1. How do I purchase a course? How much does it cost? On the PD Online page, click on Purchase Your Course. You will need to fill out an application and include payment information. ASCD accepts all major credit cards and can process credit card and purchase orders online. Each PD Online course costs $99. A key is a 10-digit number that starts with a letter. There are several different types of keys. For example, premium and institutional members are provided keys; school districts may purchase keys; sales organizations may be using keys to preview courses, etc. In other words, a key allows you to enroll in a course but it doesn't allow you to enter a course until you have completed the enrollment form. 3. I have a key (a 10-digit number that starts with a letter). Now what do I do? If you have a key, you will need to enroll where it says, "If you have a key (a 10-digit number beginning with a number), enroll here". That enrollment form is important. In it, you will choose your course, type in the 10-digit key and access password, fill out some information, and suggest a personal password for your course. When you click on the SUBMIT button, a confirmatory e-mail will be sent to you. This e-mail is important because it contains your USERNAME (system generated) and your PASSWORD (generated by you). Once you have your username and password, you are ready to begin. Look for the box that says, "Already enrolled in a course...", and type in your username and password. Remember that once you activate your course, you will have six months to complete the work. 4. I enrolled but can't get into my course. What do I do? When you enrolled, you filled out a form. On that form, you selected your course — It is very important to ensure that the course selected is actually the one you want to take! Another question on the form asks you to suggest a password and then to retype that password. After you click the SUBMIT button at the end of the form, an e-mail will be sent to you. In the e-mail, you are provided with a USERNAME (that is system generated) and a PASSWORD (that you generated). Please keep this information. The username and the password are what you need to use to get into your course. Sometimes, learners type in their 10-digit key number or their ASCD subscriber number to get into the course. Unfortunately, these won't work. If you are working on more than one course, you will need to fill out a separate enrollment form for each course. Your Username and Password are good for one course. If you know that you have (a) selected the right course; (b) kept your username and password e-mail acknowledgement; (c) typed in your username and the correct password; (d) signed up for just one course AND you are still not able to access your course, please e-mail us so that we can help. 5. I finished a course, how do I get CEUs? First, we highly recommend that you speak with your Professional Development Coordinator before you begin the course so that you know exactly what is required to obtain CEUs. ASCD assigns a certain number of clock hours for each course. Clock hours are not the same as CEUs. Because every state and every accrediting agency has different rules regarding the awarding of CEUs, we use clock hours. In some states, 10 clock hours is the equivalent of 1 CEU but that is not true in all states. We recommend that you speak with your Professional Development Coordinator to establish guidelines for the conversion of the clock hours into CEUs. Sometimes, Coordinators and state agencies require proof of completion. They may accept the Certificate of Completion on its own but many require the submission of a portfolio of work as well. Your portfolio might include printouts of your responses to the interactive exercises and/or discussion questions in the Learner Forum. 6. I finished a course, how do I get graduate credit? Ideally, you need to talk with the Professional Development Coordinator in your school or university (or select from the list we provide) to determine what evidence will be required for you to receive graduate credit BEFORE you start the course. However, some learners check with their Coordinator after they have completed the course as well! Often, colleges and universities will accept the course, but may require additional work — such as completing a reflection paper describing your learning experience. Sometimes the Certificate of Completion is enough; sometimes more evidence is required. If more evidence is required, we suggest that you print the entries in your Course Log and your Learner Forum responses to create a portfolio of your course work. However, the bottom line is that ASCD provides the course — your school or university helps determine how to reward and recognize your work. 7. Will I receive a certificate once I complete the course? Yes! Once you've completed the final lesson of your course, you can print out a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will show that you completed up to 20 clock hours per course. 8. Is it possible to get a signed certificate of completion? Yes. All certificates are signed. 9. Do I get a grade once I have completed the course? ASCD does not assign grades. Instead, we offer a certain number of clock hours that can be converted into CEUs or, in some cases, graduate credit, as determined by your Professional Development Coordinator or your University guidelines. 10. What kind of computer system do I need? To make full use of the course materials, we recommend the following:
11. Does the course take six months to complete, or is that just the enrollment time? The answer to this question depends on each student. Some students prefer to create a class schedule that will allow them to finish the course well before access to the course expires. Some students, on the other hand, prefer to complete the course at a more leisurely pace. ASCD provides a six-month time frame to accommodate the busy schedules and varying learning styles of the learners who take our courses. 12. Do I have to complete the entire course at one time? No. You can access the course at any time during your six-month access period. Any work you complete will be saved to your Course Log. You can update your responses to interactive exercises at any time. To re-enter the course, go to the PD Online home page. Once there, you'll see the "Already Enrolled in a Course" box. Enter your username and password, click the Sign in button, and you'll have immediate access to your course. 13. How many PD Online courses are offered? Currently, there are 50 courses offered. Eight new or updated courses are offered each year. New courses will be identified on the PDOnline home page and in the online course catalog. 14. Who should take a PD Online course? Our PDOnline courses are designed with the educator in mind. We strive to offer courses that offer practical advice to educators as well as additional resources for their continued professional development. Our courses are, therefore, most appropriate for anyone interested in education — teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators, parents, etc. 15. How are PD Online courses organized? In addition to the full course catalog, we have two other main groups. The first divides the courses into three categories: beginning teacher, experienced teacher, and administrator. While that division works for many of our participants, other learners prefer to search by topic for specific courses. This group contains five categories: Assessment, Instructional Strategies, Curriculum Development, Instructional Leadership, and Understanding the Learning Process. Sometimes the same course is listed in more than one group because the content lends itself to different needs. 16. How should I choose which PD Online course to take? This depends on your reasons for taking a course. If you are interested in a particular group, for example, Assessment, you might decide to take the series of suggested courses. In some cases, your school or district may request that a group of teachers do a particular course. And, sometimes, educators may have heard an interesting presentation at a local conference and just want to investigate that particular topic, such as Differentiating Instruction or Understanding by Design. Whenever you like! That's the beauty of ASCD's Professional Development Online — the courses are there when you need them. 18. Will I be able to talk about what I learn with others? Every Professional Development Online course features a Learner Forum where you can discuss your reaction to course content, share your perspectives with others, and read what your colleagues have to say. Of course, if you are doing a course with other colleagues, you will be able to discuss issues with them as well. Yes. If, for any reason, you are not satisfied with your online experience within 45 days of registering, you may request a full refund. In lieu of a full refund, you may request a free registration for a different course. We encourage you to e-mail us with any of your concerns. |
