Thing 17

I tried to find the most relevant set of databases for my students and my subject area.  Honestly, we don't do much in the way of research in my math class. There are too many required topics!  I did search in SIRS Discover Deluxe and then a search in SIRS Renaissance.  I thought I would see how the two databases showed information about Pathagoras.  The Discover version is much for kid friendly, but there is much more detailed information in the articles listed in the Renaissance.  I like the feel of the Discover version. http://screencast.com/t/Rwp3O7uui, though, I know I would not be happy if my high school students used only the information found here.  The way the Renaissance database was presented, it seems to be geared more toward the arts.  So, is there going to be a lot of information on the sciences?  I am very glad to have be introduced to the several databases offered through MEL.  My own kids will be glad to know about them too.

Continuing on with the search for Pythagoras, I tried both the Academic One and Article First databases.  Wow, the Academic One is great since it gives you the ability to see the whole text of the article.  http://screencast.com/t/0fRueXnOoO  I can't imagine working on my masters thesis now-a-days.  Trips to the library would not happen too often.  The Academic One database has all the bells and whistles that one could want when doing research.  It had several options for what to do with the text.  The idea of creating an MP3 recording of the text is great.  This would be a wonderful way to do some work while traveling in the car listening to various articles being read to you.  What a time saver!  I also love the fact that the site will create the citation for you to copy into Word.  Again, what a time saver.  I remember going to the library with my stack of notecards and writing the notes on one side and then source on the other so that I could compile all the research once I got home.  I will be sure to continue checking back at MEL for new databases as I'm sure they update regularly.  The fact is, before this class, I would have gone straight to google to research a topic.  These databases provide articles and information worthy of reading!

This idea of having the citations made for you in the format you ask is unbelievable!  I remember having to do all citations in APA, not that I remember what the heck that is now.  So, I stuck with my Pythgoras research and created a citation from the Academic One database through the GALE group. http://screencast.com/t/pZXBPrbm3M   I'm trusting that this is indeed APA format: http://screencast.com/t/ktyAbUfOzUvY
For the work cited #2 assignment, I am going to look for a more complicated work to cite...maybe an on-line article?  Well, no luck.  Just found a Trig for Dummies book which sounds like somthing I should purchase for my classroom!  I used BibMe: http://screencast.com/t/74O24KCF34D
I played around with the KinghtCite, but it looked like I actually had to type info into the cite and the BibMe allowed me to search right there and then it took the info and put it in the bibliography.

Works Cited

Sterling, Mary Jane. Trigonometry for dummies  . Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, 2005. Print.

MLA formatting by BibMe.org.

Having all these tools almost makes me want to go back to school and be a student doing research again... ALMOST!