ERAC Update October 2012

In this issue you'll find:

• 2 new offers from EduReference and Learning A-Z
• 3 highlighted evaluated apps
• Copyright questions
• Learn360 story
• Novel evaluation info
• Media Literacy Week
• Answers to the BC Digital Classroom Bundle

...and so much more!

Deadlines

• BookFlix and Expert Space from Scholastic - short-term offer - expires September 30, 2012

New For You

Learn About Earth, Space and French all with EduReference

Two resources through EduReference have recently received positive evaluations from ERAC; Universalis Junior French Online Reference Centre and Pebble Go Interactive database. Universalis Junior is a French online database allowing students to develop their research skills while learning the language. With an intuitive interface and access to 2,500 encyclopedia articles, this resource is perfect for homework and projects. Pebble Go is a great reference resource for elementary students and features engaging photos, video and audio clips providing information on Earth and Space and over 225 animals. A free trial for both of these is available until December 15, 2012. Sign in to get the full product review for Universalis Junior and Pebble Go. This special discounted short-term offer expires December 31, 2012 so don't miss out!

 

1000’s of Books Available Through Learning A-Z

 

 

 

Want easy access to books? Now through Learning A-Z, two resources are available on a short-term offer and include Reading A-Z and Raz-Kids. Reading A-Z is a comprehensive and affordable collection of over 3,000 printable books with lessons and new books added monthly. Raz-Kids features hundreds of online books with quizzes to be done at home or school, at their own pace. Students can even record their own reading! Check out the full product review for Raz-Kids and Reading A-Z. Find out more about this ERAC special discounted short-term offer before it expires on November 30, 2012.

Implementation Support for E Desktop Solution

 As part of the ERAC/Microsoft E Desktop Agreement signed in April of 2012, Microsoft Canada committed to providing participating Districts with a series of Technology Briefings and a single 2-Day Technical Deployment Workshop to support implementation of the E Desktop Solution.  We would appreciate your input into the topics that should be covered at these events.    Microsoft Technology Briefings will be 3-hour sessions on topics identified by ERAC members and will include project best practices from member Districts with experience in the subject area.  They will be geared to the needs of IT managers and technicians. The Two-Day Technical Deployment Workshop will be a 2 day deep dive technical workshop for ERAC members designed to provide information that will facilitate deployment of the technologies that are part of the E Desktop licensing agreement.  The workshop is intended for IT technicians and will cover product deployment information, tips and best practices.  To complete a brief survey on the best topics and times for these Microsoft training events, click here 

Made the Grade

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 full product review from your peers!

Title	Vendor	Grades/Subject Areas/Annotation
Wahkohtowin: The Relationship between Cree People and Natural Law	BearPaw Media Productions	Health & Career Education grades 5-9, Planning 10, Social Studies grade 12. This video resource introduces students to some of the cultural beliefs of the Cree people. It shares Cree perspectives and beliefs on Natural Law (similar to Restorative Justice), and helps students gain a deeper understanding of the Cree people and other Aboriginal peoples in Canada.
Going Wild! Natural Law for Kids	BearPaw Media Productions	Health & Career Education grades 4-7, Planning 10, Social Studies grades 4-7, Social Studies (BC First Nations Studies) grade 12 Going Wild! is a video resource that helps students understand the value of nature and learn values such as sharing, caring, and kindness. An introduction to Aboriginal Natural Law, it helps students gain an understanding of the importance of working together and having respect for nature.  Students in the video become aware of the effects of their decisions on themselves and others.
Fighting Chance: A Young Offender's Journey Through the Justice System	BearPaw Media Productions	Health & Career Education grades 6-9, Arts Education (Visual Arts) grade 7, Planning 10, Drama (Film & TV) grades 11-12, Visual Arts grades 11-12  Fighting Chance is an effective and engaging animated film that provides the opportunity for students to develop understanding of personal responsibility. It encourages students to become informed decision makers and to develop their understanding of at-risk youth and gangs, how to break the cycle, and take responsibility for their actions.
Identity	BearPaw Media Productions	Social Studies grades 4-8, Social Studies 12 (BC First Nations Studies, Comparative Civilizations, Social Justice) Identity is a video resource that promotes increased understanding of Aboriginal communities in Canada, specifically the Blackfoot, Cree, Dene and Metis. Elders of various communities share their knowledge and culture to help younger people develop their identity.

Apps Reviewed by You

         

Our three highlighted apps for you this month include Animals 360, MindSnacks French, and the British Library Treasures HD. Animals 360 features colourful pictures of animals in their natural habitats on the farm, safari and forest. Listen to the sounds they make and enjoy quizzes and puzzles for different levels. MindSnacks French provides games, words and phrases to build French vocabulary, reading, writing, listening and conversation skills. Every level features up to 25 French words and phrases with audio clips. British Library Treasures HD shows amazing details as you zoom in on the British Museum's collections including literary, historical, music-related and scientific documents. Find literature by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen, as well as the original Magna Carta of 1215! Check out more apps at the ERAC Commons.

ERAC in the Classroom

Learn360 Provides Vast Amount of Options

Gone are the days of using poor quality DVD's that get lost, worn out or even stolen. Now with ERAC's BC Digital Classroom, new technology, programs and software, teachers can have access to literally thousands of high quality digital resources.

Learn 360 is one provider of these interactive media on-demand services designed for K-12, providing quality content across all curriculum areas to enhance the learning experience.

"Learning doesn't have to be within classroom walls," explains Roger Hayward, teacher-librarian for Sullivan Heights Secondary in Surrey. "With the use of Learn360 resources, kids can view videos anytime, anywhere, creating a virtual school. Quizzes can also be created and assigned and kids can complete them all on-line."

Engaging kids is critical in this sensory overloaded world. With enriched lessons that help children excel academically, Learn360 brings to life historical figures and amazing places around the world. Every lesson or project can become extraordinary.

Creating playlists through various clips is a great way to engage students. "Creating playlists is a popular feature we provide at Learn360," notes Neil Kirkwood, Regional Manager for Visual Education Centre Limited, parent company of Learn 360. "You can create playlists for a Math unit and a second one for a Science unit and basically tailor it for specific use. You can even add custom content."

A school in Ontario that uses Learn360 added their custom content when they recorded their high school league champion basketball game. That specific customized content just happened to get more views than any of the curriculum!

To assist teachers in organizing the vast content for use, both Hayward and another teacher-librarian have been downloading information and adding it to a flash drive.

"Depending on the school's bandwidth, sometimes streaming may take time to buffer," explains Tammy Le, teacher-librarian for L.A. Matheson Secondary School in Surrey. "By downloading onto a USB, video clips and more, I can customize the content depending on the subject area and grade level. It saves a lot of time for teachers and gets them using this great resource quickly."

As school districts implement new resources, there can be challenges to address and the use of a USB for providing customized content to teachers is a great option.

"Having access to hundreds of videos and feature films is so much easier than dealing with DVD's," remarks Hayward. "With budgets being cut for resources, Learn 360 provides a great solution for saving money on DVD's, as well as the space to contain them. The information doesn't need replacement, it's easy to circulate, and it's always up-to-date."

Helping to create the digital classroom is a goal of ERAC and providers like Learn360. Some of their most widely used videos include: A&E, BBC Motion Gallery, National Geographic, Reading Rainbow, Scholastic AudioBooks and more. These all come standard with subscription.

Also included with subscription is training and implementation and there are a number of options for both. For more information on Learn360, check out their brochure. Sign in on the ERAC website to read the full product review of this ERAC evaluated and approved resource. Talk with your district contact on how to get this product and many more for your students. For details on the various bundle options, check out the agreement on the BC Digital Classroom.

Copyright – Do You Know the Answers?

ERAC provides a FREE copyright course to ERAC members. Sample questions below have been taken from the course. Each section in the course has a short quiz to test your knowledge and help clarify some aspects of copyright law. To access the Copyright course, log in or create your account first if you haven't already.

Question 1:

Under ERAC's agreement with the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) schools, without asking for permission or paying a fee may perform music in a number of situations other than education or instruction for a paying audience.  Which one of the following are schools not allowed to do under this agreement?

a. Play live music at a school dance

b. Play recorded music as background music in the cafeteria

c. Perform a musical for parents

Answer can be found in Section (7). We will also post the answer in the November newsletter.

Question 2:

Your school district has registered for the ERAC Online Resource Database Bundle. As a teacher, which one of the following are you not allowed to do as part of this agreement?

a. Download a copy of an article from EBSCO and store it on your school computer

b. Make hard copies of that article for your students

c. Give a printout of the article to your neighbor, and email the stored copy to a friend in Toronto

Answer can be found in Section (7). We will also post the answer in the November newsletter.

Great Resources Available at MediaSmarts

MediaSmarts provides a free resource of a "Diversity and Media Toolbox". It has great lesson plans for teachers with links to videos and more. The Diversity and Media Toolbox is a comprehensive suite of resources that explores issues relating to stereotyping, bias and hate in mainstream media and on the internet. Check it out along with all the other great resources available with MediaSmarts.

Improving Access to Digital Resources

Finding and accessing quality resources, even those that districts have already purchased, continues to be a struggle for teachers.  ERAC, in discussion with various districts and educational stakeholders, decided to study the situation and find ways to improve access to digital resources that support all learning in BC classrooms. This work contributed to and led to our vision of our Roadmap to the Future  video. We've also produced a short white paper called, " Roadmap to the Digital Classroom:  Accessing quality digital resources".  This paper describes the process that ERAC undertook and our findings of how other jurisdictions from around the world addressed the same problems and can be found on our website.  To read the full account of our work go to http://connectlearn21.net/

In the Works

District Contacts Meeting Filling Up Fast!

If you're a District Contact (old or new) and you haven't registered yet for the upcoming District Contacts meeting (October 25/26) then do so soon! There are a limited number of seats and they are filling up fast. Don't miss out on pertinent information regarding copyright, BC privacy laws (and implications to school districts), new district initiatives and so much more. Check out the agenda and make sure to register by filling out this survey.

ERAC Moves to Continuous Evaluation of Novels

For the past several years ERAC has used exemplary practicing teachers who are trained by ERAC to evaluate and identify instructional novels, in both English and French, for our grade 3 - 12 classrooms.  Typically novels were reviewed over school break periods and most often during the summer holidays. This meant that a teacher who discovered in September, a great title that they would like to use in their classroom, had to wait until the following September to find out if it had been selected for inclusion in ERAC's resource catalogue. 

ERAC is now implementing a continuous evaluation process of novels that are identified by ERAC members, at no additional cost to districts. Members wanting to have a particular title reviewed by ERAC simply need to complete the submission form found on the website and ERAC will facilitate the evaluation.  This new focus will allow us to be much more responsive to the needs of the classroom. We encourage member districts, and particularly teachers, to help us identify excellent classroom novels.

Did You Know?

What Does Digital Literacy Look Like?

Few people seem to have a clear definition of what digital literacy means. Often, districts merely teach students how to use software and hardware. There are a multitude of definitions and terms used to try and describe the notion of media or digital literacy. To gain more insight, check out Elisa Carlson's blog. (Elisa Carlson, Ed. D, Director of Instruction, Surrey Schools)

7th Annual Canadian Media Literacy Week Is On

Media Literacy Week is being held from November 5-9, 2012, co-hosted by MediaSmarts and the Canadian Teacher's Federation. With a theme of Privacy Matters, privacy knowledge and skills will be explored for youth and their online activities. Consider supporting this week by organizing an event in your school/community or promoting through your networks. To learn more, go to the Media Literacy Week website.

ERAC is at the PSA’s

We'll be attending the upcoming PSA Conferences for CUEBC, BCTELA, BCTLA, BCSSTA. If you're attending these, be sure to come by our table and learn more about the services that ERAC can provide you. See you there!

You Asked Us

Q. Many of you have asked "How is the new BC Digital Classroom bundles structured?"

A. Some of you may have noticed that we have changed the manner in which you can purchase the various BC Digital Classroom products that we have negotiated for you.

• Starting November 1, your district's teachers and students will only be able to access the products you have purchased for this school year. All database subscriptions are automatically renewed. To gain access to other products you must subscribe.

• Through vendor negotiations, certain requirements to meet guarantees became necessary. This provided us with the need to restructure the offerings to our members. Now, with the addition of several new products, we have created 3 bundles in the BC Digital Classroom.

• In negotiating new agreements, vendors of key products were substantially increasing their prices and pricing models. For example:

• CBC and NFB are facing economic challenges with the changes in government funding and have moved to build new revenue models with the sale of digital rights to their collection and/or implementing increases in excess of 100% in subscription fees.

• Encyclopedia of BC moved to a dynamic digital format creating more value but at a higher cost.
  

This is why some products are now included in the Canadian Bundle for a fee.

• ERAC was also able to procure digital rights to CBC's most popular education titles as well as to new content to support full day kindergarten and expand the Aboriginal and French content available to districts and schools. Access Learning added an entire website dedicated to careers and jobs, Jobs People Do.

The BC Digital Classroom was created to provide a suite of quality resources to support student centered learning. Without this advantaged bundle pricing, these prized Canadian content and database reference learning resources would not be affordable to many BC K- 12 districts and schools.

To continue to bring the lowest unit cost to this and future agreements, sign up by the majority of the provincial student FTE is required. Please consider the advantages of the purchase of the BC Digital Classroom.

TWEET REPEAT

Some past tweets you may have missed:

September 21 - ERAC's copyright course for members contains module quizzes-good place to start to determine prior knowledge login: http://www.bcerac.ca/services/training/courses/ …

September 21 -ERAC, EBSCO, World Book and SMART participating in Dawson Creek "Aiming for Excellence" 2 day district pro-d event Oct. 22/23

September 4 - Has your district considered ERAC's new bundle of digital resources for BC classrooms? More info http://bit.ly/Mm8LhV

Are you following us on Twitter? You can find us at www.twitter.com/bcerac

Did you know we’re on FaceBook too? Why not recommend and like us and get in on the conversation!