Media Center

• Printing/copying is available in the Media Center.
• All printouts and copies must be for a class.
• No personal printing is allowed.
• Students can share documents with donna.helms@ucps.k12.nc.us for printing.

• Hotspot Information
• UCPS Photo Release Form
• UCPS Chromebook Agreement for Parents
• UCPS Chromebook Agreement for Students
• Start Page for Student Apps
• Technology Tutorials

• Destiny - Online Catalog
• Genre Color Codes
• Reserve a Book
• Request a Book for Purchase

• At-Home Passwords for Databases 
  *Login to UCPS Google Account*
• CultureGrams
• Access through NCEdCloud:
  • EBSCO
  • Britannica

• NCpedia
• Media Bias Chart
• Test Prep Resources from UCPL

Students can login to UCPL databases using your UCPS Student ID number, and the password is the year you were born (four digits).

Teachers can apply for an educator's library card to get login credentials or email Mrs. Helms for immediate access.

• Select Union County Public Library as the institution.  
• Be sure to search by FULL TEXT for each database.
• Best practice is to download articles or copy/paste the PermaLink to ensure you can find the article in the future if needed.
    
  • CREDO Reference
  • ProQuest Research Library
  • SIRS Issue Researcher
  • CQ Researcher
  • US Newsstream
  • The Charlotte Observer
  • NCLive 

• Purdue OWL: MLA Style Guide
• Purdue OWL: APA Style Guide
• Citation Maker
• Cite This For Me - Google App
• Research Guide for English Classes

Academic Vocabulary

Database 

• A digital collection of scholarly and credible content (articles, books, media) that can be easily searched and accessed online.

Scholarly Sources

• Written by experts in the field and are found in databases (Explora, Points of View).  Preferred sources for research papers, especially at the college level.
• Sources include magazines, academic journals, primary sources, and books. 
• Students should avoid selecting articles that are in academic journals (primarily used by AP/college students) due to advanced reading level.

• • Advantages
    • Can trust the author and the information contained in the article.
    • MLA citation is automatically created and only needs to be copy/pasted.
  • Disadvantages
    • Database search features may be confusing to students.
    • Reading level may be too difficult for students.

Credible Sources

• Can trust the information that the source provides based on the authority of the person, publisher, or institution that is providing this information.
• There should not be any bias in the content, unless the research requires opposing viewpoints or perspectives. 
• Websites that are .edu or .gov are credible sources of information, as well as most news websites.
• Websites that contain .org in their URL should be analyzed as many organizations have an agenda or viewpoint that would represent bias information contained on their website.  However, if the research requires differing perspectives, .org websites may be a credible source of information. 
• Wikipedia is never considered a credible source for a research paper and should never be listed on the Works Cited page.

• • Advantages
    • Easy to search for and locate.
    • Reading level is appropriate for high school students. 
  • Disadvantages
    • Must analyze credibility of the author/publisher.  
      • Authority     Bias      Currency      Documentation
    • Students have to create their MLA citation.  Go to Chrome Web Store and add Cite This For Me extension to help with citation creation for websites.  

Suggested Resources

• Explora Database
• Points of View Database
• Culturegrams Database
• Union County Public Library Databases
  • Students can login to UCPL databases using your Student ID number, and the password is the year you were born. 
  • Be sure to search by FULL TEXT for each database.
  • Be sure to download articles or copy/paste the PermaLink to ensure you can find the article in the future if needed.
    • CREDO Reference
    • ProQuest Research Library
    • SIRS Issue Researcher
    • CQ Researcher
    • US Newsstream
    • The Charlotte Observer

Email Mrs. Helms for questions about finding resources.  

Students who do not have home wifi and would like to request a hotspot should contact the Media Center or a school counselor.  

• All books should be returned to the Media Center by the end of May. Students will be charged the price of the book for unreturned materials.
• Chromebooks will be collected after each exam.
• Math students should return calculators to the Media Center after their math exam.