Proquest is my favorite database to use for personal searches. I think it is such a bargain. I will search for consumer information whenever I am planning to make a major purchase. I also have used Proquest to finish an article I may have started reading in a Dr. waiting room and didn't have time to finish. I use it to look up book reviews.
Occasionally, I show students Proquest and tell them to share it with their parents. We will do a math exercise by having them look at the cost of a print issue of the magazine and then multiply it by the number of issues available in the database. They have to figure out how many issues are published per month and multiply by the years, etc. I haven't done this recently due to lack of time, but it is a fun activity. Then we look at how many titles are under just one letter of the alphabet. I don't think middle school students are as impressed as I am, but I wish I could have their parents here for a day :)
Ah, M, you get the value of ProQuest and use it like I do! It does have professional journals that may be appropriate for your staff, and you may like to make them aware of it if you haven't. Thanks for your comments, and I LOVE your math activity!
ReplyDeleteI think ProQuest will be a great place for me to do personal searches also. I hadn't thought about using it to finish up something I started in a waiting room and didn't get to finish. Thanks for the idea!
ReplyDeleteYour activities to do with ProQuest are great also. Who would have thought you could do math with it?!
Amen to having a day with parents to also show them what their children are learning. I know that sending home notes about what we've been doing probably sit in the bottom of 90% of the kids backpacks and parents don't see them.