science

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

Tales from the “Olden Days”

By Debra Kirby

You know those stories adults like to tell kids about how much harder they had it when they were young? Like having to walk uphill for miles in the snow to school every day or having parents who made you eat every morsel of food on your plate – even liver. The message behind these stories of course, is to get listeners to appreciate how good they have it compared to life in the “olden days.” Working on  our exciting new 3D product Gale Interactive: Science recently got me thinking about how much I hated  biology labs, where I was actually expected to do such disgusting things as dissect frogs (never mind the horrid smell of formaldehyde) and how kids today can dissect a virtual frog instead if they have access to a product like Gale Interactive: Science.

Read moreTales from the “Olden Days”

How to Make Complex Concepts Clear with Technology

Original Posting October 16, 2015

By Katrina Do

The advancement of new education technology is transforming classrooms across the globe. From hand-held tablets to 3D models, teachers are implementing new tools to optimize learning experiences.

Students who struggle with understanding complex concepts — whether it’s a math problem or understanding how molecules react — can benefit from innovative learning tools. Various education technologies work to engage students, helping them understand complicated ideas through visualization and hands-on experiences.

Read moreHow to Make Complex Concepts Clear with Technology

We Love Analytics!

Posted on February 19, 2016

We love our work on the Gale Databases team, as we continuously add informative and engaging new content – this includes keeping up with the latest current events (World History In Context, Global Issues In Context), health news (Science In Context, Health and Wellness Resource Center), business developments (Business Insights), and topics being studied in school (Student Resources In Context, Research In Context, Kids InfoBits), to name just a few.

But we also love finding out how the content is actually used in these databases once we load it – and we look at many metrics, including:

  • Top Searches
  • Top Media
  • Most Popular Articles and Journals
  • Number of Users
  • And many others

Read moreWe Love Analytics!

What’s the Weather Forecast?

Posted on February 2, 2016

Did you know that February 5th is National Weatherperson’s Day? To help you and your students join in the celebration, Gale has lots of great titles available to bring the wild weather to your classroom.

We’ve highlighted a few of our latest Gale eBooks (GVRL) titles to help your class study the weather and climate.

What Are Weather and Climate?, 1st Edition
November 2015
In What Are Weather and Climate?, part of the Let’s Find Out! Weather series, students in grades 3-6 learn how weather and climate are different yet also have an impact upon each other. Eye-catching diagrams and pictures help to illustrate the featured scientific concepts.

What Is Weather Forecasting?, 1st Edition
November 2015
What Is Weather Forecasting? provides lower elementary–level students a guide to meteorology The science and basic premises of weather forecasting are explained in dynamic,full color spread pages easy for students to understand this side of science.

Read moreWhat’s the Weather Forecast?

See You In Beantown!

By Michelle Eickmeyer

In just over three weeks, we’ll once again be coming together to celebrate the role and value of librarians, and librarians and staff. Though the winter meeting is not as widely attended (and is quite a lot of meetings), the excitement of an ALA is difficult to match.

As vendors attending the show, we’re able to hear from you directly what concerns and issues you are trying to overcome and sharing some of the exciting things we have going on at Gale.

And there’s a lot!

Google for Education Partner

Earlier this year, Gale embarked on the strategic decision to become a Google Apps for Education Partner. This enables us to both make content more discoverable (and trackable to you!) AND easier to save/return to later. Tens of thousands of users have saved documents from the Gale resources they access through your library with their Google credentials. Students and teachers are accessing their In Context resources directly through apps in Google Classroom. Students and faculty beginning their research in Google Scholar are being directed to the library’s Academic OneFile. We’re so excited about our partnership with Google, and everything we’re working on next with them! More information can be found here.

Read moreSee You In Beantown!

Content Updates for Kids InfoBits (week ending 10/9/2015)

Posted on October 8, 2015 New “infobits” have been added to the homepage for October. Categories and subjects covered include: People: Halloween Technology: iPod revealed in 2001 Social Studies: Columbus Day and Thanksgiving Day in Canada Plants: Rose as National Flower Science: First Motion Picture Arts: Landscape Painting Animals: Turkeys    Air Jordan 1 Retro … Read more

Content Updates for Kids InfoBits (Week of 7/13/2015)

Posted on July 16, 2015

New content has been released in Kids InfoBits. See what’s new and available for your classrooms and students.

New homepage content snippets, or “infobits”, have been updated in the following categories:

Animals – Includes interesting facts about dolphins.

Read moreContent Updates for Kids InfoBits (Week of 7/13/2015)

Product Update: Gale’s In Context

Posted on July 6, 2015

Over the past several weeks we’ve added and updated content in many of your favorite Gale In Context databases. Take a look what’s now available for your studies.

Biography In Context

July has new homepage spotlights including:

  • Harper Lee, whose much-awaited book Go Set a Watchman debuts on July 14
  • Dr. Seuss the well-known children’s author has a new book What Pet Should I Get releasing during the month of July
  • General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and America’s highest ranking military leader
  • Marta, the Brazilian soccer star who made goal-scoring history in this year’s Women’s World Cup
  • Raven-Symoné, known for her roles on “The Cosby Show” and the Disney Channel, and now ABC’s “The View,” where she is the newest co-host
  • New featured homepage video: “American History: Declaration of Independence”.

New portals that have been added to Biography In Context are:

  • Haifaa al-Mansour, Saudi Arabian filmmaker
  • Sarah Vowell, American author
  • Sonia Manzano, actress and writer for Sesame Street
  • Jordan Spieth, pro golfer and winner of the 2015 U.S. Open Golf tournament.

Read moreProduct Update: Gale’s In Context

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.

Read morePaving the Way for Women in the Sciences with Sally Ride