Film and Television Literature Index

Today i looked at the Ebsco Database, Film and Literature Index. This database is full of all kinds of literature pertaining to anything film or television related. It is an ebsco product so just like all the rest the sight offers a folder system as welll as citations and other tools. One thing this database offers that is a little different is film reviews. There is a huge collection of films that users can read reviews on. When i was searching I kind of just expected reviews on shows and a basic overview of what they are about who wrote them and so on. I was pleasently suprised to find way more than that. I typed Beauty and the Beast into the seach bar and was returned 215 articles. Some of them contained just general information about the Film but there were others that were about feminism and issues of equality that were suggested in the film. I read through a few of these and they were really intersting. I think a lot of them would be very good essay topics. This is a feature in all ebsco databases but i really like how users can go to certain sections in the work by clicking on the links on the side bar. this could be really helpful when needing direct quotes or specific information. Like other databases there is a refine searhc option where patrons can limit year, author, subject and much more. One more cool thing i found is that full texts can now be translated into 30 different languages. This doesn't really effect the patrons a whole lot but organizations like us can change the way the database looks to our users by visiting the supoprt site. We could change the colors or the layout to make it more personalized. I think this is a good database. It wasn't too exciting but I did find a lot of interesting material.

Regional Business News

Today I looked at the ebsco database, Regional Business News. This database is an Ebsco product so of course it is clean and easy to use. I like that the pages are not fussy and it is simple to find the exact information you are looking for. I did a few searches just to see exactly what kind of information would be returned as to get a better feel for the databse. I first searched Weatherford, OK. There was an article returned about the PSO Windmills. The article gave information like energy production, acerage, and legal ascpects for the windmills. I also did a search on SWOSU. Article about new degree programs and contracts with other universities were returned. The articles are set up a lot like a news paper would be, the information presented in the articles is that way too. Just about anything you might see in a daily newspaper was included in the articles. The database now offers a downloadable MP3 option. Users can now listen to the article as the read along. The database offers many tools like citations, print options and exporting, along with a folder system to save useful articles. One thing I discovered is that most articles automatically open into the HTML full text viewing option. I clicked over to the pdf and discovered that the full text option just doesn't give readers the same experience. Many illustrations are left out the may be useful to the user. All in all this is a great database. It seems to hold a very large amount of information and be very user friendly....its just not very exciting...

Films on Demand

Today I looked at the Films on Demand Database. This database provides Educational Videos on a huge variety of topics. The films are intended to be used by educators to broaden their students horizons. Films are categorized into five different subject headings- Humanities & Social Sciences, Business & Economics, Science & Mathematics, Health & Medicine, and Archival Films & News Reels. Users can also click on a Most Viewed link and watch videos that are very popular. There is a most recent video link that shows videos that have been recently added to the database. Like other databases this one also has a Search Bar. Users can search by segment or by title, and there is an advanced search option that allows users to narrow down their searches by adding limiters. I chose to view videos by subject. I clicked on the Humanities & Social Sciences Heading and was directed to a screen that had a list of subheadings and even sub sub headings. Users can browse through the different topics and choose a video that most fits their need. I chose the education subheading and the Curriculum and Lessons sub sub heading. 84 Videos were returned to me. They are all arranged nicely. I didn't feel to overwhelmed by the results. Videos are all lined up with a Time indicator as well as a short summary of the video. Once I decided on a video I wanted to watch I clicked on the link. The video opens and next to it is a segment summary. The video is broken up into segments each with a small summary and a link that will take you right to that spot in the video. There is also a related video link that will take users to videos that relate to their topic. The database has a folder system that they call a play list. Users can create an account and then save videos that they have found important or useful. The database also offers an embed code so that users can post videos on other web pages or send them to colleagues. There is a citation button at the bottom of the page. The database sites the video in two different styles. One add on i thought was really neat was the standards link. Users can choose a state and see which educational standards the video covers. Oklahoma works on a pass skills program and the video lists what skills for which grades are discussed or covered in the video. I think this database is really neat. I have seen a few video databases that just didn't seem very thorough. This one did though. They have tons of content that cover a very wide variety of topics.

Pop Culture Universe

Today I looked at the pop culture universe database. This database has ALL kinds of information about anything Pop Culture. On the home page there are links to articles about the black sox scandal, the 1970's and even Kurt Cobain. Users can view articles that are divided into decades. I chose the 2000's to view. The page opens up to an introduction about the decade. Then on the left hand side there are more in depth articles having to do with media, fashion, and politics of the decade. 2000 has a youtube, facebook, and twitter section. I clicked on youtube and found articles about popular comedy videos that have been posted within the last ten years. There is also a facts a figure section where users can view articles about discoveries and inventions that happened in the 2000's. Users can also look at product reviews and business reports of the decade. Besides the decade option users can also read idea exchange topics. One topic I saw was "Is the Book Dying". These articles are posted to get people thinking and responding. Controversial topics are covered like Celebrities and their Responsibility as role models, and "Are video games art?" The Articles are written by selected authors and then reviewed by an advisory board. Users can leave their two cents on the topics too. I think this is an excellent jumping off point for a pros and cons essay paper. It would almost give students the ability to run a survey, without actually taking a survey. Many different opinions are presented which would be a great way to become familiar and well informed about an essay topic. there is also an advanced search option where you can pick and choose what you want to view. Selections start in the most general. users can pick what format they want the information in, like articles, facts and figures, documents, or time lines. Then they can choose a decade, then certain aspects of that decade like transportation and so on until you find an article or piece of information that is exactly what you are looking for. I think this database is really fun. I think it could be really helpful for comp II students needing help getting started on an essay.

Biointeractive

Today I looked at the Biointeractive Database. This database is a collection of information over 14 scientific topics. There are videos, animations, interactive activities, printable articles and more over each topic. Some of the topics include Infectious Disease, Biological Clocks, and Stem Cell reasearch. I looked up the Neuroscience Videos. There were probably 20 videos that covered that topic and they were all fairly short. I think this is nice because you can easily watch one video to the next without being overwhelmed by a ten minute video. The videos are done from experiments or lectures or scientific research. They are really interesting. The animation section is also really neat. Its kind of like afancy slide show. I watched one about the location of the hypothalamus that was only about twenty seconds that was a professor lecturing and then showing animation about where the hypothalumus is in mice. There are also click and learn Interactive pages where you can look at slides and answer questions. The coolest thing about this site is the Virtual Lab. There is an actual lab that is set up where users can go and virtually cultivate bacteria or inject flies. The lab gives you step by step procedures to follow and tells you why and what is happening in each step. I think this would be really great for elementary and middle school age students. It would give them an idea of what happens in real scientific labs. I thought it was pretty interesting. This database is really fun and it seems really high tech and fancy which just adds to its fun-ness.