab Resource Lists (sidebar) Click EDIT icon (pencil/paper) for your List Click Make this List Public Add Resource List title to file-path on

Pathfinder

Explore Databases Consider and decide:

Which databases to have students search themselves

Which websites and articles to provide as direct links under Targeted Resources Remove icons for Databases students won’t need Explore Databases, try Keyword searches

Copy and Paste links to Website or Article TITLES– do not display URLs! For articles in GALE databases, get the link by

marking titles and creating a Bookmark or Infomark

Respond to Feedback SurveyYou will receive a Professional Development Survey via email--Please respond!