In support of our school’s philosophy, the Ravenscroft Libraries strive to develop students as self-directed learners, complex thinkers, quality producers, collaborative workers, and community contributors. In 2006 we worked with the Upper School English Department to create the Ravenscroft Researcher as a guide for research and citation using the framework of the Big6 methodology. In the last few years, we’ve kept the ideas the same, but now have even more tools your class can use in their next poster presentation, slide show, or research paper.
Brainstorm
Free write or collaborate with others to define the task and generate ideas for research focus.
- Google Draw - a tool to create thought bubbles and connect ideas
- Paper – yes, get out the colored pencils and markers!
- Prezi – prezi is a blank canvas and it is easy to add images and words, manipulate these items, and then create a path to make it into a slideshow
Research
Find and evaluate sources to answer your research questions.
- Library Resources - includes our books and online databases, connecting you to thousands of scholarly and popular articles. To find out more about available sources, read the database chapter in the Ravenscroft Researcher.
Organize Sources
Use these tools to synthesize information; take notes, organize an outline, integrate with Google Docs to create a project, and publish a works cited.
- EasyBib - comes with lesson plans and tutorials – must create account on campus to get started
- NoodleTools - teacher resources and tutorials – also must be on campus to create account
EasyBib is good for collecting sources to create a works cited. NoodleTools has features like notecard templates for quotes, paraphrase, and text. Teachers can give comments on the notecards too, to open up dialogue on sources.
Share Research
Apply knowledge by creating a presentation or writing a paper to share findings.
- Prezi - students create free accounts by giving Ravenscroft email address, see videos and rubric
- SlideRocket - logs in using Google Account, see videos here
- Google Apps - with your Google Account, you can write your paper, create a slide show or website
Evaluate Process
- Google Apps - use a survey to find out how the research process went for each student
For further exploring these tools, take this survey to go through each of the steps again and comment to let your librarians know what else they can do to help!
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