ASCD's Web site (http://www.ascd.org) is your resource for information about education. Authoritative content, quick access, and user-friendly interactivity are the hallmarks of ASCD on the Internet.
Why should you visit ASCD on the Web?
ASCD's Web site is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For example, suppose that you have been asked to give a presentation about schools of choice at your next school/community meeting. Visit ASCD.org and search for "Schools of Choice." You will find ASCD position and belief statements, Educational Leadership and Education Update articles, descriptions of audiotapes and videotapes, and an ASCD Infobrief on charter schools. Suppose you discover that a tape from the video series Building Support for Public Schools would fit your workshop—and your budget. You can go to the Online Store and order it immediately, even on the weekend.
Suppose that your school's action research team is interested in brain research. On ASCD's home page, you can search for "brain," go to the Publications page and search the ASCD Resources Database, or visit the Conferences page and search the 1998–99 Professional Development Catalog. You will find an astonishing number of learning opportunities, from books by Eric Jensen and Renate and Geoffrey Caine, to a video called The Brain and Learning, to sessions at ASCD's Teaching and Learning Conference in Nashville, Tenn., October 19–21, 1998. You can call ASCD's toll-free number to register for this conference and other institutes.
Suppose you would like your "brain team" to participate in one of ASCD's forums. ASCD's Network on Art Education has a discussion going on brain-based learning. You e-mail your team members and suggest they join in the discussion and bring up their questions, ideas, or findings. And you also tell them about an ASCD distance-learning course, the Multiple Intelligences PD (Professional Development) Online.
What's new at ASCD.org?
In the coming months, ASCD will be installing new search engines for faster searches and will integrate more multimedia. For example, in the multiple intelligences course, audio clips of Howard Gardner help you through the lessons. Look for new PD Online courses on leadership and technology planning, coming soon.
Security on the Web, a big current concern, will be further enhanced as ASCD refines the Online Store to incorporate the leading secure electronic-commerce software CyberCash. In addition, the Educators Exchange and the PD Online resources are password protected.
Soon you'll be able to register for institutes and conferences online, as well as become an ASCD member. An ongoing ASCD Web project reflects our growing international community: ASCD.org currently offers some pages in both English and Spanish (more languages to come).
How is ASCD.org an information utility?
ASCD's Web site allows you to find the information you need, when you need it. For example, do you want to plan ahead for the 1999 ASCD Annual Conference? In the Conferences area, you discover that it will be in San Francisco on March 6–8. You can also search for Professional Development Institutes on, say, Dimensions of Learning. You find that former ASCD president Frances Jones will lead an Atlanta institute on November 12–13, 1998.
Do you like to browse, as well as search? Go to Publications and browse Educational Leadership. The March 1997 issue has articles for your action research team on brain-based learning. And "Upcoming Themes" shows that the November 1998 issue will focus on "How the Brain Learns."
Scoreboards for Schools (S4S) is a new program that can help educators and communities keep track of student progress. You can learn the entire story on s4s.ASCD.org.
Does ASCD.org cost anything?
ASCD.org offers plenty of free resources, including issues analyses, sample articles, and online forums. You can also find some unexpected bonuses—for instance, tips on grant writing, information on how to form a student chapter of ASCD, and links to many ASCD affiliates. For more free information, go to the Publications page and search the ASCD Education Bulletin. This biweekly online newsletter includes a popular column called "Web Wonders."
Other resources on ASCD.org are offered at low cost—but with high value. For a low annual subscription, ASCD Select Online gives you full-text, searchable Educational Leadership articles from 1996 to the present (more issues coming soon). ASCD Select Online also has the ASCD Curriculum Handbook, the text version of Only the Best (ASCD's guide to educational software), and full-text Update articles.
For a reasonable fee, you can take a PD Online course. Each course has multimedia lessons, chat rooms, and discussion forums. Many more surprises on ASCD.org are in the works. Come visit us on the Web!