Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES
Professional Library Information Center

NOVEL Workshop for High School Teachers and Administrators

Instructor Prerequisite Requirements

This workshop series assumes that you know how to access the Internet and the NOVEL databases at your school or wherever the workshop is held. Since access will vary at each school, procedures for connecting to school networks are not included in the scope of these workshops, but must be examined beforehand. It is also assumed you have knowledge of and experience with both Internet search engines, such as Google, and the NOVEL databases and their integration into the curriculum.

Introduction

The content, plan, exercises, PowerPoint presentation and handouts contained in this packet will help you, as the instructor, to prepare teachers to use NOVEL databases with students.  The Workshop Outline is the same for elementary, middle and high school; the difference is in the PowerPoint presentations and handouts. They each contain sample searches and questions relating to the appropriate grade level curriculum.

You’ll be successful conducting this workshop and using the accompanying materials if you prepare in advance. Take the time to read through all the materials so you are familiar with the content then practice using the PowerPoint presentation – a few times. Edit the Power Point to meet the needs of your teachers and administrators. Explore the NOVEL databases and know the unique features of each.

The workshop covers:

• How to access the NOVEL databases
• Types of resources and information available in the NOVEL databases
• Special features to refine and narrow searches
• How to integrate NOVEL databases into the curriculum and support students in locating information for research and personal interests
• The differences between online databases and the Internet resources/Google
• Hands-on experience in using NOVEL databases

Objectives

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Successfully access NOVEL databases
• Choose specific databases for their information needs
• Use special features to narrow and refine their searches
• Describe the benefits of accessing online databases

Getting Started

At the beginning for each workshop there are certain things that you should take care of:

1-     Sign-in. Have participants complete a sign-in sheet that includes: name, school, email address, grade level

2-     Introductions. Introduce yourself as instructor providing several key facts about yourself – your name and brief credentials to give workshop. The first presentation slide in each workshop presents a template that you can fill in with your name and school or other information. You may want participants to introduce themselves either through a warm-up exercise or orally identifying who they are, their school, grade level, and experience using NOVEL databases

3-     Housekeeping. Take care of housekeeping duties, such as where the bathrooms are, when breaks will occur, where the refreshments are, etc.

4-     Group Work Point out to the group that they will be working in pairs or small groups sometimes as they learn about the NOVEL databases. Indicate that it is important for them to collaborate, discuss issues and learn from one another.

5-     Agenda. The PowerPoint Presentation includes an agenda for each workshop.

Step-By-Step Procedures: The Workshop Outline

These step-by-step procedures provide the “how-to” to teach the workshop. Give the participants customized NOVEL brochure and bookmark. Use the Power Point slide presentation to illustrate main topics and databases.

In Part 1 of the workshop you will introduce the NOVEL databases, types of resources and information they include, how online databases are different from Internet resources and how to access NOVEL database from school or home. Part 2 you will facilitate participant’s online searching and demonstrate the special features of a few databases.

The Workshop Outline

 

Introduce the Workshop (slides 1-4) (15 min)

 

1. Refer to slide #1, welcome the participants, read the title of the workshop and introduce yourself
2. Move to slide #2 ask the participants to introduce themselves and share one or two goals they have for this workshop (one minute or less). Write the goals down on a large sheet of white easel paper.
3. Review the objectives for the workshop with the participants. (slide # 3 ). Refer to the participants’ goals and align them the best you can. Put a mark next to the ones that are outside the scope of the workshop and suggest that the participant talk to you after the workshop. If one of the goals has to do with locating information on a specific topic suggest that the participant can pursue that during the hands-on section of the workshop and that you’ll help.
4. Show the workshop agenda. (slide # 4). Review the agenda indicating that the workshop is divided into two parts, listing the main concepts you will cover and the timeframe for each. Ask the participants if they have used NOVEL databases before and if so which ones. This will help you determine how familiar participants are with NOVEL databases. Explain to the participants that in Part 2 they’ll be doing hands-on exploration of the NOVEL database so at that time they can ask any specific questions they have on database searching features and share any challenges they encountered in searching the NOVEL database.

 

Introduce the NOVEL Databases (slides 5-27) (15 min)

 

5. Read some of the questions from slide 5 to catch the participants interest, mention that they probably go directly to Google; you want to share a free online information source that they might find more valuable than Google in some cases.
6. Explain what the NOVEL databases are and provide a little background on the New York State online initiative
7. Go through slides 8 -13 and point out the types of information that can be found in each database that relates to the curriculum and personal interest of the participants.
8. Present a closer look at the NOVEL resources starting with slide 14. Point out the keywords, what was found and the special features in each database highlighted in the slides.
9. Enter the URL, IDs and Passwords on the Power Point presentation slide 21. Refer the participants  to the NOVEL brochure and book mark with the same information

 

Hands-on Exploration of the NOVEL databases (slides 28-29) ( 30 min)

 

Have participants conduct their own searches and review the questions on slide # 28 to help guide them and structure their thinking. After 15-20 minutes pull them back together and ask for volunteers to share their search experiences based on the questions on slide # 29

 

Compare NOVEL databases and Internet resources (slide 30) (10 min)

 

10. Invite the participants to compare Internet resources and NOVEL databases by conducting one of their searches on Google. (slide 30)
11. Discuss the differences between the two sources. List the differences (slide 31)

 

 

Wrap-Up (slide 32-34) (20 min)

 

12. Wrap-up. To summarize, ask the participants the three questions on slide #32. Have the participants:
    1. Share one curriculum unit/project they could integrate NOVEL databases.  (If the group is too large, ask for volunteers.)
    2. Identify challenges that might exist in introducing NOVEL to students or integrating NOVEL into the curriculum.
    3. Identify the next steps (more workshops, additional written materials?).

Collect the information on large white sheets.

 

13. Review what they have learned , slide # 33
14. Thank the participants for coming. Suggest that they email you with their questions about using the NOVEL databases. Slide # 34

This product was supported by Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES School Library System