AVLtips

=Alabama Virtual Library=

Teaching Tips
**__Training Materials__** There are a number of training materials which can be found under "About AVL." The AVL Tutorial guides users through navigating the site and using the databases. For tips and hints, you can subscribe to the AVL listserv and have regular emails sent directly to you. Additionally, links to the vendor Help pages for resources available through the AVL are provided.

AVL card users now have the ability to change their usernames and passwords. Just login via Home Access with the AVL card, and click on the Change Password icon at the top of the screen, then follow the instructions.
 * __Logging In__**

Click on the question mark (?) beside a database to read a brief description of each database. Once that description window is open, you can press CTRL+P on your computer keyboard to print the entire document. This can be used as a reference in the future. There are four (4) characterisitcs you should consider when choosing a database to use:
 * __Choosing a Database__**
 * 1) Audience: Know who the intended audience is becaus eit affects the reading level of the material
 * 2) Subject(s): Know whether you need a general reference source or something more subject/discipline specific for more in-depth information
 * 3) Sources: Know what kind of information is need, whether reliability, timeliness or detail are most important
 * 4) Results: Know whether you need the full-text of findings or whether citations and abstracts will be sufficient

If you have a favorite journal or magazine, then search by title, ISSN or subject to see which database(s) carry articles and from which years.
 * __Searching for a Particular Journal or Magazine:__**


 * __Search Tips:__**

There are four different Britannica Encyclopedias for the various age levels. Check out the fun interactive Learning Materials for students, the video collection, the interactive timeline, the world atlas, country comparisons, biographies, calendar of events, news headlines, and the new Learning Zone for Pre-K through 2nd graders. The dictionary even has a pronounciation feature if you have access to speakers or headphones. Don't forget to save items to the Workspace for later review, printing, emailing or saving. The Teacher Resources has PowerPoint presentations and handouts for use with students: http://school.eb.com/browse/teachers?topic=training
 * __Britannica Online School Edition:__**

Check out the Teacher Toolbox for great teaching materials on research topics like "Judging Information," "How To Write a Topic Sentence," "Creating an Outline," "Organizing a Report," and "How To Write a Conclusion." Not only are these great for whole group instruction or even computer center/lab activities, but they come with downloadable worksheets to reinforce student learning. This database also has visual icons to represent the reading difficulty of material and when an article has images included. Don't forget to save items in the Backpack for further review later.
 * __Kids Info Bits:__**

Check out the Lexile Reading Level scores match reader ability and text difficulty, allowing individualized monitoring of student progress. Lexile measures are based on two well-established predictors of how difficult a text is to comprehend: semantic difficulty (word frequency) and syntactic complexity (sentence length).
 * __SIRS Discoverer:__**

Check out the Fun Facts which change everytime you visit the page. These would be great discussion starters, summary note-taking activities at computer centers/labs or even writing prompts.
 * __Searchasaurus:__**

Check out the Quotations to find quotes from famous people to interject into your presentations, research papers and reports.
 * __Oxford Reference:__**