Mathematics/Science Partnership:
An Introduction to Exciting and
Useful Resources for You and
Your students.
Phillip Fitzsimmons, MLIS
Reference and Digitization Librarian
Al Harris Library
phillip.fitzsimmons@swosu.edu
How many of you teach Mathematics?
Chemistry?
Physics?
Any other subjects?
Your class Web page,
containing all of the
information presented in
this session, is available at
the link:
Mathematics_Science.
Do you ever feel like this guy
when writing a lesson plan?
Goal of the day:
As students in this class you have library
privileges at the Al Harris Library. I will
introduce you to SWOSU Resources and
to Free Resources on the Internet.
The International Rankings Report released in Dec. 2010 “show the United States
is merely an average performer” when tested for math and science knowledge
compared to other countries around the world. Development of math and science
literacy for each student is an important part of preparing them for college and
ultimately to compete in the global market place.
Like Salmon Khan and Bob Moses, in your handouts, we can inspire our
students to see how mathematics and science broadens the student’s horizons
and empowers them. If we can get them to understand that the subjects go
beyond what is in their textbooks then maybe we will see more of what is shown
in the picture below.
SWOSU Libraries Homepage: http://www.swosu.edu/library/
Three Places for Resources:
Place
I. Catalogs
Resources
Books
II. Databases
Articles
III.Internet
Web Pages
Resource I: Books
• Al Harris Library holds 300,000 volumes. Use
the library catalog to find print and ebooks.
• We have more than 70,000 ebooks. Many
of them are about mathematics and science.
They are exactly like print books except they
don’t have to be checked out and can be
read on your computer.
• Radical Equations: Organizing Math Literacy
in America's Schools is available through our
library as an ebook and in print.
Remember to put keyword phrases between quotation marks to narrow
your search. Ex. “keyword phrases”.
Your search will return records for
books on the shelves and ebooks.
Click the link on the record to open
the ebook.
Click link to
Other library catalogs to get to
Open WorldCat:
Open WorldCat:
(Linked to the Library Home page.)
Open WorldCat:
• Open WorldCat can be searched using
keywords to find out what books have been
written about your topic.
• If Al Harris does not own the book you need,
you can use Open WorldCat to request the
book from another library. This is called an
Interlibrary Loan (ILL).
• If you do not live near campus then you can
make ILL requests from your local library for
the same service.
Source II: Databases
Click Science & Math link to find appropriate Databases:
Science and Math Databases Page
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•
•
•
•
American Chemical Society Journals
SciFinder
Ebsco: Computer & Applied Science
Today’s Science
Salem Science
ISI Web of Science
Chemistry Net Resources
A directory of useful chemistry-related Internet sites.
• Mathematics Net Resources
A directory of useful mathematics-related Internet sites.
Also Try:
• Ebsco: Business Source Complete
• Ebsco: Academic Search Complete
Search: “solution” in the database
Today’s Science
The Switchgrass Solution—Green Gold?
February 2008
Use keywords from the end of the article to do
searches in other databases.
American Chemical Society (ACS) publishes
peer-reviewed research on chemical and
related sciences:
Scifinder: a bibliographic database
Also Resources II: Periodicals are in the Databases.
Click Periodicals List link to find appropriate Perodicals:
Search Periodical name or subject.
Click blue links to open the periodical.
Search the periodical or browse by opening year links.
Source III: Web sites
• Domain Names are the last letters at the end of web
addresses such as .org, .com, .edu, .gov.
• Including .edu or .gov in your Web search will
improve the quality of your search results by
retrieving only educational and government Web
sites.
Examples: Biofuels .gov , Biofuels .edu
• Consider the following Domain Names: .edu —
education, .gov —government, .biz — business,
.eu — European country, .in – India, .cn – China.
• For a dictionary of Domain Names go to:
http://www.techdictionary.com/domainlist.html.
Source III: Web sites
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1.
2.
3.
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1.
2.
Google Site Search:
Use keyword and Site search strategies for finding
credible information on the Web.
Always be aware of the bias of each site.
Focus on .edu (education) and .gov (government)
sites.
Government sites
Use USA.gov to find information in sites you do not
know about.
Use key phrases “technical report” or “special
report” in your search to get the information you
want.
Google Site Specific:
Google Site Specific Search results:
Large Scale
Nuclear
Hydroelectric
Solar
Wind
Tides
Natural Gas*
Clean Coal
Biofuels**
Geothermal
http://nuclearinfo.net/
http://www.hydro.org/index.php
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/solar
http://www.nrel.gov/wind/
http://www.eere.energy.gov
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oil_gas/natural_gas/info_glance/natural_gas.html
http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/powersystems/cleancoal/
http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biofuels.html
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/
Mobile
Hybrid
CNG
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
http://www.eere.energy.gov/de/hybrid_power.html
http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/CNG.html
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/
Storage Systems
http://www.sandia.gov/ess/Technology/technology.html
Other Sites of Interest
http://www.eere.energy.gov/
http://www.eia.doe.gov/
http://www.ehponline.org/
*****
usa.gov is the information clearinghouse for the entire Federal
Government. Use it to search all government Web sites simultaneously.
Government Web sites for scientific
information:
• NASA-- http://www.nasa.gov/
• USGS-- http://www.usgs.gov/
• National Science Foundation-http://www.nsf.gov/
• Government Information Clearinghouse-http://www.usa.gov/
Tip for searching Government Web sites:
• Include the key phrase “technical
report” or “special report” to your
search. This will bring scienceoriented documents to the top of your
results and that are also brochure- and
book-length.
Some of my personal favorites:
•Geometry
Interactive Euclid's Elements
Book Review Astoundingly good technical writing: Who Is Fourier?
•Tutorial Videos
Khan Academy
•NASA History Series
Books about the history of flight
•Math Aids
Calculus Hater’s Homepage
•Articles Math/Logic Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
•KITE
Technology Integration Case Library
•ACRL
Information Literacy Competency Standards
for Higher Education
Recap:
1. Our students can improve Mathematics and
Science skills by reading Math and Science
resources.
2. Places of resources:
 Catalogs, for Books
 Databases, for Articles
 Web, for Web sites
3. Contact me or any of the other librarians for
future help.
Questions?
Contact me:
Phillip Fitzsimmons, MLIS
Reference and Digitization Librarian
Al Harris Library
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Phone: 774-3030
phillip.fitzsimmons@swosu.edu
Please evaluate this class at Survey Monkey