NC LIVE recently added two new online science resources: McGraw-Hill’s AccessScience and Gale’s Science in Context.
The best way to get to these resources is from the NC LIVE home page, at nclive.org. In the “By Subject” section, choose “Science & Technology.”
That will take you to an alphabetical list of science and technology resources and AccessScience is the first one on the list; Science in Context is near the bottom. (If you’re trying to access these resources from off campus, please call the library for the NC LIVE password.)
AccessScience is geared toward students and teachers. It contains entries from the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, the McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology and the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. In addition to encyclopedic entries, it also has biographies of scientists, curriculum maps for teachers, videos and suggestions for further study.
You can use AccessScience by browsing subject categories or by typing search terms in a search box, which has an auto-complete function that will suggest terms as you type. Samples of different types of resources–articles, news stories, videos, animations, etc.–also appear on the AccessScience home page, as well as “trending” topics.
Science in Context is also aimed at classroom teachers. It emphasizes “today’s most significant science topics.” In addition to articles, it offers experiments and a variety of other types of content. Science in Context also contains entries from many reference books, including Gale Encyclopedia of Science, World of Anatomy and Physiology, and Earth Sciences for Students. Its multimedia offerings include podcasts, streaming audio and videos.
Like virtually every online resource, you can explore Science in Context by typing terms in a simple search box. A list of basic topics appears on the home page of Science in Context. Clicking on “Browse Topics” provides a list of hundreds of topics; “Maps” provides a few dozen US maps covering topics from Abortion to Smoking. “Resources” include training videos for using Science in Context and resources for librarians and teachers.
Both of these resources are geared more toward high school instruction rather than college instruction, but provide some basic reference resources, which can be useful for getting a handle on a topic unfamiliar to you.
Check them out!
