ERAC Update - May 2012

Deadlines

• Media Awareness Network: Passport to the Internet – expires May 31, 2012
• Please note that vendors must submit products by June 15 to ensure that they are evaluated over the summer

New For You

Animation = Fun in the Classroom

Have some extra fun and learning in the classroom through animation! ToonBoom’s animation software and classroom curriculum materials are now being offered in smaller quantities, making it easier to purchase. This offer also includes a special bundle of two animation tools, Flip Boom All-Star and Toon Boom Studio. Curriculum materials are also included in this offer. Check out all the details in the agreement.

Enjoy Your OFFICE at Work and Home

Want some Microsoft Office products at a substantially reduced rate? We thought you might! For ERAC Districts participating in the Microsoft PML EDesktop Agreement, we are offering you the benefits of the Home Use Program for your staff. Microsoft office products already being used at work can now also be installed on home computers. This is a first come first serve offer. All the details can be found in the agreement. Log in and check out the step by step guide for purchase. (Also available for Macs).

Communicate Easily with Synervoice SchoolConnects

Long gone are the days of snail mail as more schools and districts look at ways to communicate quickly and cheaply. SchoolConnects is a web-based mass communication tool allowing for voice and electronic messages to be sent quickly to parents and staff regarding all school related issues. These include transportation problems or weather delays, parent nights and homework assignments, and of course daily attendance issues and emergencies. ERAC has renewed its agreement with Synrevoice SchoolConnectsWeb for three more years and at even greater discounts than before. Check out the entire agreement here.

Engagement is Easy with BookFlix and Expert Space from Scholastic

Getting students engaged might be easy, but keeping them engaged is another story. With this new short-term offer from Scholastic, they’ll stay engaged and can even have access at home! ERAC members must subscribe before September 30, 2012 to enjoy this offer on two products. BookFlix pairs classic video stories with related non-fiction ebooks to provide a wonderfully colourful and animated world. Expert Space is another online resource that will transform the way your students engage in social studies and science through interactive projects. Both of these subscriptions can be accessed anywhere, including at home! For more information, check out the complete short-term offer here.

Want to Learn About the Big Bad Wolf?

You may think you know everything already about wolves, but the newly evaluated “Sea Wolves – Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest” might surprise you. This beautifully illustrated book, along with two others, “Salmon Bears – Giants of the Great Bear Rainforest” and “Generation Us” are now being offered at a great discount for a short term offer until August 31, 2012. Get more details here.

Made the Grade

Lessons are lost when students can't hear

Check out ERAC’s Online Resource Collection to find out what’s new. Click on the titles to go to the evaluation. Log in and see the ERAC Review from your peers!

Title	Vendor	Grades/Subject Areas/Annotation
Learn Your Way! Self-designing the Life You Really Want, Starting Now	Dreaming Dragon Consulting	Grades: 7-10, Subjects: Health, Career Education and Planning 10. This book presents ideas on self-discover, self-awareness and self-actualization for senior students. With many activities, students can create and evaluate their own learning paths. Mind maps and mandalas used are very engaging.
Google SketchUp Pro	Google	Grades: 8-12, Subjects: Geography, Social Studies, History and Industrial Technology projects. Google SketchUp Pro 8 is a 3D modeling software, offering students 3D building models and other objects where virtual prototypes can be made of woodwork and metals, recreating ancient villages for social studies or creative works of art.
Canada at War	D&M Publishing	Grades: 8-10, Subjects: Social Studies, English Language Arts. This full colour graphic textbook focuses on Canada’s role in World War II. Providing visual skills and clues makes acquiring content information more engaging than just reading. Content is clear and well presented, and comes with summaries for each topic.
BookFlix	Scholastic Canada Ltd	Grades: K-4, Subjects: Cross-curricluar. BookFlix is an engaging and user friendly multimedia literary resource. The collection pairs fiction and non-fiction materials on a variety of themes. Visuals are rich and engaging. Content is multicultural.
Expert Space	Scholastic Canada Ltd.	Grades: 7-12, Subjects: Cross-curricular, Social Studies, Science, Language Arts. An online digital curriculum and toolkit, this resource provides access to leveled content complete with interactive learning tools. The resources is a comprehensive collection of more than 100 content modules on a wide range of topics with vetted web links, time lines, maps, images, slide shows, videos and other media.

ERAC in the Classroom

Pro-D Day Initiative

Looking for options for next year’s professional development days? Partnering with key learning resource vendors, ERAC is excited to promote digital learning resource education through a new initiative that will support districts’ own professional learning needs. Working with vendors and district staff, ERAC will assist in coordinating a pro-d event in school districts to help maximize district use of products that districts have purchased. Participating vendors include EBSCO, WorldBook, CBC News in Review, KnowBC, SMART and MediaNet Awareness. Please note that these are not vendor sessions, but rather educational seminars on the use of ERAC products for student learning. District contacts and administrative personnel will be sent more particulars later this week. Maryjanne Yusyp, the ERAC staff member who manages ERAC’s professional learning opportunities for districts says, “Our goal is to customize support for districts‘ own professional learning needs when it comes to successfully integrating classroom resources for personalized learning.” Don’t miss out and plan early. Questions can be forwarded to Maryjanne at myusyp@bcerac.ca.

What About Canada, Eh?

Looking for information about a contemporary Canadian author? The Canadian Periodicals Index Quarterly (CPI.Q.) database will find this for you and everything else…Canadian specific. Finding Canadian content can be challenging but not through the CPI.Q. which includes a variety of popular magazines and newspapers from across Canada. With over 1300 publications, going back 32 years, you’re bound to find what you’re looking for. ERAC4U provides highlights on the CPI.Q. as well as video demos and “how to” searches, plus so much more. Take a look here first to simplify your use of this great resource.

More Teacher-Approved Apps to Discover and Share

“Good apps can be found…but great apps must be discovered and shared.” This great quote explains the true treasure of apps. Our app collection keeps growing in leaps and bounds at the ERAC Commons. With 30 newly reviewed apps, including secondary math/science and humanities apps, we’re sure you’ll find something useful. For instance, why not hold Planet Earth in your hand? Now you can with the new app “Planet Earth 3D”. This app is divided into four sections: structure, rotation, moon and habitat. To explain the concepts, 3D models are provided that can be manipulated by the student. Check out our review here.

In the Works

What We’re Working On

Renewal of the popular Media Awareness Network resources: Passport to the Internet and MyWorld and we’re also renewing the EBSCO, World Book and Gale resources in the ERAC database bundle. So keep your eyes/ears open as we’ll be letting you know as soon as we’ve secured you the best deal! Membership pays.

Rounding into the Last Lap – Digital RoadMap Project

All 38 reports are in and we are busy compiling all the information into a useable resource for you. We’re excited to share what we’ve learned, what options are available and what the roadmap looks like for the future. To hear some comments about the process from your peers, just check out the middle panel on our homepage, or click here.

You Asked Us

Q & A

Q. What is ERAC4U?

A. To better support teachers using ERAC products that either their districts have purchased or are provided by ERAC, we’ve created an ERAC Commons group (ERAC4U) that will house access information, user tips and classroom resources. Each month we will feature a product that ERAC currently has an agreement with and provide related links so that teachers can better understand the product, its curricular uses and information on how to access.

TWEET REPEAT

Some past tweets you may have missed:

April 16 - What do Planet Earth 3D,The Virtual Bacterial ID Lab and Rhyme Zone have in common? They’re a few of newly reviewed apps http://eraccommons.ca/mobileapps/

April 12 - Looking for current Can. reference material or resources? ERAC database bundle includes CPIQ. Helpful info on how to use http://eraccommons.ca/erac4u/

April 2 – Google's SketchUp Pro 8 3D Modelling software licenses to ERAC members at no additional cost for a term of 3 years http://bit.ly/HrkIxHhttp://bit.ly/HrkIxH

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