FLEXIBLE ACCESS TO AUTHORATATIVE RESOURCES FOR GRADES 7-12
Golden Hills School Division PD Day
September 19, 2014
Jamie Davis, ORC Coordinator
WHAT IS THE ORC? A $1.7 million collection of curricular-aligned,
authoritative digital resources licensed on behalf of all Alberta: K-12 students and their parents School staff Pre-service teachers Public library staff *
Funded by a yearly Grant-In-Aid from Alberta Education to The Alberta Library (TAL)
Return on Investment (ROI) calculation of 3:1 for Alberta Schools
*for the purposes of supporting K-12 patrons
WHY SHOULD STUDENTS
ACCESS THE ORC?ORC Resources: Provide authoritative, age appropriate, engaging,
curricular-aligned content Allow students to become familiar and comfortable
with the kinds of resources and searching practises that an integral part of 21st century learning
Are time savers once you are familiar with using them
Include embedded supports for diverse learners like listen, text translation, citation tools, vetted websites, copyright friendly pictures and videos
Provide anytime, from anywhere access
WHY SHOULD SCHOOL STAFF
ACCESS THE ORC?ORC Resources Provide: Access to ready-to-use or customizable lesson plans,
teaching materials and direct curricular correlations Support for ESL and foreign language learners Access to journals like Walrus, National Geographic,
National Geographic Kids, Men’s Health, and Maclean’s just to name a few (RSS feeds available)
Consistent and explicit update schedules Access to vetted websites Ability to create permalinks that can be posted on a
website or in an email blast
ACCESSING THE ORC Go to LearnAlberta.ca Select English Click on “Online Reference Centre” in the tab
along the top of the screen In school automatic authentication Access outside of school requires a remote
username/password Share your district username/password using low
tech methods Email [email protected] for your
remote username/password
ANY QUESTIONS?
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT LITERACY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING SKILLS
TEACHINGBOOKS.NET Bring an author into your classroom any time you
need Search for Meet-the-Author Movies or Book
Readings, Author Audio Name Pronunciation, book guides and lesson plans
Access Alberta specific booklists: Pacific Northwest Library Association Young
Readers Choice Award (YRCA)ELA Authorized Novel and Nonfiction Reading
Lists grades 4-12Meet-the-author book readings in FrenchCanadian Book Award Winners/Canadian Book
and Author Resources Personalized Book Lists upon request
LITERARY REFERENCE CENTRE
Recommended for grades 7-12 Customizable listen feature (where HTML
format available) Related information links provided along the
left-hand side of the screen SMARTTEXT searching capabilities Create notes within article and save to an
account Create article permalinks Download to PDF, save in a folder or print
directly Access professional publications and subscribe
to RSS feeds for them
VISUAL THESAURUS Recommended for grades 3-12 6 languages including English, French, Spanish and
German Correct word pronunciation in human voice for
every word Images related to words with right click (images
are google images and not vetted) Word of the day/week/month Personalized word lists and spelling bees* Vocabgrabber**With personal account
STEPS FOR SETTING UP A PERSONAL VISUAL THESAURUS ACCOUNT
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE SCIENCE CURRICULUM
SCIENCE IN CONTEXT Recommended for grades 6-12 Featured news and videos on homepage Content organized into Featured, Reference, News,
Statistics, Videos, Images, etc. on topic pages Customizable listen feature Download articles to MP3 Text translation into 13 languages Resources section includes resources for students,
teachers, and librarians “Curriculum Standards” for Alberta
TEEN HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Database addresses teen health and wellness issues for students in grades 7-12
Provides straightforward information to all things related to teen health and wellness issues
Students can share personal stories Students can submit questions to Dr. Jan
and receive answers back Current in the news topics changed
frequently Many interactive features in the database
that allow students to interact and contribute
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE SOCIAL STUDIES CURRICULUM
THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
Recommended for grades 5-12 New updated interface very aesthetic and functional Multiple pathways to accessing information Personal accounts, videos, articles, images, etc. Wealth of Canadian content to support:
Grade 4 - Geography, Geology, Natural Resources, Provincial & National Parks, Hoodoos, Dinosaurs in Alberta, Foothills, Rocky Mountains, etc.
Grade 5 - WWI, WWII, John A. Macdonald & George Etienne Cartier, Confederation, Canada’s National Railway, Great Depression, Famous Five, Lester B. Pearson, Statute of Westminster, Potlatch, etc.
Grade 6 - Local Government, Lieutenant Governor Grade 7 - Pre-Confederation/Confederation, Immigration/Migration Grade 9 - Canadian citizenship, Government, Charter of Rights & Freedoms
CANADA IN CONTEXT Recommended for grades 6-12 Includes Canadian content! Customizable listen feature Articles downloadable to MP3 Text translation to 13 languages Share or permalink capabilities Featured videos, news, and stories on homepage Jump to related articles within the article Advanced search allows for Boolean, and content
selection (basic/intermediate/advanced)
CANADIAN REFERENCE CENTRE
Recommended for grades 7-12 Customizable listen feature (where HTML format
available) Text translation into 32 languages (where HTML
format available) SMARTTEXT searching capabilities Create notes within article and save to an
account Create article permalinks Recommended for grades 7-12
WORLD HISTORY IN CONTEXT Recommended for grades 7-12 Excellent support for grade 8 Social Studies
curriculum Ability to perform Boolean searching (advanced
search) Ability to set content level – basic, intermediate, or
advanced (advanced search) Customizable Listen feature Downloadable articles to MP3 Text translation to 13 languages Featured videos, news and topics on homepage
(clickable navigation) Access thousands of newspaper articles, magazines,
reference materials, videos, images and websites
GLOBAL ISSUES IN CONTEXT Recommended for grades 7-12 Excellent support for grades 10-12 Social Studies
curriculum Ability to perform Boolean searching (advanced
search) Ability to set content level – basic, intermediate, or
advanced (advanced search) Customizable Listen feature Downloadable articles to MP3 Text translation to 13 languages Featured videos, news and topics on homepage
(clickable navigation) Access thousands of newspaper articles, magazines,
reference materials, videos, images and websites
OTHER ENGAGING RESOURCES TO CHECK OUT
WORLD BOOK STUDENT & ADVANCED
Recommended for grades 4-9 (Student) and 8-12 (Advanced)
Text to speech feature General encyclopedia that includes atlas,
dictionary (with voice pronunciations), images, web links, and charts
"My Research" option for students to track and save their research online
Timeline feature embedded & Embedded eBooks (Advanced)
Available on iPads Online Training Available
SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL STAFF USING THE ORC
ORC SUPPORT SITEwww.onlinereferencecentre.ca Resource training materials - podcasts, videos,
archived webinars, and guides Information about upcoming free ORC PD
opportunities Information about province-wide resource trials
and surveys Online booking system for ORC sessions Calendar of ORC Events Links to ORC Twitter and Facebook accounts
ORC LISTSERV Weekly email updates organized by E/J/S:
O New resources and featuresO Province-wide trialsO SurveysO Free PD opportunities
No emails during school breaks Membership has its benefits – joining incentive Email [email protected] or visit the
ORC Support Site to join today
CONTACTFor more information or to schedule a school presentation please contact
Jamie Davis, ORC Coordinator
Call 780-414-0805 ext.229OR
Email: [email protected]
LINKS TO CHECK OUT
ORC Support Sitehttp://www.onlinereferencecentre.ca/
ORC ListServhttps://lists.talonline.ca/listinfo/orc
ORC Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/OnlineReferenceCentre
Twitter@ORC_AB
