Imperialism Assignment: Bello/Tkacs

We began the research project on Imperialism on Thursday in the Media Center. I instructed Mr. Bello’s and Mr. Tkacs’s 9th grade history classes on the following topics:
1. The use of our subscription databases (ProQuest, Facts on File, ABC-CLIO, and EBSCO).
2. Social bookmarking –  del.icio.us account to access websites on Imperialism.
3. Online citation generator - NoodleBib Express.
4. Works Consulted page - tips on formatting and features in Microsoft Word.

On Friday, students worked with their groups to find the information that they needed for their presentations. Mr. Bello, Mr. Tkacs and I decided that the students would utilize the database resources more effectively, if they didn’t have access to Wikipedia and Google. After the initial shock and withdrawal, I am happy to report that the students made it through their class period using the research databases and website links that were given to them. They found reliable and authoritative information for their research presentations. The last three days in the Media Center, students were finishing up their research using all database and internet resources.

To the students:
Now that you’ve finished researching, I would like to get some feedback from you on this research process. I’ve added a poll to the sidebar of this blog regarding the databases that you were introduced to for this assignment. Please vote for the databases that were most helpful to you. In addition, I would like you to comment on the entire research process. What was most helpful to you? Did you find the information that you needed in the databases, books and selected internet sites? How did you feel about not using Google or Wikipedia?

RSS Feeds

I am now learning about RSS feeds. I've added a couple of RSS feeds to the sidebar of this blog. I also use Bloglines.com as my reader for blogs and news. If you are not sure about RSS, here is another simple explanation from the commoncraft guys.