Dear Parent/Guardian,
Did you know that your child can get help from their school library at home? Each school in TDSB has a Virtual Library of carefully selected digital resources to help students and teachers in their work. Some resources need a password when used outside of school. Enclosed is a TDSB Virtual Library Learnmark (bookmark) with descriptions of digital resources and Login/Password information required for home use. The Virtual Library is an extension of your school library at home. It can be helpful with homework, research, to encourage a love of reading or just for fun.
Keep the Learnmark where you and your child can easily find it. The Virtual Library is accessible from home in a variety of ways:
Your child can link to the Roden Virtual Library in several ways. He/She can link through AW (Academic Workspace) http://aw.tdsb.on.ca with his/her Student Number and Network Password click on Virtual Library on the left access or you can access the Roden Virtual Library through the TDSB website.
The Virtual Library provides learning resources for students from K-12 allowing students to:
• search multiple age/grade/curriculum relevant resources from one location
• focus searches on one subject or many
• read fiction and nonfiction articles, books, newspapers, journals, encyclopedia etc. online
• read and listen to many resources with a read-aloud component
• watch full length videos and documentaries
• print, save, or email resources
• access content in English, French and many languages using translation features
• search by date or content type (e.g. images) and avoid distracting advertising
• link to “Just Read It” for students to post recommended book titles, find out what other
TDSB students are reading and even win a book prize or author visit for their school.
Parents and caregivers can also explore the Parent Resources section of the Virtual Library site.
Virtual Library Resource Highlights
(explore the links to these subsections of the Virtual Library site)
For more information contact your school’s Teacher-Librarian or email library@tdsb.on.ca :
ENCYCLOPEDIAS:
Britannica Online- research in a wide variety of topics with 3 different reading levels, read aloud, translation and special topic features, images and links to articles and recommended websites.
Universalis - French language encyclopedia for intermediate students
E-BOOKS:
Follett Shelf - a mixture of fiction and nonfiction books to read online or download to iPads and other portable devices
ONLINE DATABASES:
PebbleGo - animals, earth & space and social studies databases presented in an online book format, incorporating read-a-loud, video and images to support K to 3 students and English Language Learners
BookFlix - paired fiction and non-fiction e-books on a wide variety of topics for junior readers
CultureGrams - information on countries and provinces, including culture and local customs to help in making global connections, regional comparisons. Grade 4 to 12 two reading levels and images, maps, statistics, comparison graphs/charts
NoveList K to 8 - an annotated collection of fiction for elementary students which can be used to answer the question “what should I read next”.
Kids Search - provides access to articles on general topics as well as science and history related content for middle to high school students
Canadian Student Research Centre - general search portal, highlighting Canadian resources while searching multiple databases (i.e.: Science, History, and Literature). Appropriate for grades 6 to 12.
Canadian Points of View - examines controversial issues from a Canadian perspective, providing pro-con essays, Canadian and International magazine/news articles for grades 6 to 12.
Global issues in Context - specialized portal related to global topics - for grades 6 to 12.
Teen Health and Wellness - support for sensitive mental and physical health and social issues that affects middle school and secondary students including video, student experience essays
IMAGES & MEDIA:
Learn 360 - view or download streaming video related to many subject areas in elementary and in secondary studies. Searchable by subject and by grade
CBC Archives - access video and audio news stories related to Canada and to the world
Images Canada – is a collection of images and photo stories from Canadian archives, libraries etc.
Library and Learning Resources & Interdisciplinary Studies, August 2013