March 1999 3/1
Links to Literacy
Readers are encouraged to submit annotated lists of links and reviews of sites in their literacy based area of interest. See the Submission Guidelines in this issue for more information. Note that opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Foreign Language Literacy SIG nor of the Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT).
Linking Yourself to Professional Development
Charles Jannuzi
<jannuzi@hotmail.com>
With each issue of LAC , we try to bring you link descriptions and reviews of sites that offer real value and content for educators. In this issue of LAC, we will look at links that you may find useful for your own professional development. There are brief descriptions and reviews of sites, followed by a rating system that evaluates them on these criteria: content, design, navigability (within the site), links (to other useful places on the WWW). Rated sites are scored on a scale of one to ten on each of these characteristics.
Launched last year, this site for ELT in Japan very quickly became one I visit everyday.
The layout is visually simple and effective. The opening page provides you with a newspaper-like variety of ELT-related stories, and takes you to where you want to go. It also, among
other things, links you to more information about those stories, various ELT sites, and world
news. This is also a great site to find out about textbooks and other course materials, and
there are sections you can link to that contain useful write-ups of concepts and activities (look
for the links to the Pedagogue and Teaching Ideas sections), so this site could also be listed in
the second section of this column. Readers are also invited to send e-mail to the editor and to subscribe to an e-mail newsletter.
Rating
| Content: 9 |
Design: 8 |
Navigability: 9 |
Links: 7
|
There are true web publications and then there are publications on the web. ELT News
(above) is an example of the former; EL Gazette is of the latter category. The ELT-industry
newspaper of the same name has established an electronic edition with this site. If you have
an advance browser (like Netscape Navigator 4.x or MS Internet Explorer 4.x) enabled for Java, prepare for a little wait as your PC downloads the "applets." For a site that claims to contain the latest news relevant to ELT, I found it a little disappointing that, as of 13 March, the site hadn't been updated since 26 February. Also, for a publication with a supposedly global reach, the news seemed limited to the UK, the Commonwealth, and two countries of Western Europe. Still, viewed as a site that complements ELT News (with its Japan focus), it is well worth regular visits.
Rating
| Content: 7 |
Design: 8 |
Navigability: 9 |
Links: 6
|
A newly created on-line magazine published by the venerable Pilgrims organization (known
for its high-quality student and teacher courses), this site will become one I regularly visit if it
gets updated (only one issue, February 99, was up at the time of writing this article) as often
as promised (every six weeks or so).
Introducing the magazine is an editorial from Paul Davis and Mario Rinvolucri which
states, "Each issue will carry a major article in the area of humanistic thinking.... We want the magazine to become interactive so please send ...your articles and letters. The humanistic
movement is gathering strength and this new Pilgrims initiative is a further sign of the times.
The magazine succeeds if it becomes a genuine humanistic forum."
The first issue is very good if a bit skimpy and indicates that, with people like Paul Davis
and Mario Rinvolucri as regular contributors, it could continue to develop into something
outstanding. Articles can be viewed as HTML loaded on your browser or you can download
them in a MS Word file.
Rating
| Content: 7.5 (what is there is excellent) |
Design: 8 |
Navigability: 9 |
Links: NA
|
(Note: From <http://www.pilgrims.co.uk> you can connect to <www.aaaefl.co.uk/aaa/>, which is an
extensive links page for ELT.)
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD)
<http://www.ascd.org>
This is the on-line establishment of the rather large American-based organization of the same name. If your interests are educational leadership and management (including classroom management), the ASCD and its site are highly recommended. This is a comprehensive site mostly designed to market membership in and materials published by the ASCD, but the reason why it finds a place in this issue of LACis that on-line professional development courses are available here. The courses available include: The Brain, Multiple Intelligences, and Planning for Technology. At $24.95 (USD) each, they would be a inexpensive way to learn more about relevant subjects using the newest technology and learning mode while trying out WWW-based learning. You can register for the courses on-line at <http://www.ascd.org/pdi/pd.html>. Any LAC reader who tries one of the courses is encouraged to submit a review.
Rating
| Content: 8 |
Design: 8 |
Navigability: 9 |
Links: 8
|
Charles Jannuzi can be contacted at Fukui University of Education, Bunkyo 3-9-1, Fukui 910-8507, JAPAN.
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Literacy Across Cultures
March 1999 3/1