WHAT ARE ONLINE DATABASES?

Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education has developed an online database that allows students and teachers to access hundreds of informational resources such as magazine articles, newspapers, encyclopedias and even journal articles online free of charge. Under a provincial licensing agreement, the Ministry is able to provide free access to Saskatchewan schools. For students conducting online research, the resources in the databases can be a more effective way to ensure that information is from a reliable source. Different reading levels are also available!

Tradition and technology come together in this lesson in which students learn about Alaskan animals through Native American tales and their own online research.

Remember to check for accuracy, objectivity, currency, content, and authority when using Internet sites as resources. The following list can help you to evaluate the internet sites you visit.

Author’s name ( last name, first name):______________________________________________
Title of document on the site ( put in quotation marks):_________________________________
Date of document or last date updated on the site:____________________________________
URL address of the site:___________________________________________________________
Date you visited the site:__________________________________________________________

Image of the Inquiry Model discussing Planning, Retrieving, Processing, Creating, Sharing & Evaluating

How web pages are setup

Have you ever wondered what all of the mumbo jumbo in websites stands for? Why is it that with only one changed letter we are unable to access the site we want?

This lesson will turn you into internet detectives - you will have a series of tasks to perform.

Effective Internet Research Skills Overview

Step 1: Create a list of key words and phrases on the topic being researched
Step 2: Choose an internet tool:
· Subject Directories
· Search Engines and Meta-Search Engines
· Subject Guides
· Specialized Databases
· Site Search Engines
.....

Part 1 – Introducing Google as a Search Engine
When looking for a very specific piece of information, it can be helpful to be able to write very specific searches, and Google provides operators to make that possible.
Learning Activity 1: Check out the video link to learn more about using Google effectively!

Search tools are not independently intelligent. They cannot understand what you type in, only match it. Sometimes, there are multiple types of meanings that match a query, so a savvy searcher uses special symbols or words, designated by the particular search tool in use at the time. These special symbols are called operators, and Google as a number of them.

For each grade level, a suggested set of I can statements has also been developed. Below is an example from Grade 1:

Grade One
Social and Ethical Use of Digital Technologies
 I can take turns when I use a digital technology (e.g. computer, tablet, etc.).
 I can show care when using digital technology.
Research and Inquiry
 I can use question starter words (e.g. 5 Ws) to guide my online searches.
 I can read visuals from digital technologies to discover information (e.g. SmartBoard images, images from the internet).
 I can begin to use multi-media sources to locate information (e.g. use audio from online story or CD).