Useful Links

to Technology and to Curriculum

note: Nov./09... I realize that revisions are needed here!
My apologies!!!

Please use your "back button" to return to where you started!

These "Useful Links" have been organized into four sections:

 Please let me know of any other
"made in B.C." or "Canadian" educational sites that you have found useful.
I would be delighted to add them to the list!

 Suggest a site!

Curriculum (I.R.P.s) Links

The standard curricula being used for the purposes of this study are the B.C. Ministry of Education IRPs (Instructional Resource Packages).

Ministry of Education Curriculum Branch
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/branches/pser/welcome.htm

Ministry of Education IRPs Index Page
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/

Ministry of Education 1999
(featured in Van. Sun Newspaper April 20, 2000)
The BC Performance Standards have been developed for voluntary use in BC schools. They describe the professional judgments of a significant number of BC educators about standards and expectations for the following key areas of learning: reading, writing, numeracy, social responsibility.
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/classroom_assessment/perf_stands/

...or use these links to go directly to specific subjects.
Language Arts Grade 4 and 5
Math Grade 4 and 5
 Personal Planning Grade 4 and 5
 Science Grade 4 and 5
 Social Studies Grade 4 and 5
 Information Technology (not mandated)

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Technology in Curriculum Links

Note: Information Technology from K-7 is now considered a Cross Curricular area.

Ministry of Education Cross Curricular webpage
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/branches/pser/curric/cci.html

Information Technology as a Cross Curricular subject
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/branches/pser/curric/apcinf.html

In preparation for the new five year technology plan (after June 2000), and at the request of the BC Teachers Federation, the Ministry of Education formed an advisory committee to make recommendations relating to the effective use of technology in K-12 education. The Report of the "Teaching, Learning, and Education Technology Advisory Committee" to the British Columbia Ministry of Education is entitled "Conditions for Success"

Conditions for Success report:
http://www.bctf.bc.ca/education/technology/conditionsforsuccess/report.html

Information about the public forum and the new draft technology plan:
http://pkp.bctf.bc.ca/index.html

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Using Technology in Education
...sites made in beautiful B.C. !

While there are hundreds of "how to" websites available, let's just look at how our own province is beginning to make a presence online!

 


British Columbia Archives
"Welcome to the British Columbia Archives (BC Archives), located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The BC Archives is the central archives service for the government of British Columbia, and provides research access to records of enduring value to the province for both the provincial government and public clientele.
Our archival holdings include: government documents and records; private historical manuscripts and papers; maps, charts and architectural plans; photographs; paintings, drawings and prints; audio and video tapes; film; newspapers; and an extensive library of publications with a strong emphasis on the social and political history of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest."
http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/index.htm

British Columbia Archives: The Amazing Time Machine
 The purpose of the Time Machine is to provide accessibility to British Columbia historical documents, images, and other multimedia information in a format designed for school-age children. The Time Machine was developed under Industry Canada's SchoolNet initiative.
http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/index.htm

BCTF - British Columbia Teachers' Federation
"BCTF Online is the Federation's Internet information service for BCTF members, parents, and the public. We provide full Internet services to local leaders. Our mailing lists are discussion forums for research, professional development and educational issues. The BCTF Web site provides information about educational and professional issues, bargaining, professional development events and services, and features a number of resource databases."
http://www.bctf.bc.ca/index.html

BCTF: A NEW TECHNOLOGY POLICY FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA'S SCHOOLS?
"Some months ago, British Columbia Teachers' Federation (BCTF) and the Ministry of Education produced Conditions for Success: Teaching, Learning and Education Technology. The Ministry has now followed with a draft Information Technology in Education Plan for 2000 and Beyond for public input. To support public participation in this planning process, BCTF and UBC's Public Knowledge Project have set up this Policy Forum with resources that should help you address the question of technology's place in education. It runs from November 1999 through February 2000."
http://pkp.bctf.bc.ca/

 Classroom Animals and Pets
Ever wondered how you can "get through" that upcoming live animal unit? ...or perhaps you are contemplating a class pet and want to know more first. Maybe you already have an interesting animal in your class and would like to find a teacher in another school or even country to correspond with! This teacher resource was made by a teacher FOR teachers. Check for information at your leisure, follow up interesting links, or contact the teacher directly to ask your specific questions.
http://www.teacherwebshelf.com/classroompets


CLN - The Community Learning Network
 "The Community Learning Network is a telecommunications network maintained by the Open School, a service within the Open Learning Agency. CLN's primary focus is to help K-12 teachers integrate information technology into their classrooms. There are tremendous resources on the WWW but the sheer quantity of these is overwhelming. CLN provides direct links to exemplary educational WWW resources from our intuitive menus. By finding, previewing, describing, and linking to exemplary sites, CLN's staff save teachers an enormous amount of time that they would have wasted otherwise in fruitless browsing."
http://www.cln.org

Computers for Lunch
 "Teachers are expected to use new technologies, and to integrate computers into classroom work. But where can teachers who are just beginning to develop their computer skills get help and support and advice? "Computers for Lunch" is a cost-free, stress-free and relevant skill-building "class" which teachers anywhere can work on in their own time and at their own pace."
http://www.sfu.ca/~cfl/


Connecting Girls
 "Connecting Girls is a made-in-B.C. Web site designed to help teenage girls locate appropriate web-based resources. A previewed and categorized listing of sites… complements the teacher- and student-friendly sites available through the CLN." Many of its listed sites regarding gender concerns are Canadian!.
http://www.members.home.net/lcoupal/

Coquitlam School District (43)
K-12 LIBRARY and LEARNING RESOURCES
This Coquitlam Library Resource website won the 1998 Roy Hill award for excellence. There are many excellent links organized for teachers.
http://www.s95.sd43.bc.ca:8000/district/home.htm

 CUEBC
 "This site is maintained by the Computer Using Educators of British Columbia and sponsored by the British Columbia Teachers' Federation.These pages are meant to be a resource for technology education, pedagogical exploration, and teacher renewal for ALL Computer Using Educators in the Province of British Columbia."
http://www.bctf.bc.ca/CUEBC/

The DayBook
"Welcome to the Daybook: A teacher created searchable database of online lesson plans. You can print out new lessons to use right away! Any teacher can easily submit by filling out the online form. Your lesson plan will be published within 2 weeks
The Daybook is currently featuring a selection of K-7 subjects. Our database is constantly being updated to cover all K-12 subject areas."
http://www.discoverlearning.com/classroom/daybook/

E-GEMS
"E-GEMS, Electronic-Games for Education in Math and Science, is a interdisciplinary team doing research and development on... children's interactions with computers, design and use of (educational) computer games, strategies and materials to integrate game-like computer activities with other forms of classroom learning."
http://taz.cs.ubc.ca/egems/home.html

Gender, Equity Issues and New Information Technologies
"GenTech is an applied research project whose mandate is to create conditions within which girls and women have maximum access to, and confidence in, a wide range of new information technologies." GenTech's creators received the Wired Woman Society's Millenial Year 2000 "Pioneer in Technology and New Media" award!
http://www.educ.sfu.ca/gentech/

 Information Technology Curriculum Consortiumn (ITCC)
"The online lesson plans database links educational technology with various curricular areas from Kindergarten through to Grade Ten levels. The Information Technology Curriculum Consortium (ITCC) was formed back in July, 1997 because many teachers do not have the time or expertise in educational technology integration. Rather than have the dozens of school districts in B.C. "reinvent the wheel" several times, a number of B.C.educational technology leaders decided to pool their efforts. The Ministry of Education as well as the participating districts provided funding to spearhead this project."
http://www.itcc.bc.ca/index2.htm


 Internet Sites that Work with Elementary Students
"Internet Sites that Work..." originates from David Brear's popular workshop for teachers. It includes excellent teacher resources as well as student resources and project ideas. New sites are regularly added. David is a Coquitlam elementary computer teacher who also runs an online university course (see "On Ramp...").
http://members.home.net/dbrear/G4.html


Internet Sites: " So We Have the Internet at School Now What Do We Do ?"
This is another of David Brear's informative workshops. He offers some simple, constructive ideas for getting started.
http://members.home.net/dbrear/G3.html

 Marine Science Society of the Pacific Northwest
The Poulsbo Marine Science Center is actually located in the USA on the Kitsap Peninsula, west of Seattle. The new INTERTIDAL ZONE WEB SITE is for use in all northwest classrooms. If you click on the "tutorial", you can take "A Coastal Journey" with photos taken along our British Columbia coast. This extensive interactive site (elem-12) follows a marine biologist and his school-aged daughter as they travel a northwest rocky shore at low tide. The site covers tidal dynamics, coastal geology, intertidal stratification, and plant/animal adaptions."A Coastal Journey" will be upgraded periodically; comments from BC educators are welcome. (Questions: nrsefton@telebyte.net)
http://www.poulsbomsc.org (Click on Tutorial)

 On Ramp to the Information Highway
On Ramp to the information Highway (EDCI 396C) is a UBC Office of Continuing Professional Education correspondence course facilitated and written by David Brear, Coquitlam School Teacher, recent recipient of The Busy Educator's Award. Since it began in the summer of 1997, this course about the Internet and its resources has enrolled over 150 educators from around BC and as far away as Japan.
http://members.home.net/dbrear/index.html

 Open School- Education Anywhere Anytime
"Open School is a division of the Open Learning Agency focusing on the BC K-12 curriculum, and offering innovative, timely, and current educational programs for students and teachers. We help school administrators, teachers, and students from kindergarten to high school by offering courses and teaching resources using print, television, and the Internet, and by providing innovative course design in English and in French. Our expertise is extremely useful to teachers committed to improving access to basic education by developing flexible, learner-focused programs that can be delivered via distance or in the classroom."
http://www.openschool.bc.ca/about/index.html


 Phoenix Quest
"Phoenix Quest is multi-media, cross-curricular adventure developed by the E-GEMS project (Electronic Games for Education in Math and Science) at the University of British Columbia. The intent of Phoenix Quest is to make mathematics appealing to girls from ages 9 to 14 by incorporating game and activity elements that girls find interesting, important and challenging."
http://taz.cs.ubc.ca/egems/pq/toc.html


 PLNet
Here's how the B.C. Ministry of Education describes their website: " PLNet is a new telecommunications network that will vastly enhance British Columbia's public education system. A progressive initiative by the provincial government, PLNet gives all public schools, colleges and other institutions throughout BC full access to modern computer networking and communications capabilities."
http://www.plnet.bc.ca/


 PLNet Teachers Resource
The purpose of this Web site is to provide BC Teachers with an overview of what PLNet and the Internet offers and how to go about using them.
http://www.plnet.bc.ca/teacher's_resource_kit/

 S.N.O.O.P.S. - Galaxy Classroom (Open School)
"The S.N.O.O.P.S. program is a Grade 5 Science course that combines science activities and technology to teach important concepts in a new and interesting way.
S.N.O.O.P.S. gets its name from a group of young scientists — the SNOOPERS — who solve mysteries using their predicting, observing, experimenting and analyzing skills. The Snoopers rely on faxes, video cameras and computers to communicate with one another."
http://www.openschool.bc.ca/galaxy/snoops/snoops.html


 Webquests
School District 68, Ladysmith-Nanaimo, has created an excellent introduction to using Webquests. Additionally, there are many links to the original Webquest Design suggestions from Bernie Dodge and Tom March at San Diego State University.
http://www.sd68.bc.ca/webquests/


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Using Technology in Education
...other Canadian sites

Let's not forget those provinces East of the Rockies!

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
"Welcome to the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada Web Site. This is your single stop for complete, up-to-date information on Canadian higher education. Universities, publications, international activities, scholarships, advocacy, and much more - all the information is here - in a single window! "
http://www.aucc.ca/en/index.html

Busy Educator's Guide to the Internet.
Marjan Glavac is an educator, author, speaker, webmaster, and enthusiastic promotor of using technology in education! His website and book are excellent resources for all levels of technological expertise and his free monthly e-zine keep teachers up-to-date in friendly, knowledgeable fashion. Marjan teaches in London, Ontario and hosts a chat for Canadian teachers at the teachers.net website <http://www.teachers.net chat>.
http://www.glavac.com


Canada.com search engine

This search engine looks for Canadian sites and gives a percentage of Canadian content in the results. "Optimized for browser versions 4.0 and higher 'canada.com' is a division of Southam Inc., Canada's largest publisher of daily newspapers"
http://www.canada.com/home/


Canadian Education on the Web

"The purpose of Canadian Education on the Web is to bring together everything relating to Canada and education that has a presence on the World Wide Web. " This extensive website provides links to Canada wide educational organizations, Ministries of Education, School Board Organizations etc.
http://www.oise.utoronto.ca/~mpress/eduweb.html


Canadian Heritage
"The Canadian Heritage Portfolio has a variety of instruments at its disposal to contribute to a common national purpose. We foster a strengthened sense of what it means to be a part of the Canadian community. We ensure the presence of Canadian culture in an era of globalization. We provide Canadians with greater opportunities to learn and understand more about our country and about each other, to involve them in nation-building and to celebrate and recognize Canadian achievements. We ensure protection of our natural and cultural heritage for the benefit of current and future generations. The Department's programs and activities are clustered under five sectors: Canadian Identity, Cultural Development, Arts and Heritage, Strategic Management, Corporate Services."
http://www.pch.gc.ca/english.htm


Canadian Museum of Civilization: Vitual Museum

"As the national museum of human history, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is committed to fostering in all Canadians a sense of their common identity and their shared past. At the same time, it hopes to promote understanding between the various cultural groups that are part of Canadian society. "
"The social, economic and technological environment in which the we operate has changed greatly in the last few years. Therefore the Board of Trustees and senior management felt that it was time to provide a revitalized strategic direction to take the Museum towards the year 2000. The management and staff of the CMCC worked together to develop the Corporation's first strategic plan." (including..."To make use of new technologies to keep our programmes current and interactive".)
http://www.civilization.ca/index1e.html#virtual


Canadian Museum of Nature
"The Canadian Museum of Nature is much more than a natural history museum that creates and develops exhibits for public viewing. Behind our public face is a vibrant, multi-layered, multi-faceted organization composed of research scientists, collection specialists, education and multimedia specialists, and innovators.
By browsing this site, you will begin to see the depth of scientific and educational programmes and activities that make up the heart and soul of the Museum."
http://www.nature.ca/


Canadian Universities
"This list includes all institutions that are members of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, as well as other institutions that offer full-time study at the university credit level."
http://www.uwaterloo.ca/canu/


Canadiana: The Canadian Resource Page
From Technology and Science, to Travel and Tourism, Facts and Figures, Heritage and Politics... this site has an extensive set of links to Canadian information.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/Unofficial/Canadiana/README.html

Can Teach
"CanTeach is a non-commercial site created to assist teachers in finding and using resources online. Although this site has resources which all educators will find useful, we have attempted to place emphasis on lesson plans, resources, & links which have a Canadian focus since there is a need for such materials on the web."
http://www.track0.com/canteach/index.html


CERIS - Canadian Education Research Information System

"CERIS provides information about Canadian education and Canadian research on education in a way that is easily accessible to everyone interested in education and learning." The webpages on the theme of technology "attempt to describe briefly what is happening in Canada at the present time, what some of the major issues are, and some possible directions for the future, especially related to policy and research."
http://ceris.schoolnet.ca/e/Tech1.html
Major Internet sources collected by this website are located at:
http://ceris.schoolnet.ca/e/Tech2.html


Children's Literature Web Guide

"The Children's Literature Web Guide is an attempt to gather together and categorize the growing number of Internet resources related to books for Children and Young Adults. My contribution, besides pulling all these sites together, is to compile book awards lists from a variety of print sources, and from Internet "sources" who generously post news of recent winners." David K. Brown is a Librarian with an ulterior motive... "If my cunning plan works, you will find yourself tempted away from the Internet, and back to the books themselves!" What a fantastic resource!
http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/aboutclwg.html

Council of Ministers of Education Canada
"In Canada, education is the responsibility of each province and territory. Because ministers of education needed a forum in which to discuss issues of mutual concern, they established the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) in 1967. CMEC is the national voice for education in Canada. It is the mechanism through which ministers consult and act on matters of mutual interest, and the instrument through which they consult and cooperate with national education organizations and the federal government. CMEC also represents the education interests of the provinces and territories internationally."
http://www.cmec.ca/indexe.stm

Department of Fisheries and Oceans - Maritimes region
This website provides interesting information and some web links for students and teachers on various water habitats. This information is often applicable to areas other than the Maritimes.
http://www.gfc.dfo.ca/habitat/


Education Indicators in Canada in 1999
Report of the Council of Ministers of Education Canada.
Look for Chapter 3 : Characteristics and Features of Education Systems
Communication and Information Technologies in Schools... see pages 45-50.
http://www.cmec.ca/stats/pceip/1999/


Environment Canada's "The Green Lane" Website

"We are a science-based government department whose business is helping Canadians live and prosper in an environment that is properly protected and conserved. It's our goal to help make sustainable development a reality in Canada and, by doing so, make our country an example to the world."
http://www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html


Earth Day Canada
"Celebrated every April 22, Earth Day is the largest, most celebrated environmental event worldwide. More than 6 million Canadians join 500 million people in over 164 countries in staging events and projects to address local environmental issues. Nearly every school child in Canada takes part in an Earth Day activity. Environmental crises abound as our daily actions pollute and degrade the fragile environment that humans and wildlife depend on to survive. First launched as an environmental awareness event in the United States in 1970, Earth Day (April 22) is celebrated as the birth of the environmental movement.
Want to get involved? Need some help? Our programs and resources will help you organize a successful activity, event or project in your organization or community.
http://www.earthday.ca/EDy2k/Home/homefrm1.html


Environmental Connections for Canada
"Environmental Connections is specializing in Canadian Environmental sites and the Pacific Northwest. This site includes lists of small and large environmental groups, Canadian and Provincial government resources, animal rescue centres wildlife Rehabilitators, and groups that have international links. Also included is a growing list of commercial forestry operations.
This web site was begun as a project to provide a free source of information on the various environmental groups within each province. This has expanded into a directory for groups within Canada as well as the Pacific Northwest United States and links to Canadian Government sources."
http://www.bluecrow.com/members/guardian/

Environmental Connections for Canada: Related Sites
Associations:
This webpage gives an extensive listing of various Canadian associations related to the environment.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/links/link_assoc_e.html#can
Government: This webpage gives an extensive listing of the Canadian government departments related to the environment.
http://www.ec.gc.ca/links/link_gov_e.html#can

Free Stuff for Canadians
"Free stuff for teachers is a site where Canadian educators can find the latest links to free resources, materials and even computers. Being a teacher, I know classroom funding is practically non-existent. The goal is to get those free resources from private companies and the government into the classroom. I also found that many freebie sites were geared towards American educators. These sites will deliver to Canadians." What a wonderful site... thank you, Quentin D'Souza, for your hard work!
http://webhome.idirect.com/~qdsouza/

Great Canadian Guide
"Your premier Internet connection to Canada's wonderful museums, galleries and more! The Great Canadian Guide is the result of the integration of CHIN's Guide to Canadian Museums and Galleries and the Official Directory of the Canadian Museums Association. Over 2400 cultural institutions and attractions can be found in this unique, comprehensive, on-line gateway to Canadian heritage. With the technically advanced yet simple-to-use Remote Controls, you can find an abundance of information on Canada's cultural institutions and attractions. Discover our natural history museums, fine art galleries, historic forts, zoos, planetariums, aquariums and more!"
http://daryl.chin.gc.ca/Museums/English/index_top.html



National Library of Canada
"The National Library's collections focus primarily on Canadiana, works in all subjects written by, about or of interest to Canadians, published in Canada or abroad. "
http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ehome.htm


Oceans Canada
"Ahoy! If you're looking for links to everything oceans in Canada - from university programs to research institutes to policies and legislation - welcome aboard. Dive in and explore OceansCanada!"
http://www.oceanscanada.com/english/index.htm


Parks Canada
This website encompasses information about our Canadian Parks and National Historic Sites. It also has "virtual tours" (in Quicktime) of many of our parks.
http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/parks/main_e.htm
SchoolNet Projects: This webpage provides links to various projects.
http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/schoolnet/snindexe.htm
Educational Resources: This webpage outlines various educational products, services and programs. A search can be done by: 1) National Parks and National Historic Sites, 2) Age Ranges, or 3) Subject Areas.
http://parkscanada.pch.gc.ca/education/ontario/english/welcome_e.html


Schoolnet

"Established in 1993, Canada's SchoolNet is designed to promote the effective use of information technology amongst Canadians by helping Canadian schools and public libraries connect to the Internet." Mission Statement: "SchoolNet readies learners for the knowledge-based society. It champions life long learning and the creation of world class educational resources through information technology and partnerships."
http://www.schoolnet.ca/home/e/info/sitemap.html


SchoolNet News Network

"The SchoolNet News Network is an online multimedia journalism network for K-12 students across Canada. SNN and its French counterpart Rédaction de Rescol (RDR) offer young Canadians a chance to take part in the fastest-moving developments in media history -- online publishing and broadcasting. SNN is published on the World Wide Web once a month and updated whenever new stories are sent in. The project is open to all Canadian students whether they participate as a class with the support of their teachers or as an individual."
http://www.stemnet.nf.ca/snn/

TACT: Technology for Advanced Collaborative Teaching (English)
TéléApprentissage Communautaire et Transformatif (French)
"The TL*NCE researchers working on the theme Educating the Educators aim to take hold of the pedagogical advantage of telelearning technologies. Toward this aim, the teacher education research team is progressively establishing the TeleLearning Professional Development School (TL*PDS), a concept grounded in both physical and virtual settings: professional development schools (PDSs) or associated schools on the one hand, and professional development webs (PDWs) on the other hand.
TACT is a response to a new vision of the learner. It stresses that successful integration of web-based facilities into the learning and, later, working environment implies extensive reconceptualization of the professional teacher's pedagogy.
TACT is a professional community and a professional development community on the web."
http://www.tact.fse.ulaval.ca/tactfull.html


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This page updated March 31, 2000.