STEM

Using Gale for College and High School Instruction

By Lori Warren Another plus for using Gale databases for library and research instruction is the integration of Google and Microsoft Tools. The STEM school on our campus uses the Google tools and our college students and faculty use the Microsoft tools.  As our high school students move into college classes, they transition naturally to … Read more

In Context Shorter URLs

Gale is happy to announce that its In Context family of products will now provide shorter citation and bookmark URL links. What you’ll find is:

  • Shorter URLs that provide users with a direct link to a Gale document or portal page.
  • Users are taken directly into a single document or portal page without an authentication request.
  • Multiple citation formats are available in the product citation tool to make it easier for users to cite their research.
  • EZ Proxy information is now displayed in the citation URL when present in the school or libraries Gale Admin account.

Additionally, new and updated content has been released into many of the Gale In Context products. Some of these include:

Biography In Context has added new homepage spotlights featuring Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.; Katherine Johnson, a former NASA scientist and one of the women featured in the film “Hidden Figures”; Golden Globe-winning actress Emma Stone; the late “Star Wars” actress Carrie Fisher; and Lady Gaga, who is scheduled to perform at this year’s Super Bowl.

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Science Videos Added to Research and Science In Context

Recently, Gale partnered with Visual Learning Systems, an educational science publisher whose mission is to provide high quality, visual-based content that instructs, challenges, and inspires young learners. Nearly 900 high-quality educational videos on concepts essential to STEM learning have been added to Gale’s Research In Context and Science In Context. Approximately 750 videos, including videos on topics frequently studied in … Read more

Product Update: Exciting Video Additions and Increased Text Size to Kids InfoBits!

Recently, Gale partnered with Visual Learning Systems, an educational science publisher whose mission is to provide high quality, visual-based content that instructs, challenges, and inspires young learners. Nearly 600 high-quality educational videos on concepts essential to STEM learning have been added to Kids InfoBits. These recently added and powerful teaching tools are approximately 1-3 minutes … Read more

Celebrate Ada Lovelace Day!

By Traci Cothran I visited Greenfield Village last weekend – an outdoor historical museum in the Detroit area—and was amazed by the intricate Jacquard Loom, invented around 1800.  It’s a weaving loom with a continuous loop of 622 punch cards that directed the intricate pattern to be woven into the cloth; the cards could be … Read more

Meet NGSS with Professional Development from NSTA

Start your school’s science programs off right with professional development titles from the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). This complete collection of 52 titles engages students with real-world scenarios representing science in all its messy, thought-provoking glory. Many of the titles support Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and include: Lesson plans and experiments for incorporating … Read more

Boosting STEM Achievement Through Visual-Spatial Learning

If you have ever taken a basic chemistry course, you probably remember making molecular models out of marshmallows and tooth-picks or whatever comparable substitute was lying around the science lab. This kind of molecular modeling is not only a great excuse to eat marshmallows in class; it also enhances spatial literacy, an essential part of … Read more

Back to School Britannica Savings

Save 30% on nonfiction eBooks for your pre-k, elementary, middle, and high school learners. Britannica Digital Learning offers online PreK-16 resources and instructional solutions that align to Common Core and state curriculum standards and are built upon Britannica’s reputation for trustworthy, up-to-date information, innovative development, and state-of-the-art delivery.

GVRL supports differentiated learning for learners of all ages with cover-to-cover PDF format delivers a colorful, visual experience to engage younger readers. Plus, ReadSpeaker text-to-speech technology is ideal for struggling readers, ELL/ESL students.

Read moreBack to School Britannica Savings

Paving the Way for Women in the Sciences with Sally Ride

By Jennifer Albers-Smith

I was a Computer Science major for a couple years at the University of Michigan (before declaring an English and Sociology double major) and participated in the Women in Science & Engineering (WISE) residence program. One of the events on our radar was the Sally Ride Science Festival that took place on North Campus. Each year, I was amazed as the campus was swarmed with hundreds of children. The festival, which still takes place each year at colleges across the United States, it is a fun-filled day of science projects, workshops, and experiences for middle schoolers.

This festival struck me in particular because no one had encouraged me (outside of my chemist father and pharmacist mother) to turn my interest in science into a career. There weren’t programs for young girls (or at least none in my area) trying to promote scientific careers in a fun way. And as a pioneer for STEM education and the first American woman in space, Sally Ride deserves a shout-out for this month’s focus on Women’s History Month.

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Storytime Goes STEM!

STEM storytime

By Rachel G. Payne

Yes, I freely admit it, I think too much like a librarian. Often this is an asset, but when I first started adding STEM into my storytime programs, this became a problem. I kept looking for books to read to kids in the non-fiction section. My go-to favorites were Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Nic Bishop, and Actual Size by Steve Jenkins, both solidly in the 500s. While I love these books, I was thinking too small. It took Lynn Cole, a science educator from the Queens Library Children’s Discovery Center, to shift my thinking during her staff training on science activities for preschoolers at the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). She opened my mind to another way of thinking about the books I was already sharing by reminding us we could find science and math concepts in the picture book section as much as anywhere.

Read moreStorytime Goes STEM!