Sparks Fly

What is an Indexed Internet Database?

In reality the internet is a giant database.  An indexed Internet database allows access to a detailed index of video clips.  The specific database that is used in Chesapeake Public Schools, and the only one I am aware of is the PBS VIDEOdatabase of
America's History and Culture Online. This index catalogs thousands of clips of video produced by PBS.  The indexed database is available both online and in print format.  A brand new site has been designed as a tool for educators, students and others subscribing to the PBS VIDEOdatabase. It provides a broad range of
resources designed to optimize use of over 350 hours of PBS VIDEOdatabase video material located in the subscriber's school or library. 

If you are a subscriber you have access to many more features of the website.  If you do not subscribe you can still use the database.  You would have to own the videos in order for the information provided in the website to have meaning to you. The part of the website open to everyone without subscription includes: 

• List of Programs, by title, by volume 
• Access to an online index containing descriptions of over 2,500 video chapters
  and 40,000 individual video segments. 
• Cross references to lesson plans 
• Links to hundreds of related curriculum resources 
• Correlation to national and state curricula standards 

Downloadable for classroom or personal use. 

As a subscriber, there are a number of additional features available including: 

• Hundreds of lesson plans; 
• Hundreds of subscriber-only resources that you can use and share with your students; 
• Special correlation to state and national curriculum standards and national standardized tests;
• Special new browse feature that provides you with the alphabetical merged index of thousands of video segments; 
• Individual indexes to segments for each of the 332 videos in the current PBS VIDEOdatabase video library; 
• Current events and other specially prepared lessons using resources from the PBS
  VIDEOdatabase; 
• A personal planning calendar that allows you to store lesson ideas for later use; 
• Online bulletin boards to exchange ideas with other teachers across the country; 

Online discussions with producers and historians. 

The site offers two powerful approaches for finding the video segments and curriculum materials you need: 

SEARCH helps you quickly find resources customized to your specific needs. This feature lets you perform keyword searches which can be refined by adding personal preferences such as specific academic areas and grade ranges of interest. 

BROWSE allows you to pull up and review all the resources in the database, categorized either by historical period or alphabetically by title.  List of Programs, by title, by volume allows you to pull up and review all the programs by title or volume number.

Web links to the database and associated sites:

The PBS VIDEOdatabase site:

http://pbsvideodb.pbs.org/main.asp?browser_detect=os

The PBS Teacher Source site:

http://www.pbs.org/teachersource 

The PBS Kids site:

http://www.pbs.org/kids/

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