THE ORC AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY: PARTNERS IN SUPPORTING THE K-12 COMMUNITY

Parkland Regional Library Conference

September 22, 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 jdavis@thealbertalibrary.ab.ca for your

remote username/password

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU

While working with K-12 patrons, their parents, school staff (teachers, educational assistants, student teachers) public library staff can inform patrons about their free access to the ORC collection

If the patron is not aware of their remote ORC access information staff can share the applicable district username/password with them after confirming their school district with the patron Edmonton Public Schools U: LA13 P: 9418 Edmonton Catholic Schools U: LA12 P: 2953 Homeschoolers have an organization they are affiliated

with. Username/Password on the spreadsheet. Patrons can write this information down, put it in their

phone, whatever they need to do to remember it

AVAILABLE SUPPORT Library staff can use a username/password

combination from their local school district to access the ORC so they can familiarize themselves with the collection to better support K-12 patrons

Public Library Staff can access training materials on the ORC Support Site (www.onlinereferencecentre.ca)

Public library staff are invited to join any ORC PD opportunities at no cost

Sessions for whole library staff can be arranged upon request at no cost

ANY QUESTIONS?

RESOURCES TO SUPPORT LITERACY AND LANGUAGE LEARNING SKILLS

BOOKFLIX

Recommended for K-3105 fiction and non-fiction book pairs

organized into themesSearch titles by guided reading level,

author, grade level, theme, etc.Lesson plans for each pair providedReal voice audio support embedded

throughout resourcesFollow up “puzzlers” for each pair

TRUEFLIX Newly created sister resource to BookFLIX

designed for grades 3-6, alignments to the grade 2-6 Science curriculum

Nonfiction content divided into 2 broad themes with 3-6 subthemes

Each ebook includes an introductory video to help support comprehension by building background knowledge

Human voice read along feature Interactive table of contents for each ebook Essential inquiry questions and project ideas for

every ebook

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

MUZZY ONLINE Recommended for grades K-6 Learning languages through the context of a

story Hundreds of words and phrases embedded in

stories Six movies in each language level with subtitles

that can be turned on/off 101 thematic video lessons with embedded

language learning games divided into level I & II All new 3D animation Recording studio and 4 new languages coming in 2014

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

AMAZING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD

Recommended for K-6 Lists animal classes, orders and species Read Aloud available Provides quick access to the “animal stats” at

the top and a brief article below Links to information about animal habitat, and

order Vetted weblinks that open within the database

POWERKNOWLEDGE SUITE

Recommended for grades 1-6 Content divided into 3 databases: Earth Space, Life

Science and Physical Science Includes a customizable read aloud feature Short, segmented articles with introductory videos

to build background knowledge Embedded science experiments and educational

games Aligns with 95% of the grade 3-6 science

curriculum and 87% of grade 1-6 science curriculum

POWERKNOWLEDGE: EARTH SPACE

Curriculum areas covered:Grade 1 Seasonal Changes Grade 2 Exploring LiquidsGrade 3 Rocks and MineralsGrade 4 Light and Shadows, and Waste and Our

WorldGrade 5 Weather Watch, and Wetland

EcosystemsGrade 6 Sky ScienceSocial Studies mapping skills

POWERKNOWLEDGE: LIFE SCIENCE

Curriculum areas covered:Grade 1 Needs of Animals and PlantsGrade 2 Small Flying and Crawling AnimalsGrade 3 Animal Life Cycles and Hearing and

SoundGrade 4 Plant Growth and Changes, Wetland

Ecosystems and Waste and Our WorldGrade 6 Trees and Forests

POWERKNOWLEDGE:PHYSICAL SCIENCE

Curriculum areas covered:Grade 1 Needs of Animals and PlantsGrade 2 Hot and Cold Temperatures and

MagnetismGrade 4 Wheels and LeversGrade 5 Electricity and Magnetism and

Classroom ChemistryGrade 6 Trees and Forests

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

CULTUREGRAMS Recommended for grades 3-12

Very strong alignment to grade 3 Social Studies curriculum Also supports grade 2 and 10 Social Studies curriculum

Updated every 6 months by in country consultants Includes a World, Kids Edition and Provinces Edition Articles are written and reviewed by in-country

consultants Cultural recipes included for each country and province Create customizes graphs and tables – Great for

Mathematics using current data! Tools include world time, distance calculator, and

currency converter

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

Canadian Reference Centre 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 KIDS

Recommended for K-3 New text to speech feature Easy online database for young users Use the compare option to find similarities and

differences between animals, countries and places

Available on iPads Online Training Available

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 LIBRARY 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 jdavis@thealbertalibrary.ab.ca 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: jdavis@thealbertalibrary.ab.ca

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