Research Tools
Bibme
Bibme is a free citation maker, citing books, magazines, newspapers, websites, journals, and films. On the website, there is a bibliography maker where students can search for the item they would like cited and Bibme will automatically fill in the information for the user. This citation can then be added to “your bibliography” and changed to whichever format is needed. Users can either download the citation, copy it to their clipboard, or save it to their saved bibliographies if they are a user; registering to become a user is free. Users can also add annotations to their automatically created bibliography if necessary and Bibme will format this correctly. This is beneficial for all students who may get overwhelmed with the rules of creating a bibliography. Many times, formatting of a bibliography is graded, so having an automatic citation creator can prevent students who are unable to create a bibliography accurately from decreasing their grades. Bibme also has a citation guide which gives step by step procedures for how to cite various sources. This page is broken up into categories to help users easily navigate (i.e. books, journals, etc.). Bibme users can also fill in citations manually if they prefer. Having a citation guide and manual bibliography can act as a beneficial guide for students who may need more assistance creating a bibliography. By having all the tools accessible on one page, it heightens the chance of success in creating an accurate bibliography
When using text to speech on the website, not all of the text on the page can be read aloud to the user. For example, when creating a book citation, only the questions pertaining to the book information can be read using the text to speech tool (i.e. What are you citing, Book title, Publisher, etc.). The answers are not read aloud through text to speech, so the user would be unable to hear if the information is correct or not. Also, many of the icons (i.e. Book, Magazine, Journal, etc.) cannot be read through text to speech; however, there are picture icons associated with the text that can assist users who need text to speech verify the icon they are choosing.
The following link provides a lesson that incorporates creative commons and bibme: https://sites.google.com/site/fairuseintheclassroom/day-6 Rather than simply explaining how to use bibme to students, teachers can have their students learn how to use bibme by incorporating this into a bigger lesson, such as learning about creative commons. This lesson informs students about when and why citations are needed and provides them with an easy tool to reference their material.
When using text to speech on the website, not all of the text on the page can be read aloud to the user. For example, when creating a book citation, only the questions pertaining to the book information can be read using the text to speech tool (i.e. What are you citing, Book title, Publisher, etc.). The answers are not read aloud through text to speech, so the user would be unable to hear if the information is correct or not. Also, many of the icons (i.e. Book, Magazine, Journal, etc.) cannot be read through text to speech; however, there are picture icons associated with the text that can assist users who need text to speech verify the icon they are choosing.
The following link provides a lesson that incorporates creative commons and bibme: https://sites.google.com/site/fairuseintheclassroom/day-6 Rather than simply explaining how to use bibme to students, teachers can have their students learn how to use bibme by incorporating this into a bigger lesson, such as learning about creative commons. This lesson informs students about when and why citations are needed and provides them with an easy tool to reference their material.
Easybib
Retrieved from:http://www.easybib.com/
(12/8/11)
Easybib is a free online tool that allows users to create accurate citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago Style formats. There are fifty eight options of types of work that can be cited correctly using bibme. These fifty eight types of works that can be automatically cited once a minimal amount of information is entered include websites, articles, Federal Bills, court cases, dictionary entries, and more. In addition to what is offered for free, there is a premium school version that is available for schools to use that offers no advertisements or banners, and virtual notecards.
This tool will be helpful for all students; helping them to learn about citations and the importance of crediting others for their work. Through implementing Easybib into instruction, students can glean greater understanding of the issue of plagiarism, ultimately making students' stronger writers. In addition to writing Language Arts papers or other written assignments, students can use Easybib in all other subject areas when asked to complete assignments with sources. Students who become familiar with Easybib citations software during middle school will be able to utilize this software to their advantage throughout the rest of their education.
This tool will be helpful for all students; helping them to learn about citations and the importance of crediting others for their work. Through implementing Easybib into instruction, students can glean greater understanding of the issue of plagiarism, ultimately making students' stronger writers. In addition to writing Language Arts papers or other written assignments, students can use Easybib in all other subject areas when asked to complete assignments with sources. Students who become familiar with Easybib citations software during middle school will be able to utilize this software to their advantage throughout the rest of their education.
NoteStar
(11/29/11) Retrieved from:http://notestar.4teachers.org/
NoteStar is an internet tool that enables users to prepare for research projects through features which help collect and organize notes. Students can assign topics to group members during group projects, take notes, track sources easily, and organize notes to print out for their bibliography. Teachers can manage projects, track student progress, send and receive messages from students, and check authenticity of sources. NoteStar is beneficial for students who may need more assistance and scaffolding in completing a project. This tool also offers many means of organization for students and teachers to keep sources and notes together to use for projects.
NoteStar offers a tutorial on how to add the NoteCard icon to the toolbar, which enables easy retrieval of sources. The tutorial also gives an overview of how teachers and students can benefit from this online utility.http://notestar.4teachers.org/help/movieNotecard.jsp
The following link provides an example of a lesson that could be used with NoteStar: http://eduscapes.com/sessions/notes/tips.htm. The lesson is called, "Scholastic Junior Reporter Assignment." On the webpage, there are steps for how to carry out the assignment using NoteStar and NoteCard, which is a feature of NoteStar. This link also provides strategies that could be used while completing the NoteStar lesson, such as how to cite work and note-taking skills.
NoteStar offers a tutorial on how to add the NoteCard icon to the toolbar, which enables easy retrieval of sources. The tutorial also gives an overview of how teachers and students can benefit from this online utility.http://notestar.4teachers.org/help/movieNotecard.jsp
The following link provides an example of a lesson that could be used with NoteStar: http://eduscapes.com/sessions/notes/tips.htm. The lesson is called, "Scholastic Junior Reporter Assignment." On the webpage, there are steps for how to carry out the assignment using NoteStar and NoteCard, which is a feature of NoteStar. This link also provides strategies that could be used while completing the NoteStar lesson, such as how to cite work and note-taking skills.