EasyBib.Com

http://EasyBib.Com

This webtool allows for relatively easy citation of sources and building of a works cited page. Recent updates have enabled the site to “find your source” based on keywords entered by you.

This is a fairly accessible and user friendly tool for all. When incorporated into my research projects, almost all of my students used the program with ease. Users generally “click” and “type” necessary information for each source, most of the time, the source is automatically found based on a few key words. Best of all, it works!

For the Middle and High school level this tool can be most effective when combing multiples sources for an extensive research assignment. I have used this with my 9th-11th graders and many found it to be very helpful. However, with this site if you don’t put in the right information, you will often get a wrong citation.

Another problem I found is that students often don’t know exactly where a source came from, being a journal a newsarticle etc. If they don’t know which source it is, there can be confusion as to how to cite it. Since the last time I used it I have noticed that the website has tool has tried to correct the problem by having a “search for your source” button.

This tool can be effective, as mentioned, for large research products where students are burdened with a long list of a variety of sources.The site helps you cite and create a works cited page (in fact it does so automatically). When I initially brought this into my classroom it was the best free external citation tool available. Unfortunately, in recent months the site took away all free citations except for MLA format, which is helpful in the younger grades, but most colleges want APA style. Surprisingly, the cite is also no longer “entirely free” but urges students to “upgrade” to do more (get additional help or APA). This I could see as a potential problem with students who think that they “must pay” in order to use it. Not to say, it isn't still efficient and useful, because it cited a source for me (for this project) faster than I could have looked it up.

What I feared about using a tool like this as a teacher is we are giving students a way to accomplish something, but not teaching them how to. Therefore, we must still be teaching “how to cite sources” and equip our students with skills to do this on their own, allowing the program to be just that, a tool. Lastly, students must be taught to “check their work.” Just because the tool did the citation, does not necessarily mean it is 100% correct. Therefore, students must understand that tools don’t replace skills, they only aid them.