a history of curriculum services canada

1995-1996
• A more detailed criteria sheet
• A release form
• Copyright confirmation forms
• Display permission forms
• A worksheet for database information about the resource—title, developer’s
name, unit and copyright prices, grade level, core program area, dates of
publication and revision, language, a brief description, and an indication of
whether or not the material had been field tested (a feature specifically requested
by teachers)
• A form for ordering information, including shipping and handling particulars and
copyright permission policy.
In all, 519 new resources from over 70 sources were processed for the new catalogue. It
would include a Concepts Index and feedback forms, like the first catalogue, together with a
revised Catholic section, as requested by the Catholic community. Materials developed by
Catholic boards would now appear only within a separate section of the catalogue. (They
had their own section in the Transition Years Catalogue, but had also been integrated into
the main section with the other resources.) Also, like the section for “Public/Other
Resources,” the “Catholic Resources” 15 section would now be subdivided into the four core
program areas of the revised Common Curriculum—Language, The Arts, Personal and
Social Studies: Self and Society, and Mathematics, Science and Technology—with a section
for Cross Curricular material at the end. Each section would be colour coded.
While work on the print catalogue was moving well and on schedule, the situation was not
so promising for the online version. The Transition Years Catalogue was supposed to go
live on the ENO site on November 27, but was again delayed owing to problems at the
network. Taken together with the advice from the Ministry, this new setback caused OCC
to give higher priority to the search for another venue for the online version of the catalogue.
In mid November, with orders slowing down and the new catalogue materials safely in the
hands of ONTERIS, the Work Group heard a preliminary presentation on self-sustainability.
The bywords of the new government were “affordability, accountability, and quality,” and
the Work Group planned to reduce its funding request for 1996-97 by thirty percent.
Urgency around the development of alternative revenue sources was growing. But, as a new
concept in education, self-sufficiency had to be approached carefully. One of the first
requirements would be to establish clear definitions for “partner” and “sponsor” and to
develop policies around each. The Work Group agreed to develop a comprehensive selfsufficiency
plan and to actively seek sponsorship for OCC.
At the same time, the group resolved to continue the ONeducation partnership for the
coming year and to investigate potential web links—SchoolNet, the Ontario Institute for
Information and Communication Technology Mediated Learning (OIICTML), TVO, and
©2008 Curriculum Services Canada 28