Chagrin Falls Schools Media Specialist Introduces Research Database Research is a skill that students must learn as they advance in their academic careers and Chagrin Falls Schools has taken an initiative to teach them early. Chagrin Falls Schools' grades 7-12 media specialist, Angie Jameson, was featured in an online blog post about how the District is putting young learners on a path to discovery by using research-friendly platforms like Kids InfoBits. Kids InfoBits is an age-appropriate research platform that gives students access to full-text content that is constantly updated to match elementary-level curricula. It is created by Gale, a Cengage Company, who partners with libraries globally to empower the discovery of knowledge. Students can research any categories that are of interest to them such as animals, arts, geography, health, literature, social studies, people and technology. “I love the browsing ability that comes with Kids InfoBits,” said Jameson. “Introducing our students to research and synthesis skills using topics they are interested in results in much deeper engagement compared to assigning students a research topic while attempting to teach these difficult skills.” Jameson had previously taught a 10th grade AP English course on how to properly research, include citations and avoid plagiarism. After becoming the media specialist, she decided to introduce research lesson plans to the intermediate level teachers. Kid InfoBits fit perfectly into the curriculum. As Chagrin Falls Schools is a technology-focused district, it needed a digital resource that could teach research skills while easily fitting into classroom workflow. Kid InfoBits works with G Suite as well as Microsoft 365. The goal is to have students become familiar with these sharing and saving programs now so that in high school and college, these are second nature to them.
students to Kids InfoBits. They were surprised that this reliable information was available to them at school and at home.” Jameson worked to get students excited about research in their brief, 36-minute weekly class and her efforts have paid off. She has noticed an increase in site usage and said, “The read-aloud option and ability to translate the content into any given language…that’s what made us realize just how amazing the Kids InfoBits accessibility features are.”
Maggie Stauffer, a paraprofessional who teaches intermediate library classes, adds, “It was fun to introduce the Super News | 23