t he orc and p ublic l ibrary s taff : a p artnership for success whitemud crossing public library...
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THE ORC AND PUBLIC LIBRARY STAFF: A PARTNERSHIP FOR SUCCESS
Whitemud Crossing Public Library
September 9 & 10, 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
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
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
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
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