Library News

For many students, using Google to search the internet for a school assignment is a bit like trying to take a sip of water from a fire hydrant. They quickly end up with far too many results to wade through, and often cannot determine which information sources they can rely upon.

If your child is struggling with a research task at home, it might be helpful to know how they can access World Book Online, which is one of the MFG Library's subscription resources that we hope will assist students with their independent research work. 

World Book Online can be accessed by students via the Favourites menu on Compass (under the star icon).

World Book resources are curated according to age 'level' or suitability (Kids K-4, Student 5-9, Advanced 10-12). Each level is searchable and generates a results list that is appropriate in terms of required literacy skills. The Kids resources have lots of images to support understanding and all encyclopedia articles found through searching have an audio feature, so students can listen to these as well as read them. 

The Student and Advanced search engines will locate suitable external websites for students to delve into if needed (although often the encyclopedia articles provide more than enough information to meet their needs). All search results have been verified for accuracy, relevance and currency, meaning students don't need to worry about checking this (handy, as studies have found most teens usually don't bother to do this with Google search results 🙂). 

All three levels have a built-in citation tool at the bottom of each World Book article, including Harvard citations which is the method required by all learning areas at MFG. There is also a separate citation-building tool for any external resources that students may be directed to through the site.

World Book Online is well worth a look for all MFG students' research needs.

Nicolle Brigden

Teacher-Librarian / English Teacher