How to use www.chemistryteachers.org
These notes are designed to provide some guidance about how best to access the resources using the different search options. On this page you can find out about:
- Site layout
The links Home > Education > Chemistry Teachers > followed by the name of the page that you are currently viewing, appear on every page of this site. Selecting 'Home' will take you to the Royal Society of Chemistry home page, selecting 'Education' will take you to the RSC Education home page, and selecting 'Chemistry Teachers' will take you to the welcome page of this site, www.chemistryteachers.org.
This help page can be accessed from anywhere within this site using the 'How to use this Site' link from 'In this section'. You will also find individual links to each of the three different methods of searching for resources.
Once you have begun a search, you can easily move back a page, or back to the 'Search Options' page by selecting the appropriate button within the 'Navigation' box.
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Searching by curriculum
From the welcome page, select 'Start Search', then select 'Search by Curriculum'.
This allows you to search for resources that relate to the various curricula of the UK, including the International Baccalaureate. Note that not all areas of the various curricula are, as yet, completed, although work is ongoing and the site will be updated on a regular basis, particularly when curricula change. If your specific curriculum area is not covered, use the 'Search by Chemistry Keyword' or 'Search by Free Text' options.
By selecting the
signs you can use this option to drill down through the curriculum tree to a specific topic. For example:
Selecting a topic from the final level in the tree will return a set of resources listed in rank order, depending on how well the resource matches the chosen topic area. The match is indicated by a % value, and the higher the value, the better the match between the curriculum area and the resource.
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Searching by Chemical Keyword
From the welcome page, select 'Start Search', then select 'Search by Chemical Keyword'.
This allows you to drill down through a hierarchy of chemistry topic areas to an appropriate level and then search for resources. The main sections are:
- What is chemistry and how does it affect us?
- Matter
- Thermodynamics
- Change
- Patterns in Chemistry
- Obtaining materials
- Selected fields in chemistry
By selecting the signs you can drill down through the 'chemistry tree' to different levels. You can select more than one topic area if you wish. For example, to find resources about the separation of crude oil, you could select 'separation of mixtures', and 'crude oil':
Selecting both of these topics, and submitting the search will return resources relevant to both topic areas.
Any topic areas that you have selected will be displayed in 'Your current search options'.
By re-selecting any topic in 'Your current search options', you can remove it from your search criteria.
When you are satisfied with the topics areas that you have chosen, select 'Submit Search' to proceed.
Keywords at any level can be selected, however if a large number of resources are returned, you may wish to refine your search by returning to the 'Search by Chemical Keyword' page and drilling further down the tree, or by refining your search criteria.
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Searching by free text
From the welcome page, select 'Start Search', then select 'Search by Free Text'.
This search option allows you to enter one or more words of your choice to search for resources. This will return all resources, within the criteria given, which contain your chosen words in the title or abstract. Enter one or more 'free text' words of your choice (each separated by a single space) inside the box next to 'Keyword:'.
For a more refined search, you could choose an age range you would like the resources to be suitable for, or a particular type of resource e.g. PowerPoint. Make your selections from the menus.
When you are satisfied with the search criteria you have chosen, select 'Submit Search' to proceed.
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Results of searches
Once you have submitted a search, a list of resources will be displayed that match your criteria. The resources are ranked in 'best match' order which is indicated by a % value. The higher the value, the better the match between your search criteria and the resource.
The first eight resources, which are the best match to the criteria are displayed initially. The 'Search Results' box also displays the total number of matching resources that were found. If you select the 'Next' button you will be able to view the next eight resources in the list, and you can browse the whole list by selecting the 'Next' and 'Previous' buttons.
The type of resource, e.g. Document, or Animation is shown in brackets, after the title of each resource, and this is followed by a short description.
Highlighting the resource title with your pointer will reveal the abstract summarising the content. For more information and to open the resource, select its title.
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Accessing a resource
From the list of Search Results, select the title of a specific resource to view further details, such as the ISBN if it is from a book. You will then be able to access the resource, by selecting 'Access the full resource' in the 'Download resource' box. If it is a web page you will be automatically directed to the web page, which will open in a new window. If it is a Word document or pdf, again the resource will open in a new window.
To return to the list of search results, select the 'Go back to Results' button within the 'Navigation' box.
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Refining your search criteria
Whichever method you originally used to search for resources, you can refine your search by age range and / or resource type. If you originally searched by Curriculum, or by Chemical Keyword, you can also refine your search by using additional 'free text' words.
In the box entitled 'Additional Search Options' select an age range, or resource type from the menus, or if applicable, enter a word or words of your choice in the box next to 'Modify Keyword'. When you have entered your new criteria select 'Update Search Results' and a new list of resources will be produced, displaying only those resources from the original search that also meet these new criteria.
