The Instructional Resource Center - Good for every classroom
Variety allows multimedia approach to teaching and learning
 As
school budgets face dramatic cuts, it is helpful to know where
to find useful, up-to-date educational materials to enhance any
unit of study. The HFM BOCES Instructional Resource Center (IRC)
provides something to suit whatever your teaching or students’
learning style happens to be.
Class sets of books
are one of the most requested and widely circulated items, used
by teachers from pre-K through grade 12. Video streaming
services, Learn360 and VITAL NY are also very popular,
representing thousands of educational programs, shorter video
clips and digital files spanning all grade levels and
curriculums.
Learn360 is
constantly adding relevant content and is very easy to use. Free
professional development workshops are being planned for the
summer to offer training for interested teachers.
Automatically
circulating kits are designed for every school level. Elementary
literature collections, middle school graphic novel collections
and high school curriculum title-support materials help for
students needing alternative formats to aid reading
comprehension. There are even professional development kits for
schools to use for their own in-house staff development
programs.
There are also
thousands of curriculum-supporting videotapes and DVDs.
The IRC also offers
school subscriptions to “The Sheet Music Library” through a
cross-contract with the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES Media
Technology Services. This is a collection of thousands of pieces
of music suitable for chorus, orchestra, band and New York State
School Music Association competitions.
Equipment repair is
also offered through cross contracting, and all labor costs are
reimbursable by state aid.
Each year the IRC
tries to add a new service to what it offers to school
districts. Beginning in September 2011, circulating
instructional board games will be introduced.
Materials and
services offered through the IRC are determined by teacher
requests, the availability of new technologies, and discerning
the most useful and cost-effective resource that meets
districts’ needs.
The resources of the
IRC are available to library staff, teachers and administrators
through an online catalog at
http://media.moric.org/HFM.
Materials are delivered by HFM BOCES courier service—usually
within two days. |
