Define database management software and describe how you might use it to help you in teaching responsibilities. How might you construct a learning assignment for your students that used this productivity tool?
Educational databases are powerful tools for students, making academic research exceedingly approachable by even the novice. In fact, until recently the technology only applied to the business world—where a concise methodology for retrieving information was indispensible. The world of academic research was simply too esoteric and erudite for the common high school student to even dare approach. Even undergraduate students found the process daunting and mainly did research as preparation for graduate work—where the bulk of their time would eventually be taken up in learning the process of discovering research and peer reviews by digging through the dark sea of scholarly jargon.
Around the late 90’s, the technology started to pair up with the need to properly categorize and find information, a process that was previously almost an art of luck. The first academic journal that held a credible academic reputation and served the needs of more savvy graduate students and researchers was JSTOR. This database began cataloging academic articles dealing with literary theory that covered a wide range of ideas and time, as back as 200 years and into the present. So, it became possible to even compare how society varied its interpretation through time of major literature or even the canon with a simple query.
In my literature class, we’re currently covering The Crucible. One of my aim has been to familiarize them with the formal writing process—i.e. thesis statement, outline, drafting… Of course a major component of this process involves research. With the advent and generally easy access to reputable research through electronic databases (JSTOR), it has proven a successful experience—one where students feel accomplished and where their learning increases by gaining a deeper knowledge of the material discussed in class.
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3 comments:
Well said, Juan. I especially like the way you described the, "dark sea of scholarly jargon." Although search engine databases have come a long way and are improving day by day, it still seems like a dark sea out there sometimes! Databases have provided the means for improvement and will continue to allow for innovation.
Excellent post, Juan. I liked how you tied in what you were doing in your school to the lesson we just learned in class this week. My biggest complaint with databases personally is that sometimes when you search in them, they come up with the most random topics from your search criteria. I look forward to your post next week.
Chris
I am such a strong proponent of educational databases but what ever happened to taking a walk to the library. students today if taken to a library would get lost. Many of them have never heard of Dewy Decimal System, card catalog, reference section.
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