Supporting Classroom Learning with the ORC

St. Augustine SchoolMay 1, 2014Jamie Davis, ORC Coordinator

Agenda

• Introductions• What is the ORC • Why students should access the ORC• Why school staff should access the ORC• Resources that support the PreKinder-6

curriculum• ORC Support Site• ORC Listserv

Welcome!Please share your:• Name• Your position• Your familiarity with the ORC

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 students should

access the ORCORC 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 school staff should

access the ORCORC 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• ECSD Username: LA12 Password: 2953

• Share your district username/password using low tech methods

• Email jdavis@thealbertalibrary.ab.ca for your remote username/password

Resources to Support Literacy Skills

BookFLIX• 105 fiction and non-fiction book pairs

organized into themes• Search titles by guided reading level,

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

throughout resources• Follow up “puzzlers” for each pair

TrueFLIX• Newly created sister resource to BookFLIX

designed for grades 3-5• Nonfiction content divided into 2 broad

themes with 3-5 subthemes• Each ebook includes an introductory video to

help build background knowledge of topic• 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 4-12•Meet-the-author book readings in French•Canadian Book Award Winners/Canadian Book and Author Resources

• Personalized Book Lists upon request

Resources to Support the Science Curriculum

PowerKnowledge Suite

• 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 Liquids•Grade 3 Rocks and Minerals•Grade 4 Light and Shadows, and Waste and Our World•Grade 5 Weather Watch, and Wetland Ecosystems•Grade 6 Sky Science•Social Studies mapping skills

PowerKnowledge: Life Science

Curriculum areas covered:•Grade 1 Needs of Animals and Plants•Grade 2 Small Flying and Crawling Animals•Grade 3 Animal Life Cycles and Hearing and Sound•Grade 4 Plant Growth and Changes, Wetland Ecosystems and Waste and Our World•Grade 6 Trees and Forests

PowerKnowledge:Physical Science

Curriculum areas covered:•Grade 1 Needs of Animals and Plants•Grade 2 Hot and Cold Temperatures and Magnetism•Grade 4 Wheels and Levers•Grade 5 Electricity and Magnetism and Classroom Chemistry•Grade 6 Trees and Forests

Science In Context• 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

Resources to Support the Social Studies Curriculum

CulturegramsOUpdated every 6 monthsOIncludes a World, Kids Edition and

Provinces EditionOArticles are written and reviewed by in-

country consultantsOCultural recipes included for each country

and provinceOCreate customizes graphs and tablesOTools include world time, distance

calculator, and currency converter

The Canadian Encyclopedia

• New updated interface very aesthetic and functional• Multiple pathways to 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 Govenor

Canada In Context• 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 Points of View• Essays written from multiple sides of current Canadian-

themed issues• Organized by category and then related topics• Homepage guides for research • In the Spotlight • Customizable listen feature• Access Canadian magazines, newspapers, International

newspapers, Bios, Radio and News transcripts, etc.• Embedded Canadian Curriculum standards

With An Account:• Can create folders and sort by date, articles, videos, etc.• Can create RSS feeds on searches

Other Engaging Resources to Check Out

Muzzy Online

• 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• All new recording studio

Visual Thesaurus

• 6 languages including English, French, Spanish and German• Correct word pronunciation • Images related to words with right click• Word of the day/week/month• Personalized word lists and spelling

bees*• Vocabgrabber*

*With personal account

Setting up a personal Visual Thesaurus account

World Book Kids• 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• New text to speech feature• General encyclopedia • 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• Available on iPads• Online Training Available

ORC Support Sitewww.onlinereferencecentre.caOResource training materials - podcasts,

videos, archived webinars, and guidesOInformation about upcoming free ORC PD

opportunitiesOInformation about province-wide resource

trials and surveysOOnline booking system for ORC sessionsOCalendar of ORC EventsOLinks to ORC Twitter and Facebook accounts

ORC ListservOWeekly email updates organized by E/J/S:

ONew resources and featuresOProvince-wide trialsOSurveysOFree PD opportunities

ONo emails during school breaksOMembership has its benefits – joining

incentiveOEmail 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 outORC Support Sitehttp://www.onlinereferencecentre.ca/

ORC ListServhttps://lists.talonline.ca/listinfo/orc

ORC Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/OnlineReferenceCentre

Twitter@ORC_AB