Around the United States and the world, educators are tapping into computer networks that allow them to communicate almost instantly with people almost anywhere, and that provide access to an ever-increasing body of information. Most of this "information highway" travel takes place along the Internet, a vast network-of-networks that spans the globe. Commercial computer networks—such as America Online, Prodigy, and CompuServe—are increasingly giving their subscribers access to the Internet, resulting in a more extensive network, with the Internet as its central hub.
Many, if not most, educators do not yet have ready access to these fast-expanding computer networks. Still, to help educators keep pace with this development, ASCD has taken steps to develop resources accessible over the Internet. With the amount of available information increasing rapidly, ASCD is helping educators use that information in a way that serves all learners. If some educators in a school or district have access to ASCD materials over the Internet, "the information can be shared, so everyone can benefit from it," says Nora Gyuk, manager of information services at ASCD.
- learn about ASCD publications, programs, products, and services,
- read timely articles from ASCD publications,
- stay in touch with breaking developments in ASCD's influence-building work on education issues,
- join ASCD or order publications and products, and
- make connections to other Internet-based information and services around the world.
As the number of Internet users and available information spiral upward, educators need to make sense out of what might otherwise threaten to become a whirlwind in which the practical development of knowledge is so difficult as to be impractical. "The problem is not that there's not enough information," Gyuk says. "The problem is there is too much information. These services are the first steps in trying to organize this information so that educators can use it."
For example, one popular online directory of Internet resources, the Yahoo database, includes more than 2,300 Internet resources under "Education." By contrast, the ASCD World Wide Web site lists a variety of categories—such as Curriculum and Instruction. Each includes a manageable list of public resources for the subject, chosen for their usefulness and pertinence to educators, from government agencies to school districts and private programs. The Internet's structure allows ASCD to provide "links" to these resources, though they are scattered around the United States and the world.
- selected articles from Educational Leadership and Education Update and references and guides to books and other ASCD print publications,
- information about products and services from the Education & Technology Resources Center, including the ASCD Curriculum Handbook and Brown's Directories of Instructional Programs,
- listings of video and audio programs, and professional development programs and opportunities,
- ASCD press releases and information about grants, member networks, and membership, and
- samples from the Only The Best (OTB) Web, a projected joint venture between ASCD and state or provincial departments of education to distribute curriculum materials via the Internet. An annual fee will provide members of participating departments of education with a site license to freely distribute the ASCD materials in electronic format to everyone covered by the license. Member departments will also use the OTB Web to exchange their own curriculum materials.
ASCD's World Wide Web site is searchable, for ready access to relevant materials. A search for the terms "science and instruction," for example, yields two Educational Leadership articles, last December's Update article, "The Online Classroom," a sample from the OTB Web, and the Curriculum Handbook table of contents.
Upcoming developments, such as electronic mailing lists and interactive discussion groups, will allow greater interactivity among educators—one of the most compelling benefits of computer networking. Online ordering functions will make ordering ASCD materials quicker and easier.
ASCD hopes to learn from watching people use the new Internet resources. "We welcome our members' feedback as we develop this," Gyuk says.
