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Product Update for SIRS Discoverer
June 9, 2006INFOhio provides this information from the SIRS Discoverer™
and WebFind™ newsletter and is not responsible for the content or the
reliability of Web links. Your INFOhio username and password may be needed to open some
links.
WHAT'S NEW @ SIRS
Our product development team is constantly reviewing customer feedback and making changes
to our learning resources to meet your needs. Several updates to our SIRS family of
products were recently completed and we wanted to bring them to your attention.
New SIRS Discoverer platform: Live!
Our SIRS product managers are proud to announce that our all-new SIRS
Discoverer platform is now live. Just login to your subscription to view the
newest changes and additions:
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Expanded results lists to include the Editorial Summary and Descriptors
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Increased results list from 500 to 1,000 |
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Preferences fully implemented |
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Consistent results pages |
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Maps are now indexed and searchable. |
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Added ability to search on plural terms (e.g., searching for dinosaur
will return results with dinosaurs in the article) |
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Improved dictionary/thesaurus navigation |
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Two columns of results for subject search (Try searching on history
and it provides a pageable list of results.) |
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All graphics now display their captions. |
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Custom start pages now fully supported |
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Page navigation changed from next 25 to 1, 2, 3, ... |
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Added ability to Show/Hide search results details |
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Results provide for summary, descriptors, etc. as it does in SIRS
Knowledge Source. |
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Added ability to sort by title and publication |
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Added spelling suggestions, also known as Do You Mean? To see
this in action, search for Nizxon. You'll see: Did you mean Nixon? |
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When e-mailing an article with pictures, the thumbnail images are embedded
within the e-mailed article. |
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If an image is assigned to more than one article, you get the list of
articles to choose from on the picture display page. |
Map Activities
 Did
you know that your Discoverer subscription also provides map activities
geared for the younger researcher, from noteworthy sources including Scholastic News,
Junior Scholastic and Current Events?
Students can learn how to read and decipher varied types of maps and answer discussion
questions based on their observations. Visit a sampling of the following articles to learn
more:
Fresh Sample Searches: Live!
Conducting an upcoming training session? On the hunt for laser-focused sample searches
to highlight the best content inside your subscriptions? Look no farther than our all-new
sample search collection, SIRS
Discoverer Sample Searches, April 2006 [PDF 2 pgs].
Political Cartoons in Discoverer
 Discoverer
provides political cartoons geared for the younger researcher, from noteworthy sources
including Junior Scholastic, Scholastic News, New York Times Upfront and Current
Events.
Students can learn how to read and decipher political cartoons, as well as understand the
writing devices employed in them (satire, irony, metaphor, etc.). In a hurry? The quickest
route to all of our political cartoons is Database Features, Activities, Editorial
Cartoons. Here’s just a few timely examples to get you started:
Current Events
Our editorial team updates our SIRS products every day with new articles and resources.
Here's a short list of the timeliest and most topical articles added to your product this
month. Publication dates may vary due to the editorial selection process.
Suggested Research Topics
Tens of thousands of students mine SIRS resources for the latest information on the
leading issues of the day. To help maximize their research time, our Suggested
Research Topics feature offers instant access to relevant articles and resources on
many of the most popular research subjects.
Here's this month's list of hot topics and timely issues in Discoverer:
Caffeine
Cloning Animals
Global Warming
Iraq
Ocelots
Phillis Wheatley
Stepfamilies
Synesthesia
Tennis
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
June is Sports America Kids Month. This is a topic that students in K-8 can
really get excited about because there's so much going on right now: the World Cup of
soccer; baseball pennant races and Barry Bonds home run records; pro football mini-camps
and speculation on the upcoming season; Arena football playoffs; NBA playoffs; NHL
playoffs; and Little League baseball too.
Activity: Click the Sports icon in the Browse Subject Tree
section. Students will see list of topics/subtopics to choose from that include each of
the sports that are in season, and some of which are mentioned above. Assign each student
a different sport to research based on their interests. Assign a two-minute oral report
(or PowerPoint if students have the skill) that uses as least three resources and
that includes some of the following information:
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Brief history including athletes of the past |
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Current happenings including athletes of the present |
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Any controversies or unusual events |
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Why the student prefers this sport over the others |
These oral reports give students extra motivation to create interesting reports, so
they'll work harder and learn more. Oral reports are also excellent experience in
developing essential presentation skills. These skills are part of all state standards and
considered as 21st century essential skills for future success.
| TOP THREE WEB SITES - Each month, our SKS
WebSelect™ and Discoverer WebFind™ editorial teams scour the
Internet for top-quality sites that help teachers teach and students learn. Although no
Internet site can supplant a quality research database, these vetted resources offer
unique resources that are sure to be of interest. |
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Walk in My Shoes
"This project will give you an opportunity to understand your own attitudes about
growing older, to develop new communication skills that can be used all through your life,
and finally, to form new or enrich current friendships with older family or community
members." (UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS) Learn to better understand older people with this
online activity. Organization: University of Illinois |
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Moneyville
Do you know how to manage money? Play these online activities to find out. Learn about
choices and consequences of following a budget as you venture on your own in Get Real!
Run your own business as you operate your own Lemonade Stand. Flash player is
required. Organization: Oregon Museum of Science and Industry |
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Infection Detection Protection
Play games and read articles all about microbes and infectious diseases. The illustrated
articles are fast-paced and interesting, and the games are interactive, colorful and
educational. Organization: American Museum of Natural History |
Questions? Contact INFOhio at webmaster@infohio.org. |
