St. Augustine School May 1, 2014 Jamie Davis, ORC Coordinator

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

Please share your: Name Your position Your familiarity with 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

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 21 st 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

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 blast

Go to LearnAlberta.caLearnAlberta.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 for your remote

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

O Updated every 6 months O Includes a World, Kids Edition and Provinces Edition O Articles are written and reviewed by in-country consultants O Cultural recipes included for each country and province O Create customizes graphs and tables O Tools include world time, distance calculator, and currency converter

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

O Resource training materials - podcasts, videos, archived webinars, and guides O Information about upcoming free ORC PD opportunities O Information about province-wide resource trials and surveys O Online booking system for ORC sessions O Calendar of ORC Events O Links to ORC Twitter and Facebook accounts

O Weekly updates organized by E/J/S: O New resources and features O Province-wide trials O Surveys O Free PD opportunities O No s during school breaks O Membership has its benefits – joining incentive O or visit the ORC Support Site to join

For more information or to schedule a school presentation please contact Jamie Davis, ORC Coordinator Call ext.229 OR

ORC Support Site ORC ListServ ORC Facebook