February 12, 2014

Check Us Out At #CCTC2014!


Wanting to know more about CORE, have a chance to talk to others about it, or to have a chance to chat with the CORE working team? Be sure to join us at the Calgary City Teachers' Convention on Thursday morning from 8:30 - 9:45 for a hands on session where we will explore the environment and work through the contribution process. The session will be held in Macleod E4 (Basement) in the TELUS South Building.

Want a sneak peek? CLICK HERE to dive into our session resources:

  • PPT overview of CORE
  • Quick-start activity sheet (1-page)
  • CORE features poster for your classroom and school
  • Example of how CORE fits with other educational tech within an inquiry project (D2L, student profile tools, YouTube, websites, etc.)
  • 5-min video demo and overview of CORE
  • Additional resources


Make use of the resources and happy CORE-ing!

February 4, 2014

We Love Stories. We Want Yours!


A brand new story-sharing feature has just been launched on the CORE blog! We want to highlight your short story, example, or experience while using, accessing and collaborating through digital resources at https://www.albertacore.ca. Submit your story and it could be showcased on the blog and through Twitter!

Here's How
  • Who: All students and staff who have used CORE are welcome to share! 
  • Length: Anywhere between 2-200 sentences long. Feel free to include links, images, and anything else that illustrates your experience. 
  • When: Submit your story for our 'first run' by March 1, 2014

Follow Us & Your Stories


February 3, 2014

Be Swept Off Your Feet and Into CORE

We have felt the love from our CORE users around daily CORE resource suggestions, and so for February we are continuing to highlight a resource every weekday. Help us spread the love of CORE by sharing this blog post, our daily tweets from @core4learning, and the daily resource suggestions. Check back every day for a sweet resource treat!

January 24, 2014

Destination Imagination Resources in CORE for CBE Users


Destination Imagination is a resource for grade 3-9 classroom teachers that promotes the acquisition of 21st century competencies and skills through open-ended creative problem-solving projects, with an explicit focus on teaching 21st century competencies (4Cs- creative problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, collaboration). The Classroom Edition provides teachers with inquiry-based projects that deepen students’ 21st century learning skills - transforming education by changing behaviors, attitudes, and creating authentic learning experiences. Each of the challenges represent a cross-curricular, integrated open ended project,supported by a lesson plan that follows a gradual release of responsibility model, and is coupled with various self-assessment and formative assessment options for teachers to use. All of the challenges and assessments are modifiable with the intent that they can become authentic learning experiences for students, and the resource is flexible enough to use as teachers see fit. Teachers and students will be able to find all of the challenges in CORE. Teachers will also have access to all corresponding assessments, curriculum correlations, etc.

To access Destination Imagination resources in CORE:
  • Login to CORE using your CBE credentials
  • Click on the [CBE Power Search] button in the middle of the page
  • Under "Major Providers" click [Destination Imagination]
  • Add any additional search terms or search queries
  • Click [Search]
To access a concise "how-to" guide, add the words: "getting started" to the search described above.
To learn more about Destination Imagination, click here.

January 23, 2014

Student Use on the Rise

CORE is a valuable tool to support teachers in planning for learning, but it is also an excellent resource to support students in their learning. While teachers were our early users, they have been bringing their students into the environment and students are seeing its value as a source of quality resources. Student daily use of CORE surpassed teacher use as of November 2013!

Student Commenting is Open in CORE

Our users value what other users have to say about the quality and usefulness of resources in CORE, both student comments and teacher comments. 
"This is an epic video. It helped me do my homework today." "This video taught me the basic stuff you have to do." "It was awesome how he flipped the dough that fast, LIKE FLASH! THAT video is so cool!" "I love CORE. I hated taking my textbook home." "It is great for my math practice at home." "Honest video. Great to hear and see from soneone else other than a teacher standing and talking."

Crowdsourcing resource evaluations is a great way to leverage the networking capabilities in CORE. Become an active member of the CORE community by commenting on and rating the resources you use in CORE.





January 13, 2014

Join the CIA! Chart the Future of the CORE Prototype for Digital Resources

If you've always wanted to join the CIA, here's your chance!
  • Are you a teacher in CBE, CCSD, RVS, GHSD or CRPS?
  • Are you interested in using digital resources with students and sharing the best digital content to build your PLN?
  • Want to provide input on tough decisions that will help to shape CORE, an innovative edtech prototype?
Then join the CORE Input Advisory Team! Beginning in February 2014, we'll be hosting events for CIA members where you can:
  • Chat face to face with fellow teachers who use CORE
  • Pick the brains of the CORE implementation team
  • Discuss future trends in digital resources
  • Explore digital resource crowdsourcing and user feedback
  • Learn through creating and sharing content
Want to learn more? Simply take our 2-minute survey (1-click questions only, no typing answers!) and tell us your name and email at the end. We'll send you info about the team. And for the 20+ members who have already signed up, keep your eyes peeled to your inboxes. More info to come!


~The CORE Team

January 9, 2014

A Flurry of January Resources

Cozy up to this blog post to discover a different CORE resource every weekday in January. We will brighten your days with a new tip, resource, or idea for learning and teaching from the wealth of digital resources located at albertacore.ca. Click on the coloured circles on the snowflakes to access these exciting resources. Check back daily!


January 3, 2014

We're Getting Ready for an Amazing 2014!

Welcome back!

We are excited! 2014 will be an amazing year for learning with digital resources. We are looking forward to helping you find, use, and share the most valuable digital resources for learning through CORE. In short, our goal is to be the one-stop hub for educators and students accessing and sharing videos, images, e-texts, articles, websites, lesson plans, and interactive media.

Three ways to Get Started
  1. New to CORE? Check out our 5-minute overview and demo (our interface is super updated now but the features are the same!)
  2. Try these 2-minute intro activities and get to know the CORE features including: saving favourites, searching, commenting, and rating resources.
  3. Log in with your regular school district username and password at albertacore.ca and take a look around. Try the Power Search button out and start exploring resources!

Want more? Try this!
  • Leave a rating or comment on a resource that you find in CORE.
  • Contribute your own favourite websites, videos, lesson plans, work samples, and more.
  • Join the CIA Team (CORE Input Advisory Team) by answering a few 1-click questions. We're planning some great events for the CIA this year!
Wishing you all things energizing, engaging, and fun this year! Happy learning!

~The CORE Team

December 10, 2013

Looking Back & Ahead: The Year According to CORE

As the holidays approach, 'tis the season to reflect on what we have accomplished together through CORE. We'd like to extend a huge thank you to you, our users, for your enthusiasm in jumping into this experiment! From the beginning of our prototype last fall, our goals have been to bring you a platform that is:

  • Your one-stop hub for quality educational resources
  • Your gateway to resources in multiple flexible formats including videos, animations, websites, images, online databases, and e-texts
  • Your voice for leaving comments and ratings that share how resources can be applied in teaching and learning, and providing back-end analytics that help your district make future purchasing decisions 
  • Your forum for sharing self-created and found resources with students and staff across your district and beyond

Along the way, we've experienced some hiccups and challenges, as well as enormous successes. We have learned so much from you! This year we:


Here's where we're at, thanks to you!



We're happy to report that over 250 users have visited our Interactive CORE Advent Calendar since last week! Click here to pick up your daily resources and tips, and then learn how to create your own using ThingLink.

...And here's what's exciting about the new year!

Keep your eyes peeled to news on Twitter, the CORE blog, and on your CORE dashboard!

  • Get ready for our Student Contribution Contest to be held from January to February! Students will be able to contribute self-created and found resources to share their learning with users across their district and beyond. (Our teacher contest just wrapped up and was a huge hit!)
  • Launching exciting activities for our CIA Team (our not-so-top-secret CORE Input Advisory). We are still accepting interested staff members from all five districts!


Wishing you and your learning communities a safe and fun holiday season!

~ The CORE Team