SIRS Discoverer
1. I have never used the SIRS products before so this was very interesting. I searched for skunks again, using Sirs Discoverer. I tried both the keyword search and the subject search. Both searches eventually took me to the same information. The different types of sources are just a click away using the tabs at the top of the screen. The reading levels are clearly marked with the different colored books. Icons for the others items available, i.e. pictures, activities, etc are very clear and easy to find and use.
2. I searched for France using the Country Facts part of the Database Features. Available is information about population, geography and weather, economy, government and history - all the basic information that a student would need for a report. I searched United States under Maps of the World. I am amazed at the amount and type of information that is available. I also explored the Activities section and looked at the Food Projects & Recipes. This database as a whole would be wonderful for grade school projects and papers!
SIRS Issues Researcher
1. The Leading Issue topic that I chose was Online Social Networks. There is alot of information right at the very first screen - articles, pros and cons, timeline, global impact and even statistics. What more could a student want! Very nice!!
2. Curriculum Pathfinders - I selected Photography as my topic to search and got to it by clicking Fine Arts, Visual Arts and then Photography. This is a very nice, concise, easy way to zero in on a specific topic area. The information that is available takes me to websites that are useful to the topic I want to research. I was able to narrow my search down very quickly and easily to find photographs of war.
Hi, Book Bag! Glad to introduce you to a couple new resources. You've made good discoveries here, and though they may not relate directly to you or your patrons, I hope you'll keep them in mind for your education students. A word about maps--they are searchable so you can find maps showing earthquakes, for example. U.S. Historical has Revolutionary War & Civil War battlefield maps, and World Historical has WWI & WWII maps. These could be useful even at the college level. We like the balanced approach of SIRS Issues Researcher, which provides accurate, safe information on controversial topics. Thanks for your comments.
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