• use the objectives of a unit as starting points for selecting resources that represent a strong curriculum fit
• use Wellness 10: A Bibliography, the annotated bibliography that complements this curriculum guide, as a starting point for choosing resources
• use a variety of resources in classroom teaching, showing students that you are a lifelong learner who constantly seeks out reliable sources of knowledge
• discuss with students the use of libraries, government departments and other agencies, and electronic information systems in their research
• encourage students to draw upon appropriate resources, including human resources, in their own communities.

• The annotated bibliography for Wellness 10 provides an “other uses” category so that schools can obtain resources that meet the needs of more than one specific grade or subject area. For example, a title that supports a unit in Wellness 10 may also support units or modules in Life Transitions, Physical Education, Social Studies, English Language Arts, or Health Education.
• Media Group provides videos at a nominal fee of one dollar per program plus the cost of a blank videotape, shipping, and applicable taxes.
• People are a resource. Often there is someone knowledgeable on a certain topic in the community who may be willing to speak to the students. Guest speakers can also be located by contacting the Health Promotion contact person within the health region.
• Free or inexpensive items can sometimes be obtained from provincial or federal departments listed in the blue pages of the telephone book.
• Some schools circulate resources to other schools in the school division where teachers want to use the material when teaching a unit during a different week or month than other teachers.
• Networking can be useful in sharing ideas, within a school or between schools. Co-operative planning with a teacher-librarian or fellow teacher can provide ideas for using resources already available within the school or elsewhere in the school division.
• E-resources for Wellness 10 are available through the Evergreen Curriculum at www.sasked.gov.sk. ca/curr_inst/iru/wellres.html
• Use the Wellness discussion area at Saskatchewan Learning’s web site to discuss teacher and student resources that other teachers have used (www.sasked.gov.sk.ca/ docs/evergrn.html).

• Selecting Fair and Equitable Learning Materials (Saskatchewan Learning, 1991)
• Diverse Voices: Selecting Equitable Resources for Indian and Métis Education (Saskatchewan Learning, 1992)
• Sample Teacher Checklist for Supporting Resource-based Learning.
  

Role of Technology

Using information and communication technology can assist students in the achievement of many of the objectives in Wellness 10. In their research and information management, students can use multimedia resources to find, access, retrieve, and process information and ideas from electronic sources. Students may use word processing to plan, draft, format, and revise written work. They also may use presentation software and audiovisual technologies to enhance the effectiveness of their oral and written presentations. Students should be aware that they have a responsibility to understand the school’s acceptable use policy, and to assess the accuracy and value of information from different sources.

The Wellness 10 objectives assist teachers in determining what technology to use and how to use it. When using computer software programs, for example, teachers consider how the software will help students develop a repertoire of strategies for accessing, comprehending, and responding to a variety of resources and situations. Effective software provides for different levels of instruction and a variety of ways of learning wellness concepts, skills, or values in an interesting way. Effective software encourages students to learn in genuine and relevant contexts. Ineffective software, by contrast, is often very narrow and superficial
(e.g., focusing on skills and drills in isolation and offering the learner few choices and little control). Such software often decontextualizes learning.

In Wellness 10, students can make entries in their action plan journal electronically rather than in a pen and paper fashion. Journal entries can then be sent as an attachment in an e-mail message to a support person. This allows support people to respond with suggestions, encouragement, and other prompts.

Teachers can use technology to enhance their teaching of Wellness 10 in a variety of ways. Teachers can, for example, create a web page dedicated to the Wellness 10 course that contains the course outline and schedule, teacher notes, assignment descriptions, student assignments, assessment and evaluation forms, and so on. On this web page, teachers can also include information downloaded from the Internet that students will need to complete their assignments, thus reducing the students’ time spent finding reliable information. Such a web page would also encourage tele-collaborative projects where, for example, students could work on a Wellness 10 project with students from other schools. Web sites such as www.epals.com are designed to facilitate such distance collaborative learning experiences. In lieu of, or in addition to, creating a Wellness 10 course web page, teachers can place course information on a compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD).

The following checkpoints are intended to provide guidance in the integration and application of technology skills and tools in Wellness 10. Throughout Wellness 10, students may have opportunities to develop the following knowledge and capabilities:

Information Management

• Participate in a range of activities that involve on-line communication. Understand the limitations of the medium and be aware of possible hazards within the on-line environment.
• Be an efficient user of the Internet:
  • be familiar with the nature of the World Wide Web and the role of search engines
  • use effective search strategies.
• Assemble and organize different viewpoints in order to assess their validity. Use information technology to find facts that support or refute various viewpoints.
• Evaluate the authority, reliability, and validity of electronically accessed information.
• Use information communication technology to locate information and gather opinions, evaluate data critically, and share ideas.

Hardware Use and Care

• Use available technology independently and competently to produce work at an appropriate level.
• Understand the causes of “repeated use syndrome” and practise ergonomically correct use of all hardware. Know and practise exercises and procedures to prevent injury.

Software Use and Care

• Understand and practise efficient file management.
• Use productivity tools to enter, edit, manipulate, and distribute information.
• Investigate, predict, and test inferences by manipulating data through the use of appropriate software.
• Locate appropriate software on the World Wide Web and be able to download, install, and test it in a manner that follows school policy.
• Create web pages or other web-based resources.

Social and Ethical Issues

• Understand mass media techniques and be able to make informed decisions based on critical awareness of media environments.
• Practise responsible use:
  • demonstrate the ethical and legal use of digital resources
  • comply with current school or school division acceptable use policy and be able to analyze it and suggest improvements to it
  • respect intellectual property rights and provide proper referencing of all sources used
    employ effective strategies to maintain personal safety in a digital environment; consider proactive measures to make the Internet a safer place.

Environmental Awareness

• Assess and evaluate the impact of Information Communication Technology (ICT) on self, society, and the environment.
• Assess and evaluate the effect of ICT in the personal environment and the global
  community, and consider ways to ameliorate negative impacts.