Information services in libraries can be defined
as providing "direction to information." The chart
below links to a comprehensive search strategy for
finding teaching materials. These steps can be found
on many of the specific handouts
on our web page.
Define
your topic, and check basic reference sources:
There are several educational dictionaries which
may assist you in defining your educational terms
at the Curriculum Laboratory Information Services
Desk, as well as some other general reference
sources.
Check E-Reference under "Web Resources" on the Library's
home page.
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Get relevant Alberta curriculum publications.
Alberta Education's Program of Studies mandates
what must be taught in Alberta's schools.
They serve as a starting point for all investigations
of the Alberta school curriculum. All Programs of Studies
for every subject and grade are available in print in the 375 section of the Curriculum Laboratory,
as well as online on Alberta Education's web site.
The LearnAlberta.ca web site is where students, teachers and parents will
find most Programs of Studies and newer core curriculum documents. Older core
documents are available only in print in the Curriculum Laboratory. This web
site also identifies resources that directly correlate to the objectives
in the Alberta programs of study, and supplement other resources like textbooks,
library resources and CD-ROMs.
Note: Contact your local school
or division jurisdiction technology contact for
their userID and password information or ask at the
Curriculum Laboratory Information Services Desk for the
Faculty of Education's userID and password.
Refer to the Curriculum Lab's handout, "What
Are Curriculum Publications," found on the
web page under "Handouts."
The handout, "Curriculum In a Nutshell," found on the web page under
"Handouts," provides you with a brief overview
of the main online curriculum resources.
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Find basic and support resources recommended by Alberta Education.
The Curriculum Laboratory orders most resources which
have been approved for use in the classroom by
Alberta Education. We order these items from the
Learning Resources Centre (LRC). To find out what resources are
recommended by Alberta Education:
- Go to the Curriculum Laboratory
main webpage.
- Click on the link, "Alberta
Education Authorized Resources Database."
- You can select your "Curriculum Area," and "Grade Level." The resulting
long list of resources will include items such as student textbooks, teacher's manuals,
student workbooks, blackline masters, test banks, other books, CD-ROMs, DVDs, distance
education resources, etc.
- If you only want to find out which resources are considered the basic textbooks for that grade and subject, do the same search as above,
except choose "Student Basic " from the "Authorization
Status" menu.
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Search the Library
Catalogue. For subject searches, start with
a Subject Heading search.
Browse
the subject headings and "related subjects" which
come up on the screen.
The handouts
section of our main
web page provide you with many other subject-specific
guides to searching the Library Catalogue. Remember to "Limit search" or
"Refine search" to the "UofL Curriculum Lab," to get practical resources
for teaching that topic.
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If you are unhappy with the results of an author,
title, or subject search, broaden your search using
Keyword Search
It
searches the author, title, subject and note
fields of a bibliographical record.
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Browse the shelves. (If you only want to search
for materials in the Curriculum Lab, click on the
Limit this search button and then change the location
from ANY to U of L Curriculum Lab.):
The
ends of the Curriculum Lab's shelves provide you
some excellent signs which break down the Dewey
Decimal System into its broad categories.
The handouts section of our Curriculum
Laboratory home page provide you with subject-specific
guides which include browsing lists for both the
Curriculum Lab and the Main Library's Education
collections.
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Check
the Education
Indexes/Databases on the Library
Home Page.
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Search
the Internet for education sources.
Comprehensive sites which allow you to
do specific searches:
Eric Digests provide short reports which give
you brief overviews of any educational topic or
issue.
Education
World, "the Educator's Best Friend, a resource
that includes a search engine for educational
Web sites only, a place where educators can find
information without searching the entire Internet;
original content," including lesson plans, technology
integration, school issues, and other practical
information for educators.
Gateway to
Educational Materials is a "one stop... access
to lesson plans, instructional units, and other
educational resources on the Internet."
Sites which allow you to browse by subject:
The Great
Sites For Educators section of our main web
page contains links to sites arranged into these
categories: Teacher's Sites, Lesson
Plans, Kid's Sites, Specific School Subjects, and Digital
Resource Subscriptions (LearnAlberta.ca, etc.).
The Children's
And Young Adult Literature section of our
main web page contains links to sites arranged
into these categories: Reviews, Pathfinders,
Awards, Wigham Family Collection, Literature Finding Sites,
Author and Illustrator Sites, and Actual Literature.
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Other
Resources:
