Kids InfoBits is another great database for elementary students available through DISCUS. You access it the same way as you do SIRS Discoverer by going to http://www.scdiscus.org/ and either click on the database name or clicking on DISCUS Kids to get to the list of K-8 databases.
Kids Infobits is very kid graphic friendly and the easiest way for students to search is by clicking through the subject icons until they find the area they are searching for. This is great for teaching topic definition and keywords and well as broadening and narrowing a search in a kid-friendly, visual way.
Aside from the subject searching, you can also do a basic and advanced search to find something specific. I did a search for "Zebras" to demonstrate for this session.
I also like that at the bottom of most of the articles it has the full citation written out to help students get the citation information that they need. I've found that having students cite from databases is one of the hardest for them to learn (so they tend to do it the least!).
Kids Infobits is very kid graphic friendly and the easiest way for students to search is by clicking through the subject icons until they find the area they are searching for. This is great for teaching topic definition and keywords and well as broadening and narrowing a search in a kid-friendly, visual way. Notice the tools circled - there are some fabulous teacher aides in the Teacher Toolbox for reseach projects and the dictionary is a very friendly version of the Merriam Webster's Elementary Dictionary.
Aside from the subject searching, you can also do a basic and advanced search to find something specific. I did a search for "Zebras" to demonstrate for this session. Like SIRS Discoverer, InfoBits has tabs at the top to distinguish between types of information. (marked by the big arrow) There is also a student Backpack feature where students can keep a list of likely sources while they search. (marked by the star) There is a less sophisticated, but easy to follow reading level distinction with circles and triangles denoting "easy" and "more difficult" by articles. I also really like that some of the articles are available in PDF so that students can view them with full color photographs and charts. This is particularly helpful where budgets have been cut and students might not have ready access to learn the reading skills associated with reading in magazine and newspaper formats.
However, to me, two of the best feature comes when you look at the specific articles.
You have the option to email or print the article just like most of the other DISCUS databases (circled). But every article has ReadSpeaker connected so that students can listen to the article. Its not the best - its computer generated speaking - but it is a boon for students struggling with reading nonfiction texts for comprehension. You have the option of downloading the MP3 as well, so you can have the students listen while reading on email or with a printed version. This gives so MANY options for reinforcing reading skills!
I also like that at the bottom of most of the articles it has the full citation written out to help students get the citation information that they need. I've found that having students cite from databases is one of the hardest for them to learn (so they tend to do it the least!). 
No comments:
Post a Comment