Data and Dessert
RSSA sweet new program makes online research skills irresistible
By Anita Bowman -- School Library Journal, 10/01/2004
Who would have thought that standardizing a school districts online databases would lead to a successful collaboration among media specialists, students, and parents? That's what happened in the summer of 2003, when the Evergreen School District in Vancouver, WA, decided to provide all K–12 schools with ProQuest, eLibrary, EBSCO, and Grolier Online.
As part of the plan, district librarians were asked to train students and teachers on proper online research skills. But I—along with fellow librarians Sandy Taylor of Shahala Middle School and Carol Mackey of Mountain View High School—saw this as a perfect opportunity to train our students' parents as well. Why engage in such an elaborate outreach program? The school district was already paying $3,250 for each high school's databases and $1,736 for each middle school's, and it was willing to provide staff, students, and their parents with free remote access to these services for educational or personal purposes. We felt it was equally important to include parents, who would ultimately provide research assistance to their kids from home.
"Data and Dessert" is a relatively low-cost, low-preparation workshop for parents and caregivers. The two-hour session was held in November and March, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., in a large high school career center with lots of tables and computers. About 35 parents arrived for our first session and were given login names, passwords, and handouts describing each database and its appropriate grade level. Students were welcome, but not required to attend.
While parents munched on cookies and other treats, Mackey explained the difference between subscription databases and search engines. Databases like EBSCOHost offer students articles from 250 periodicals, 160 encyclopedias, and other authoritative sources, and they're organized to meet specific research needs. They also provide reference materials and periodicals unavailable on the free Web. Search engines, on the other hand, offer limitless information that's sometimes irrelevant to a subject you're researching. Often, students can't tell whether a site found on a search engine is a credible source. Our databases are diverse—high schools have eight subscription databases and middle schools have six, so we can offer something for everyone in the family.
Later on, Taylor and I took a group of parents aside to let them explore the databases on their own. One parent, Lisa DeGrenier, searched science and engineering for her ninth-grade daughter and was extremely impressed by the full-text articles and reference sources that she found. With three librarians present, we were able to interact personally with everyone. After an hour in the lab, parents gained the confidence to access and explore the databases from their own homes. One parent said it was essential that all parents in the district learn how to use these tools so they can help their kids conduct safe, effective online searches from home.
The response to our workshop was overwhelming. A middle school parent wrote to one principal to thank the school district and say, "This really empowers me to help my kids at home." Mark Ross, the principal at Mountain View High School, was very supportive from the start and suggested that we hold another workshop in March. The attendance shot up to more than 80 parents. Recognizing the importance of these workshops, the high school's curriculum advisory team, comprised of administrators, teachers, librarians, and parents, paid for drinks and desserts.
Prior to each workshop, Mackey, Taylor, and I distributed invitations and candy to parents attending any school event. Students at my school, Wy'east Middle School, gave their parents invitations, and we placed announcements in school newsletters and daily bulletins. Word of mouth has been the best advertisement.
Although the main purpose of Data and Dessert is to teach parents how to help their kids with research, it also demonstrates to them the importance of a strong library media program by expanding services beyond the school walls. Combining the efforts of middle school and high school librarians makes organizing the event much easier, and students whose parents attend successfully navigate databases for their research projects without prompting from the library staff.
If you give parents the opportunity to explore new services, they will come. Think of the benefits of having students view their parents as lifelong learners!
| Author Information |
| Anita Bowman is a media specialist at Wy'east Middle School in Vancouver, WA. |
