Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Free Government Publications...
Sounds like one of those cheesy television ads... "Get free government publications!" But since, your taxes are paid, maybe its time to collect on some of the benefits of those taxes...
The government does offer a wealth of free publications that you can order online. There are an almost unlimited amounts of subjects, in fact, there are many that deal with children and child care.
Recently, in an effort to serve you better, the U.S. Department of Education's ED Pubs (Education Publications) web site underwent an extensive redesign. The web site combined bold colors, strong lines and a greater amount of “white space” to give it an eye-catching, modern look. The shopping process has been improved by adopting the latest in eCommerce "shopping carts," making it easier to order publications and provide concise, accurate shipping information. The capabilities of "your account" have been extended to realize a more user-friendly environment tailored to your preferences.
New features include:
1. News—this section highlights one or two "newsworthy" items, such as information about new pub releases, announcements by Secretary Spellings, etc. The items will have relevancy to publications and the ability to quickly find all publications related to a "news" item. Check back often because the information will be updated regularly.
2. Featured Items—this section highlights 3-6 publications that are orderable directly from the home page. Each item displays a thumbnail image and title. By clicking the title you can view the publication’s detailed information page. Featured items will be updated every 1-2 weeks.
3. Hot Topics—this section lists items in response to current events, key ED initiatives, and other timely information. By clicking on a hot topic the system will run a search and find all publications that relate to the topic.
4. Find Publications By—the links to audience, education level, language, publication type, and subject allow you to quickly find publications related to the groupings. For example, a principal could click on audience and then select "principals" to find all publications that are intended for him/her; a teacher searching for posters could click on publication type and then select "posters" from the list of terms.
5. Students/Parents/Teachers/Administrators—these menu items listed near the top of the page allow you to quickly find publications that are intended for you. In order to make the search results more manageable you can further refine your group by education level (e.g., elementary, middle, high, college/university, etc.) and subject (e.g., English, math, science, and social studies).
6. Español—this section links to publications that are written in Spanish and a Spanish version of the FAQs.
7. Breadcrumbs—this tool aids you in navigating the site. It is listed below the header and before the main content. You can click on any item in the breadcrumb trail and return to that page.
8. Zoom—this allows you to quickly view a larger publication cover image.
9. Quantity—the ability to add the desired number of copies from any page. The system will validate the quantity entered and let you know if the number is above the maximum that is allowed.
Please visit http://www.edpubs.ed.gov to see for yourself. If you have previously registered on the site, no need to re-register, your user name and password will work and your order history is still available! If you haven't registered, go ahead and give it a try.
Sounds like one of those cheesy television ads... "Get free government publications!" But since, your taxes are paid, maybe its time to collect on some of the benefits of those taxes...
The government does offer a wealth of free publications that you can order online. There are an almost unlimited amounts of subjects, in fact, there are many that deal with children and child care.
Recently, in an effort to serve you better, the U.S. Department of Education's ED Pubs (Education Publications) web site underwent an extensive redesign. The web site combined bold colors, strong lines and a greater amount of “white space” to give it an eye-catching, modern look. The shopping process has been improved by adopting the latest in eCommerce "shopping carts," making it easier to order publications and provide concise, accurate shipping information. The capabilities of "your account" have been extended to realize a more user-friendly environment tailored to your preferences.
New features include:
1. News—this section highlights one or two "newsworthy" items, such as information about new pub releases, announcements by Secretary Spellings, etc. The items will have relevancy to publications and the ability to quickly find all publications related to a "news" item. Check back often because the information will be updated regularly.
2. Featured Items—this section highlights 3-6 publications that are orderable directly from the home page. Each item displays a thumbnail image and title. By clicking the title you can view the publication’s detailed information page. Featured items will be updated every 1-2 weeks.
3. Hot Topics—this section lists items in response to current events, key ED initiatives, and other timely information. By clicking on a hot topic the system will run a search and find all publications that relate to the topic.
4. Find Publications By—the links to audience, education level, language, publication type, and subject allow you to quickly find publications related to the groupings. For example, a principal could click on audience and then select "principals" to find all publications that are intended for him/her; a teacher searching for posters could click on publication type and then select "posters" from the list of terms.
5. Students/Parents/Teachers/Administrators—these menu items listed near the top of the page allow you to quickly find publications that are intended for you. In order to make the search results more manageable you can further refine your group by education level (e.g., elementary, middle, high, college/university, etc.) and subject (e.g., English, math, science, and social studies).
6. Español—this section links to publications that are written in Spanish and a Spanish version of the FAQs.
7. Breadcrumbs—this tool aids you in navigating the site. It is listed below the header and before the main content. You can click on any item in the breadcrumb trail and return to that page.
8. Zoom—this allows you to quickly view a larger publication cover image.
9. Quantity—the ability to add the desired number of copies from any page. The system will validate the quantity entered and let you know if the number is above the maximum that is allowed.
Please visit http://www.edpubs.ed.gov to see for yourself. If you have previously registered on the site, no need to re-register, your user name and password will work and your order history is still available! If you haven't registered, go ahead and give it a try.
// posted by Tammy Wachter @ 4:27 PM 
