--- Forwarded Message from LeeAnn Stone <[log in to unmask]> ---
>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]>
>From: LeeAnn Stone <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: How to promote Web Pages? GEM & PLM
>Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2000 20:41:36 -0700
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Colleagues,
This question provides a great opportunity to introduce those
of us who are not already familiar, with a couple of efforts to provide
a central consultation site for instructional (language) materials on the
web. But first, a bit of a lead-up:
Most of us have faced the challenge of trying to find pedagogically-
treated web materials, or web-deliverable instructional materials.
There are many wonderful collections, such as T-Bob's, other faculty
collections, and those that have been compiled by organizations,
departments, learning centers, etc. The difficulty of these is:
1) as Bob mentions, it takes significant time for an iindividual to
contoinue identifying and classifying; and
2) many of these collections contain lots of other (albeit) useful, but
not necessarily instructional materials (authentic sites, learning center
URLs, other resources, etc.).
There are several efforts currently in progress to provide a centralized,
"one-stop" (?) site for locating instructional materials specifically.
One--- the Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) is a federally-funded
effort to address all disciplines. They have understandably found that
this is a very large task, and as yet don't have much of a language
collection. The beauty of GEM, though, is that it uses meta-data to
identify and collect appropriate materials. This means several things,
but in particular, that it is not dependent on a single individual's
efforts to keep
abreast of all that's new. You as a faculty developer can tag your materials
appropriately so that GEM can harvest it as it updates its database.
Additionally,
however, someone else can also add your URL to the Gem database. So, for
example, if I come across a resource, I can submit the info to GEM for
inclusion.
Furthermore, GEM has staff to work with folks like TBob and others
to extract information from their collections of instructional materials.
It is important to note that GEM doesn't supplant all these previous
efforts--- in
fact, if working with TBob's collection, for example (gosh Bob, I didn't
even warn you that I would pick you as an example), I *think* it sends
inquiries to the listing on his page (I'm pretty sure of this, but need to
re-research again). Thus, GEM helps bring additional attention to these
wonderful resources.
The AAT's are working on something along similar lines as well.
A third effort- PLM (Pathway to Language Materials) is currently in development
(almost ready to roll out) with the anticipation that it will serve as the
"language" arm of GEM. It is being developed through the efforts of
doctoral students at Pepperdine University and a federally-funded RTEC
at CSU Long Beach. As I mentioned above, GEM bit off a big task, and so PLM has
been developed to focus specifically on language materials, working off the GEM
database.
So the short answer to the original question is.... make sure to submit to GEM.
I'll keep you all posted regarding PLM (the advantage of PLM being it will
deal only with language materials, not other disciplines) as it gets up.
GEM: http://www.geminfo.org/ (and then click on "The Gateway")
LeeAnn Stone
>--- Forwarded Message from TennesseeBob Peckham <[log in to unmask]> ---
>
>>In-Reply-To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000 13:31:04 -0600
>>To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum
>><[log in to unmask]>
>>From: TennesseeBob Peckham <[log in to unmask]>
>>Subject: Re: #5771.1 How to promote Web Pages? (!)
>
>------------------
>I do not think that there is one single way to promote a web page or site.
>I am also work with niche targeting strategies. I set aside a small amount
>of time each week to think of and exeute promotional strategies.
>Globe-Gate sites currently get over a half million hits per year.
>
>TBob
>
>Robert D. Peckham, Ph.D.
>Director, the Globe-Gate Project
>Director, the Muriel Tomlinson Language Resource Center
>University of Tennessee-Martin
>http://globegate.org/french/globe.html
>e-mail [log in to unmask]
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