Learning Objective

• Use the navigational tools to search and browse content to find the best content for students and instruction.

Download the Explora for Grades 6-8 and Explora for Grades 9-12 Guided Notes from the exercise files at the bottom of this page to help you with this lesson. Use it while viewing the video tutorial or browsing the PowerPoint presentation.  

Watch an Explora for Middle and High School Users Tutorial 

Visit EBSCO Tutorials YouTube page and search Explora to watch a video tutorial titled New Explora for Middle and High School Users. The video introduces basic features and navigation. Also, find the tutorial and other training and support resources for Explora for Grades 6-8 Explora for Grades 6-8 and Explora for Grades 9-12 by following these steps.

1. Go to www.infohio.org.
2. Click the Grades 6-8 or the Grades 9-12 button.
3. Scroll to find Explora for Grades 6-8 or Explora for Grades 9-12. Click the "i" in the top right corner or "More Info" in the bottom right corner. 
4. Under Training & Support, select Explora for Middle and High School Users Tutorial. 
5. Click the Open button to view the tutorial.

Visit the New Explora for Middle and High School Users - Tutorial  page, to find the accompanying New Explora Tutorial (PowerPoint). It offers the same information in slide form. You may also find the New Explora - Basic Search article helpful, as well. 

Decoding the Results List

Below are images of results from Explora for Grades 6-8 and Explora for Grades 9-12. While the results screens are similar, note how the content from different databases affects the results. 

1. There are fewer results in Explora for Grades 6-8 than Explora for Grades 9-12. Explora for Grades 6-8 has less content. 
2. When you are conducting an initial search, the type of content appears above the title. The first item in the search-results list is an article.
3. If the result is an eBook, encyclopedia, news, periodical, or other article, the name of the publication will appear here. 

1. In Explora for Grades 6-8 and Explora for Grades 9-12, students can select All Databases from the top of the search results page. They can expand or narrow results by adding or removing databases from the list. This option floats at the top of the search results page.
2. Explora for Grades 9-12 contains many peer-reviewed studies and research from academic journals. 
3. Explora for Grades 6-8 and Explora for Grades 9-12 content comes in different formats. In this example, select Access Options. For this article, the student can select between online full text and PDF. 

Two Types of Digital Text: Online Full Text

Online full text articles offer a Text-to-Speech feature for students who need additional support accessing the content. See the screenshot below.

• Select the Headphone icon pictured at the top right of the screenshot above. Students can select from the different options to customize their listening experience. 
• Select the text highlighting toggle. The Listen tool will highlight the text as it is being read aloud. 
• Use the text highlighting box to customize the word color and sentence color applied when the text is being read aloud. 

Two Types of Digital Text: PDF

PDF means Portable Document Format. Not all articles in Explora will be available in PDF. When one is available, users will see the electronic image of the text and graphics that would appear on the printed document. 

Students can enable Text-to-Speech functions on PDF articles in Explora for Grades 9-12 and Explora for Grades 6-8. 

• Select the Headphone icon pictured above to open the Listen panel. 
• Select Play.

For online full text and PDFs, students can use the menu options to adjust the playback speed and volume. The audio version of the article can be downloaded for offline use. Visit Using the Text-to-Speech feature in the New EBSCO Interfaces to learn more about how to use the Text-to-Speech tools.