World Book Student Online Encyclopedia
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Summary
World Book Student Online Encyclopedia is offered through the school’s library website. It has multiple ways for students to conduct a search for information. First, students can type in a topic in the Search field. There is also the option of “Other Ways to Find it” where students can search by content or by images and videos. If they choose to search by content, they click on By subject, Alphabetically, or Dictionary. If they choose to search for images and videos, they can choose By title or Atlas. Other items include the Featured Video where students can watch an interesting video about a topic and familiarize themselves with videos they may search for in the future. There is a Behind the Headlines section where they can “get the scoop on current events,” and three topics are listed as possibilities. An Explore section allows the student to “Explore World Book’s rich collection of articles, tables, maps, and multimedia on the world” and includes links to Explore California, Explore the World, and Compare Places. Another section is comprised of links to Most Popular Articles and includes Writing Skills, World War I, and the Navy on the particular day I studied this website. Furthermore, the Biography Center allows students to find topics for biography projects and lists links to Inventors, Explorers, Painters, World Leaders, Athletes, and Authors. Students might be interested in the Quizzes and Activities links. Finally, there is a section to help students “compile, create, and save…research projects with World Book’s research tools: Citation Builder, How to Do Research, My Research, and Timelines.” As if this website were not enough, students may switch to any other of the World Book Sites: World Book Discover, World Book Advanced, World Book Hallazgos (in Spanish), and World Book Kids.
Evaluation
Here is the description of the World Book Student Online Encyclopedia:
World Book Student is a comprehensive site that includes a collection of content, features, and tools specifically developed to make online knowledge accessible and easy to integrate into lesson planning. It is loaded with information and features that will help students perform their research. The site features the entire World Book Encyclopedia with high-interest content written at the age appropriate level that engages students.
True to this description, it does contain all the information that students might need to do research for school projects. However, the librarian and I agree that the entries are too minimal or terse for proper academic research. Despite this shortcoming, World Book Student’s selection of videos is a great source of information. The videos are informative and entertain and provide students with a good look at subjects they might not otherwise see. Also, a great feature is its Spanish language translator and read aloud capabilities. EL students love those two features. Another helpful feature is the Citation Builder. Here, students not only begin to understand the importance of citing and creating reference pages, but this tool actually helps them with the process. While students might feel the need to seek more information elsewhere, World Book Student is definitely a good place to start researching.
Why I Included it
I included this Database because my school’s library has a subscription to it. It is available on the computers in the Library Media Center, and students can also do research from home. However, despite its availability and wealth of information, the search statistics keep decreasing for both students and teachers. Many people would rather use Google or Wikipedia to search for information. Even though teachers have been given training how to use the database, it is still not being used. I would like to showcase World Book Student here in my blog to demonstrate its capabilities and encourage people to use it more.
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