Learning Online Library Research Skills
The Earth Science Library at Berkeley is sufficiently comprehensive as a testbed for secondary students to learn research skills...
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The Earth Science Library at Berkeley is sufficiently comprehensive as a testbed for secondary students to learn research skills. This library contains inventories for national wetlands, earthquake, climate, and weather. It features special projects such as terrain modeling and simulations, a research ship for drilling experiments (drilling in general-not oil), photography labs, and global ecosystems. Rare maps as well as street level maps can be viewed. A list of electronic publications in every sub-topic in this field is provided. Links to research organizations, such as Woods Hole, can be followed. From this site all of the other libraries at the University can be accessed---whatever students are tackling.
At San Diego State University (EdWeb) the Technology Specialist program in concert with PacBell's Education First has designed a problem-solving environment (BigSix) for acquiring information skills in the electronic world. The emphasis is on skills, such as seeking strategies, use and synthesis of information, etc., rather than just gaining access to resources (also at ERIC). A WebQuest has been designed to add intrigue to this set of skills. Look for Aztechnology Turns, a soap opera.
Hypatia combines researching and writing tips, particularly for teens. A must visit site.
Lawweb at Yale houses a huge databank of documents in history, diplomacy, government--to name a few topics. Acquiring the research skill to locate particular records online in high school will go a long way towards success in complex college research projects. These particular library sites have received several awards for a user-friendly environment.
Routes International offers access to schedules and maps for most public transit all over the world.
Noodletools allows students to generate forms for a bibliography and footnotes--some of those essential, if pedantic, necessities.
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Clearly, such resources would never have been available to secondary students prior to telecommunications. Remember the great advantage of bringing up multiple windows; students can access this library's resources in one window and capture them for a multimedia project in another window. Or, they could select a rare map and match it to some historical resources. Regardless whether students are college-bound or not, learning to bridge the library of yesteryear with today's electronic libraries is a crucial skill.
