OMA Videos Take Starring Role In New Educational Resource

Two Ontario Mining Association videos have taken on a star quality all of their own in a new educational resource destined for use in Ontario classrooms. The OMA´s First Nations video Mining New Opportunities and its virtual mine tour NickelQuest comprise three of the eight segments of the resource titled “Focus on Sustainability.”This classroom resource was developed by GTK Press in Toronto www.gtkpress.com The resource is comprised of a DVD with eight video clips — including Mining New Opportunities in two segments and all of NickelQuest — a teacher´s guide and 25 sets of eight reading articles in magazine format. The resource has been met with much enthusiasm by teachers and students across Ontario, says GTK Press.

GTK Press says “Focus on Sustainability” is a program developed to support environmental education in Canada and in particular, the revised Ontario Science & Technology Curriculum, Grades 1-8 (2007). The DVD contains eight short video clips, which help set the stage for students to begin their investigations in the 4 Science and Technology disciplines: Life Systems, Structures and Mechanisms, Matter and Energy and Earth and Space Systems.

“In Grade 4, the “Focus on Sustainability” resource helps engage students in the context of science, technology, society and environment (STSE) specific expectations in each of the following topics: Habitats and communities; Pulleys and gears; Light and sound; and, Rocks and minerals,” says GTK Press.

With financial assistance from Ontario, through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, and from Ottawa, through FedNor, the OMA produced Mining New Opportunities. This 14-minute video, which is available in Cree, Oji-Cree, Ojibway, French and English on the OMA website www.oma.on.ca features Aboriginal people involved in and with the mining industry telling their own stories. NickelQuest is an animation depicting a virtual mine tour and it is about 19 minutes in length. It has been widely distributed in educational circles and is credited for its ability to demonstrate that mining is technologically advanced, safe and that the industry offers broad opportunities for young people today.

While Mining New Opportunities and NickelQuest may not make the bill at the Toronto International Film Festival, the OMA produced these videos for educational purposes with specific audiences in mind. The OMA appreciates the acknowledgement of GTK Press in “Focus on Sustainability´ and is pleased its videos are considered worthy of making a contribution in classrooms on these important subjects.