Digital Resources

The TJRC subscribes to many research databases and digital resources to support student learning at the elementary and secondary levels. 

Unless otherwise noted, all digital resources provided by TJRC can be accessed from the student UGCloud landing page. These sites recognize UGDSB staff and students automatically, so no need to enter a username or password. When you click on a link, the site should automatically sign you in.

NOTE: The grade levels listed below are suggestions only. Educators are responsible for fully reviewing resources before sharing them with students to assess their suitability. 

To learn more about one of our digital resources or to troubleshoot any issues with a platform, talk to your school's teacher librarian or email terryjames.library@ugdsb.on.ca.

Britannica School

Britannica School offers encyclopedia articles and educational videos, images, magazine and journal articles, learning games, and more. Their materials are available through one of three access levels - elementary, middle, or high school - and each article can be scaled to different reading levels. Content is updated by the vendor monthly.

Try the LaunchPacks - these curated mini collections of articles, images, and videos have been developed with teachers in mind and are designed to support grade-appropriate learning areas. Access them from the Britannica homepage by clicking on "Your Britannica Resources" in the upper right-hand corner of the page, and then selecting LaunchPacks.


Grades K-12

Unlimited, simultaneous use

NEW! Britannica School has released a new resource this year called Teach Britannica - this site provides lessons, academic toolkits, instructional strategies, and graphic organizers developed by educators, for educators. 


Click on a student age category under "Our Products" to get started.

screenshot of website

Britannica School: Fall '24 Updates

Intro to Britannica LaunchPacks

Canadian Points of View Reference Centre

Canadian Points of View Reference Centre (powered by EBSCO) is an online collection covering hundreds of current topics relevant to Canada, each with an overview (objective background / description), point (argument) and counterpoint (opposing argument) for critical analysis.

Try the Browse by category feature with students as a starting place for narrowing down a topic of interest for further research.

Grades 7-12

Unlimited, simultaneous use

EBSCO

EBSCO databases provide access to online content from journals, magazines, newspapers, and reference sources on a variety of curriculum-related topics. Clicking the EBSCO link on the student UGCloud landing page will take you to the EBSCO homepage, where you can opt to search all content areas simultaneously or select from the list of subject-specific databases. 

Try EBSCO's Research & Writing Tips for Students - this page provides links to helpful resources to guide teaching and learning about the research process. 

Grades 7-12

Unlimited, simultaneous use

EBSCO Research & Writing Tips
EBSCO Top 5 Searching Strategies
EBSCO Accessing Trustworthy Sources

Explora

Explora (powered by EBSCO) is a database providing access to articles from popular children’s magazines, encyclopedia articles, primary sources and over 1.8 million images. Content covers a wide variety of curriculum topics and the interface is simple and easy to navigate - great for younger researchers.

Try the Explore topics or the Discover popular topics features to springboard inquiry-based learning for students who aren't quite sure what they're looking for yet.

Grades 3-8

Unlimited, simultaneous use

Overview of the (new) Explora interface