University libraries offer free online resources for elementary and high school students
Posted on: March 18, 2020; Updated: March 18, 2020
By Chris Horn, [email protected], 803-777-3687
As the coronavirus threatens health and changes daily life around the world, UofSC Today is turning to our teachers to help us understand all of this. While no one can predict exactly what will happen in the coming weeks and months, our faculty can help us to ask the right questions and contextualize emerging events.
Stacy Winchester is a research data librarian in the department of digital research services at University Libraries at the University of South Carolina. We asked her about resources for parents during this learning period at home.
With the closure of K-12 schools across the state, parents are more involved than ever in their children’s education. What online resources are available at the University Libraries that can support your efforts?
UofSC University Libraries provide access to more than 400 search database. This huge collection of materials is available at home and covers every discipline and topic imaginable.
In addition to the library’s regular online collections, some companies are also making access to their educational content free to facilitate learning at home during this period of uncertainty. Kathy Snediker, Research and Instruction Librarian at the Thomas Cooper Library, has created an online guide that highlights content recently made available for free. More information will be added to this guide as it becomes available.
Do University Libraries offer resources for all elementary and high school students, even the first years of elementary school?
University Libraries provide access to many K-12 Features. This includes quality educational materials suitable for primary and secondary education levels. Students can use these resources to access narrated picture books and comic books, primary source materials, journal content, reference materials at a variety of educational levels and more.
What tips would you give to parents who want to nurture their children’s sense of curiosity and explore their native digital skills to find information online?
Most children know how to access information online, but they do not always understand how to differentiate quality sources of information from those they should not trust. This problem can be amplified because children usually receive news on social networks. There is a huge amount of misinformation online, and in the search for answers to your questions about COVID-19, for example, they can stumble upon inaccurate information. Parents can help direct their children to quality sources of information. Library content is a great place to start.
Parents can ask their children questions about the sources they chose when seeking information. Can the child say who is responsible for the content they find online and how old is the content? Why is the information being made available? Is it purely informative or are content creators trying to sell a product? Are there any clues on the website as to whether content creators can be good sources of information on the subject? If children have doubts about the accuracy of the information they find online, directing them to objective and fact-checking sites like Snopes and Politifact can enable them to make decisions on their own.
In addition to the resources offered above, the University of South Carolina Center for Community Literacy has put together an online resource guide for parents and teachers.
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Topics: COVID-19, University libraries