1. Overall Ease of Use/Appearance:
With menus on the sides and grade-level tabs across the top, as well as a quick links drop down menu, NCTE.org makes navigation easy, even if you're not certain what you're looking for. So long as you know what grade level or what topic you're searching for, you can find it.
It's not really a 'pretty' site, it is indeed more utilitarian, but everything is where it should be, and there are links back and forth on every page. The only complaint I have here is that one the Journals section, it doesn't mention that you'll need Adobe Acrobat in order to view the articles.
2. Quality of Content:
All of the NCTE journals are online and easily accessed. The only thing missing is a summary - I think they figure the title is enough.
3. "Style":
The graphic style is a mix of muted and utilitarian blended with novice HTML used on the front page for drawing attention to announcements they deem quite important. The navigation is designed to appeal and be useful to anyone from a seasoned pro to the novice.
The information is not solely focused on writing. There is more of a focus on different types of writing and different styles of teaching - because the journals are written by teachers, you get a big cross-section of ideas, grades, and people. Further, each journal that goes out has a general theme. The secondary one, English Journal, just featured "Teaching for Exceptionality", and has previously focused on "Revitalizing Grammar" and "Multigenre Writing".
4. Credibility:
The journals are written by teachers for teachers. Each article lists who the teacher is, where s/he is from, what they teach. Often, the articles are based on personal experiences, so the reader gets a perspective on the style of teaching for the given area, grade level, and at times, can even be privy to trial and error.
5. Commercial vs. Informative:
They do mention that the journals are for members-only. However, I am a member, and had no trouble accessing the various jorunals (even the ones I don't order) from several different computers, and I never had to log in.
Overall Rating:
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