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.

Counseling and Therapy in Video

Today I looked at the Counseling and Therapy in Video Database. This database is a collection of videos that cover social work, psychotherapy, psychology, and counseling. There are 353 videos currently included in the database. Users can look at actual counseling sessions, lectures, demonstrations, and more. The videos are collected from universities, renowned scholars, and other psychological associations. I did a search on the site for counseling sessions, specifically sessions dealing with marriage. 186 videos were returned to me. I like how they are displayed because you get the title and link to the video as well as sections of the transcript that have your keyword, in this case marriage, in them. This allows users to quickly see if the video has content they may be interested in. Once a user finds a video they want to watch they can also follow along with the dialogue by the transcript that is printed beside the video. There is a sign in option that works like a folder system. Users can also get a link to the video to share with other people or they can make clips of the video. This is allows them to cut parts of the video that may not be relevant to what they need. I think this could be really useful for students. I had to do a speech that included a video. If I could have clipped the video just leaving the parts i needed for my speech it would have been really handy. I think this database is pretty cool. I could see it maybe being a little small and not having exactly what a user might need, and some of the videos are very dated, but other than that it is good.

American Chemical Society

Today I looked at the American Chemical Society Database. The database is a collection of cited and peer reviewed journals that have to do with chemical and other related sciences. The American Chemical Society publishes more than 35 journals that are made available through this database. Some topics covered by the journals are agriculture, nanoscience, toxicology, energy and fuels, and many more. Operating the database is fairly simple. There is a search bar in the top right hand corner where users can type in a topic, citation, or digital object identifier (a number assigned to electronic documents that does not change for the life of the document). I typed in Nanoscience. 5323 sources were returned to me. 81 of the were from chapters in actual books, the rest were articles made available by the database. There is a sidebar where users can limit there search by choosing different publications that offer information on the topic, or author, or publication date, or manuscript type. Once I found an article I wanted to read I hit the full text option and the article was brought up. There are many extra options on the article page. Users can make a permalink to the article, email to a colleague, order prints, and many other things. There is also a folder system that patrons can utilize by adding the document to "favorites". At the bottom of an article page the database includes reference citations used by the author. This could really come in handy for some one writing a research paper needing more than one source. The article page also had a history section that gives background information on the article such as publication date, author, and the journal the article was written for. There are links to similar articles and a list of publications written by that specific author on the page as well. I like this database because it is clean and easy to use. I may not know the terminology but it provides an easy and effective way for me to find out.

SPORTdiscuss

Today i review the ebsco host product, Sportdiscuss. It is like every other ebsco database as far as the set up goes, and the content is well...sports. :) I did a search on volleyball and it returned over 13000 entries so I would definitely recommend that patrons narrow their searches down when using this database. There is A LOT of content. Users can search in the opening search bar or do an advanced search that will limit by language, peer review, publisher, and much more. On the side bar patrons can select articles held by swosu and limit the year as well as subtopics. One new thing I did notice is the search history bar at the top of the page. Users can here view all of their previous searches and even combine them with Booleans to make their search more efficient. I think this is a really great little tool. Users can not only keep track of all their searches for future use but the combination option is really great, especially if a user isn't really sure what they are looking for. There is a folder system where patrons can save articles as well and a print, email, and export option. Ebsco is always very thorough and this database is no exception.