https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey What is your favorite database to use in instruction and why? en-us 2014-02-12 12:18:46 UTC 2025-12-06 14:14:51 UTC hello@padlet.com http://d20uo2axdbh83k.cloudfront.net/20140212/8d7b988f10f3090b71191878c625e718.jpg https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/290489594 I mentioned this one last week but I think it’s a really great resource for students working on projects or students who are looking to understand political issues a little more. I haven’t had the opportunity to instruct a class yet but I think Points of View is a great resource for middle and high school students. Politics and social issues can be really confusing and POV is a source that gives students facts about each side in a mater a fact way. They also have a bunch of research guides like charts/graphs, how to on creating an essay outline, info on giving an oral presentation, how to start a debate club and curriculum standards for teachers.

]]> 2018-10-08 20:48:43 UTC https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/290489594 rbran7 https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/290506180 I talked about this one before, but I love this database for the younger guys. You can search through 4 categories: animals, Science, biographies, and Social Studies. There are many sub-categories under each one and there is also a search bar. Once you pick a topic, there are slides under it with information. You can choose to have the slides read to you. There are also many pictures. I think it is a great research tool to start off with and is very user friendly. ]]> 2018-10-08 22:20:19 UTC https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/290506180 jem431 https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/291034546 https://www.ebsco.com/products/research-databases/middle-search-plus

If your school subscribes to this database it is quite useful. Everything is aimed at middle school learners so they are more likely to be able to function with the information they locate. If students are only finding articles made for adults they often do not understand all of what they are reading, and how can they analyze an article if they can barely understand it? 
The database has full-text articles as well as popular magazines and reference books covering all different subjects and topics. 

]]> 2018-10-10 00:06:35 UTC https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/291034546 SarahTeichman https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/291492101 This is a great database for learning about geography and world cultures, and a wonderful way to supplement subjects ranging from history to world religions to cooking. The database opens to four broad categories: World, Kids, States, and Provinces. Once one of these is selected, users can click down through interactive maps into a country/state/province/etc., or use the search bar to find it directly. Each page holds and incredible wealth of information and features. Within the World edition, for example, each country's home page alone has several maps, fun facts, an infographic, statistics, the anthem and the flag. There are other sections of pages covering background, history, lifestyle, culture and customs, people, and society. Features include text-to-talk and citation generation, as well as additional offerings of famous people, slideshows, videos, interviews, recipes, and data relevant to the countries. There is so much information on this database, and all of it is easy to access, understand, and manipulate. ]]> 2018-10-10 21:49:33 UTC https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/291492101 maluotto https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/291625405 I have not actually used this yet but I think it will be good for the 3rd-5th graders to use for a research project in the near future. I like the visual category breakdown that leads to further visual category breakdown. The final results display in a Google-like results list (without the ads obviously!) that I think is great for teaching, in a safe way, how to navigate these results. I have found my students struggle with not understanding what to click. This will help them understand how to differentiate between results. This is a great tool for teaching how to filter results and a great starting point for elementary research projects!]]> 2018-10-11 09:41:58 UTC https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/291625405 bmraff33 https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/292460869 I think this site for reader's advisory would be a great one to teach students to use. I have already seen students wandering aimlessly, just staring at the as if a book will knock them on the head! The first question I usually ask them is "What is the last book that your really enjoyed?" Their response helps me make suggestions. NoveList K-8 basically takes the same approach. I have not done this yet, but I hope to during the course of the year.]]> 2018-10-13 20:17:33 UTC https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/292460869 kbessin https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/292619879 My favorite databases to use so far in my career have been: Explora Secondary Schools, Points of view, and Ebsco's Middle Search Plus. 
Databases I want to use more this year are: NoveList K-8, ABC-Clio's American History database and Modern World History database, and  InfoBase's African-American History, American History, and American Indian History.
It seems to me that the question of a "best" database is very task-specific, but these databases seem to be potentially useful for collaborations I have lined up to do between now and January.]]> 2018-10-15 00:34:59 UTC https://padlet.com/joycevalenza/databasesjersey/wish/292619879