Table of Contents

 Jump to the Digital Content 
  SNAPSHOTS & SUPPORT Resources

Direct Linking Guidelines for Curriculum Writers and Teachers 

What is Digital Content?

BCPS purchases annual subscriptions to a collection of databases which provide access to a wide variety of digital resources to address K-12 information needs. These digital resources include:

• Education-friendly Web search engines and evaluated websites

• Full text e-Books and interactive eBooks
• Articles from encyclopedias, reference books, magazines, newspapers, and journals
• Videos, images, audio, and multimedia
• Games, interactives, and simulations
• Lesson materials, activities, and assessments 

Database Man from joyce valenza on Vimeo.

Why Use Digital Content?

• BCPS invests significant funds annually for subscriptions to digital content aligned to national and state learning standards to support BCPS content curricula. Digital content supports the STAT initiative and BCPS Blueprint 2.0 Goal 1: Academics, by providing equitable resources for high quality instruction and promoting information, media, and technology literacy.
• BCPS-licensed digital content includes a variety of media formats to address our students' diverse learning styles and engage 21st century learners: eBooks, audio, video, multimedia, images, intractives, etc.
• Unlike many sources freely available on the Internet, subscription-based digital content is reliable, authoritative, age appropriate, frequently updated, ad-free, and includes a variety of learning supports to support students' needs, including:  audio read-aloud of text; embedded dictionaries; translators; citation tools; Lexiles/reading levels, and more.  

Accessing BCPS Digital Content

• BCPS Digital Content/Databases are accessible to all Team BCPS members from anywhere, 24/7:
• After logging into BCPSOne, select the Digital Content tile to access instructional content.
• For Professional databases/eBooks, select the Professional Learning tile. 
• Remote Access:  From outside the BCPS network, users will be prompted with remote access passwords.

Creating Direct Links to BCPS Digital Content

Direct links to specific articles, videos, or other digital content resources are useful for providing teacher or student access to a particular database resource in curriculum materials, on Lesson Tiles, or for curation in other digital learning environments. 

• Some databases require a special procedure for obtaining or creating a direct link to a specific resource; a direct link cannot always be created by simply copying the URL from the Internet address bar. 

• Refer to the Direct Linking Guidelines below for creating direct links from each database and placing direct links in Schoology. 

• Direct Linking Guidelines for Curriculum Writers and Teachers

Lexile & Reading Levels

• BCPS-licensed digital content includes text resources labeled and/or searchable by Lexile and other Reading Level measures.  Identifying resources by Lexile/Reading Level is useful for ensuring that students are able to comprehend assigned texts, and for encouraging students to read increasingly complex texts, a goal of the Common Core.  
• Database Support pages include information about finding/searching by Reading Level or Lexile. See also this Reading Level Correlations chart.  

Digital Content SNAPSHOTS & SUPPORT Resources

A resource page for each BCPS-licensed database has been created to assist students, teachers, and curriculum office staff in using this digital content. Snapshot & Support pages include an overview of the database and outline of its content and features, navigation, and learning supports, as well as tutorials and educator resources

• Visit the Digital Content SNAPSHOTS & SUPPORT Resources index page.
• Use the Digital Content Features Summary for Grades K-5 or Grades 6-12 for a quick overview of the main features of our databases.