Library Resources Training Outline
Total Time: 1–2 hours
Quick Intro (5 minutes)
DLC Site
Watch the Site Overview screencast
- Point out the Search box (appears on every page) and the About section.
- Explain differences between Students, Educators, and Parents sections.
- Point out the Bookmarks tab and provide a brief overview.
DLC Library Resources
Access world-class digital library resources for the classroom and homework assignments as well as professional development. In addition to a number of hand-picked free resources, the DLC Library features five subscription databases, outlined below.
netTrekker d.i. (15–20 minutes)
Watch the netTrekker d.i. screencast
netTrekker d.i. provides easy access to educator-evaluated websites focusing on K-12 resources, many of which align with Washington State standards. It also links to tools and classroom guides for teachers.
Go over the different levels of netTrekker: Elementary, Middle, High, and State Standards. If students or staff want a lower reading level, they can use the Elementary section to find information.
Keyword Search: Give staff an opportunity to do a keyword search, and then explain the search results page. Explain that when results come up, there are a variety of different tabs at the top to choose from: Lesson Plans, Learning Exercises, Pictures, Maps, Charts. These tabs lead to different types of resources related to a keyword search.
Subject Search: Give staff a chances to dive into a particular subject and explore information. Be sure to let staff pick the subject they want to explore.
Corbis Images for Education (10–15 minutes)
Corbis Images for Education includes images from the renowned Bettmann Archive. You'll also find images from fine art, historical, science, nature, and pop culture collections. Many of the most famous photographs in history are available in the Corbis collection, such as Rosa Parks riding the bus and U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima.
Searching for Images: You can search for images in two ways: Keyword Search or Gallery Browse. Each of these methods will result in a list of thumbnail images. A Gallery Browse serves up representative samples of images from the collection. For a comprehensive search, conduct a Keyword Search. You can also use the Advanced Search feature to refine your search.
Downloading Images: Select an image to download by clicking Info & Download. Then click Add to Download Folder. You can return to the thumbnails by clicking Back to Thumbnails. When you are ready to download your images, click Go to Download Folder in the pop-up window or Download Folder on the thumbnail images page.
Unzipping Files: When you download a group of images, they are compressed into one or more Zip files. You will need a Zip utility to open the images. Use the links below to download a free Zip utility for your platform.
Windows users:
Install the Zip utility from WinZip.
Mac users:
Install the Zip utility from StuffIt Expander.
When you download your images, you will be prompted to choose a location for them on your hard drive. Select a location and click Save.
Image Citation: On the Image Information & Download page for each image, copyright information is included below the image. For example:
© Bettmann/COBS
It is important that you include this copyright notice to credit Corbis for the use of any image from the collection. You can include the copyright notice under the image or on a separate page in your slide presentation, book report, lesson plan, etc.
Grolier Encyclopedias (15–20 minutes)
Grolier is a set of eight encyclopedias all in electronic format: Encyclopedia America, Multimedia Encyclopedia, The New Book of Knowledge, La Nueva Enciclopedia Cumbre, America the Beautiful, Lands and Peoples, Amazing Animals, and The New Book of Popular Science. Grolier Online includes Grolier Online Passport, designed for older students and adults, and Grolier Online Kids, designed for grades 3–5.
Start at the homepage and point out the different encyclopedias on the left-hand side.
Search: To search for a term use the Find It Fast! search box located near the top of the homepage (this search box is replicated within the encyclopedias).You may type in single or multiple terms, the search results are ordered by relevance and encyclopedia.
For Educators: This section contains lesson plans, user guides, teaching resources, and other professional development content for educators. The lesson plans are organized and searchable by grade or subject. The weekly Teaching the News feature is a great companion to the encyclopedias.
To find lesson plans:
- Go to the For Educators section located at the bottom of the homepage.
- Select a grade grouping in the Select a Grade box, and browse the lesson plans, which are organized by subject.
- Select a subject in the Select a Subject box, and browse lesson plans, which are organized by grade-grouping levels for your chosen subject.
Grolier Online Kids: Access the Kids section by clicking on the purple button in the top right corner of the homepage. This portion of Grolier, for younger children, includes reading and research materials (which can also be used by ELL or special education students).
Dictionaries, Atlas, Help: Each of these resources can be accessed from the top right corner of the homepage.
SIRS (15–20 minutes)
SIRS is a collection of online databases that specializes in social issues, science, history, the arts, and more. This site also has an Educators' Resources section.
- SIRS Researcher: General reference, social issues, health, science, and business.
- SIRS Renaissance: Current perspectives on the arts and humanities.
- SIRS Discoverer: K-8 reading and research materials.
Search: The Subject Headings search is useful when you have a specific research topic in mind and you want to use a subject index to quickly locate articles and sites related to that topic. All articles in the SIRS databases are indexed primarily according to Library of Congress subject headings. The Keyword search is useful when you want to locate articles and websites based on your own combination of key words and phrases.
Educators' Resources: Curriculum resources and teaching guides are located in this area. To access this feature, click on the Educators' Resources icon at the top of any web page.
Leading Issues: Click in the Leading Issues box on the right-hand side of the homepage. Choose an issue to see how this feature works. Then let staff choose an issue to look into on their own. Explain that these issues are often controversial and that SIRS provides students with pros and cons to all issues, as well as many different types of documents to use for research.
Database Features: Click on the Database Features tab near the top of the web page. In this area, the different databases are broken down by their individual features and content areas. Use this feature to locate specific topics and tools or to find in-depth information and do meaningful research.
Citation Guidelines: Click on the How to Cite link in the top right-hand corner of the web page. This feature includes information for students about how to correctly cite articles in their bibliographies.
Facts on File News Digest (15–20 minutes)
Watch the Facts on File screencast
Facts on File features domestic and world news coverage from 1940 to the present. It also includes a wire-service news feed, which is updated hourly, along with hundreds of original features, primary documents, newspaper editorials, and other materials that give perspective and context to the events. This site includes resources for educators too.
This activity focuses on the main features of the Facts on File site. World News Digest is the main database, which is accessed from the homepage.
Point out the four Facts on File databases and how to access them via the tabs at the top of the page:
- World News Digest: U.S. and world news from 1940 to present.
- Issues & Controversies: In-depth information on current issues.
- Today's Science: Science news for students.
- The World Almanac Reference Database and Encyclopedia: People, places, events, and more from A to Z.
Search: Enter any word or combination of words in the Search box on the left-hand side of any web page. If you enter more than one search term, the search will find articles that contain all of the terms you entered. Capitalization does not matter.
Printer-friendly versions of articles, with citations, can be accessed by clicking on the Print/Citation icon in the top right corner. Facts on File generates citations in MLA and APA format for any articles found in its database. There are also printer-friendly versions of all articles in the database.
infoSkills (10–15 minutes)
Watch the infoSkills screencast
These information-literacy-skills tools are designed to help students conduct research and take papers or projects from start to finish. Students will find tips for organizing their thoughts, finding resources, formatting research papers, and more.
researchTutor is a DLC-made tool that's extra helpful when it comes to writing research papers. It includes tips for avoiding plagiarism, paraphrasing, note taking, summarizing, creating a bibliography, and more.
- Helpful Resources link directly to tools in resources like netTrekker and SIRS that help students do research and write papers.
Big6 takes students through six information problem-solving steps: (1) task definition, (2) information seeking strategies, (3) location and access, (4) use of information, (5) synthesis, and (6) evaluation.
- Spotlight features stories about how Big6 has helped students complete their projects and take their work to the next level.
- Know How features tools and tips for students using Big6.
- For Teachers and Parents includes information and tools for using Big6.
The Big6 site includes tools for K-2 and 3-6. Hit the Back icon to access them.
Citation Maker makes it easy for students to create a bibliography for research projects and papers. Have students read the Help file to learn how to use this tool.
How to Do Research is an online board game, organized by six sections: (1) Plan, (2) Search for Information, (3) Take Notes, (4) Use the Information, (5) Report, and (6) Evaluate. This can be very useful for teaching students a variety of ways to do research.
- Glossary is a collection of terms that are related to research and the researching process.
- Teachers Tool Box includes some great tools to help teachers use this resource in the classroom.
Online Library Learning Center leads students through a mini course in online research. There are ten units total, including Welcome to the Information Age, Tips for Using the Internet, and Evaluating Sources. Unit 2 is especially useful for learning how to do research for a paper. Unit 8 covers important issues such as copyright and plagiarism.
- Glossary is a collection of terms associated with information literacy and this specific resource.
- Site Map can be used to navigate the site and find specific units or topics of interest.
Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) (15–20 minutes)
GEM allows you to quickly and easily search for educational resources, such as lesson plans and curriculum units. GEM draws from some of the country's best museums, universities, and government programs, including NASA, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the National Science Foundation, and the Exploratorium in San Francisco. GEM is sponsored by the National Education Association.
Search the GEM Catalog: You'll find the Search field on the right-hand side in a yellow toolbox. You have the option to search by full text, title, keyword, or description. Enter a word(s) that describes the information you are looking for. Generally, GEM retrieves a fairly large set of resources.
Browse the GEM Catalog: Click on the yellow Browse tab located at the top of the page to access the Search/Browse webpage. If you click on any of the categories, a list of subcategories will appear narrowing down the content until you reach the area that you are trying to find resources in. For more information, click on Help.
- Refine by Subject: Refine your search results by clicking on the terms listed on the right side of the search results screen. For example, if you are interested in only lesson plans, click Lesson Plans to refine your search. Clicking additional terms refines the search results even more. You can also refine the search results by typing more search terms in the text box, selecting Search in Results, and clicking Go.
- Connecting to a Resource: Resources in the GEM catalog are all accessible online and are described in more detail at their respective websites. To connect to a resource that appears in the list of search results, click on the title of the resource.
Assessments (2–5 minutes)
Return to the Digital Learning Commons website. Click on the Training Evaluation link, which appears at bottom of every page on the site.
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