Students, Teachers and Parents Head Back to School with bigchalk

bigchalk, the leading K-12 online education network, announced the launch of two major back-to-school campaigns to help educators, students and parents prepare for the 2002-03 school year. In addition, the company announced its annual Back-to-School Blast, a fun contest that gives students and teachers the opportunity to win great prizes

Students, Teachers and Parents Head Back to School with bigchalk

New Content, Resources and Prizes Available

BERWYN, Pa., June 17, 2002 - Fortifying its position as the leading K-12 online education network, bigchalk today announced the launch of two major back-to-school campaigns to help educators, students and parents prepare for the 2002-03 school year. In addition, the company announced its annual Back-to-School Blast, a fun contest that gives students and teachers the opportunity to win great prizes, including Adobe® Photoshop® Elements and prizes from OfficeMax.com, to be announced shortly.

bigchalks first of two back-to-school campaigns - to be delivered through its new Back to School with bigchalk" Web site - provides school librarians loads of useful resources to promote best practice research techniques and empower students and teachers to fully leverage bigchalk reference databases in classroom and homework assignments.

The companys second initiative exemplifies its ongoing efforts to enrich its free portal site (www.bigchalk.com) featuring practical advice and educational materials for students, educators and parents.

bigchalk is known for its rich digital content, comprised of our subscription databases, our online curriculum and teacher tools, and our educational Web site portal. The content engages students, helps educators create dynamic learning environments, and involves parents," says Jack Lynch, chief executive officer. Our back-to-school initiatives illustrate our continued commitment to provide high quality, easy-to-use content thats relevant to todays educational needs and reaffirm our position as the leading digital learning source."

User materials and notices designed to inform, empower users
Beginning August 1, bigchalk will unveil the Back to School with bigchalk" Web site (www.bigchalk.com/bc/backtoschool) to help librarians, media specialists, and teachers teach students how to use bigchalk library products and become more effective researchers. Training materials that support all core bigchalk library products - bigchalk Library, bigchalk Library Elementary, eLibrary, eLibrary Elementary and ProQuest - are viewable online, and can be easily downloaded and printed for distribution among students, parents and teachers.

Among the materials to be available at www.bigchalk.com/bc/backtoschool are the following:

·   Quick start guides that highlight the fastest way to research a topic.
·   PowerPoint demos for training and orientation of new users.
·   Library notices that introduce students, teachers and parents to the bigchalk tools available in their school.
·   Press releases that help librarians and media specialists publicize their library resources in the school or local paper.
·   Colorful artwork to enable librarians to provide users with online links to subscription products.
·   Profiles of innovative research projects that students and teachers have completed using bigchalk library products.

Free Online Resources at bigchalk.com
Also on August 1, educators, students and parents will find many new resources at bigchalk.com to help them get back into the school rhythm. Colorful icons and an easy-to-navigate layout help each audience find materials relevant to their needs.

Students can take advantage of subject reviews, tutorials, study guides, references and games to help them brush off the cobwebs and get set for a year of academic achievement. The site includes everything from math basics to study skills to information on preparing for the SATs. Online expeditions and games offer fun learning activities that provide a break from studying. In addition, students can continue to rely upon HomeworkCentral, the free study and research resource that is a primary feature of bigchalk, and that now contains 150,000 handpicked links on 10,000 subjects, all organized by subject.

bigchalks back-to-school site also provides educators with one central resource for planning materials, including fresh ideas for classroom layout and décor, the latest thoughts on developing positive classroom culture, best practice lesson plans and tools to launch a class Web site that keeps parents in the loop. The site even offers tips to help new and student teachers start their job with confidence.

bigchalks online resources for parents address the educational, emotional and physical demands that families face during the school year. At bigchalk.com, parents can find out more about participating in their childs schooling, learning activities and projects they can do with their kids, home routines that can lead to a healthy school life, safe Internet usage and much more.

Fabulous Prizes for Teachers and Students
bigchalk also announced that it will launch its annual back-to-school contest on August 1. Visitors to bigchalk.com can enter to win a prize from OfficeMax.com, or Photoshop Elements from Adobe Systems by answering a simple contest question and submitting their entry to bigchalk. Multiple winners will win other valuable prizes from bigchalks partners.

About bigchalk, The Education Network
bigchalk, the digital learning source for education, harnesses the power of online content to create engaging learning environments that promote student achievement. The company offers up-to-date online reference databases, standards-based digital curriculum and easy-to-use tools for preparing lessons. Librarians, students and teachers in more than 43,000 schools across the country receive the resources they need from bigchalk.

bigchalks online reference databases, such as bigchalk Library, facilitate student inquiry and learning. The companys easy-to-use tools for preparing lessons, such as bigchalk Integrated Classroom, help teachers motivate and inspire their students. Its online curriculum resources, delivered through products such as ClassMate, provide educators with standards-based content for classroom instruction. And its award-winning Web site - recipient of both the Software & Information Industry Associations (SIIA) coveted Codie Award in the category of Best Educational Web Site for Kids and Gold Award 2001 by Curriculum Administrator magazine - offers a host of educational resources including study activities for students, informational resources for parents, and online lesson plans for teachers.

For more information on bigchalks library and classroom resources, educators can call 800.860.9228 and speak with a bigchalk representative or visit the companys Web site at www.bigchalk.com.

#-#-#

bigchalk Integrated Classroom, bigchalk Library, bigchalk Library Elementary, eLibrary, eLibrary Elementary and bigchalk ClassMate are trademarks of bigchalk.com, inc. Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.