You’ve seen our “face-lift”...now it’s time to introduce ourselves, and in response to several requests, reveal our trade secrets for how we put the ETNI News together. We hope that similar efforts will occur among other colleagues on the list.

Late in 1997, the ETNI List Manager (and our in-list guru) David Lloyd brought us out of our shells once again by challenging us to think about new directions for the list, as well as soliciting the involvement of more members in the production of the News, as well as other off-shoots of our work together.

The new conception for ETNI News grew from your suggestions to a questionnaire posted earlier this year, as well as the generosity and dedication of a handful of listers--oldies and newbies--from various areas of expertise.

David: "ETNINEWS mirrors the way in which the Internet is bringing teachers together, creating a new forum of cooperation. It grew out of the effort of one person with a vision into a vision shared and developed by the ETNI teaching public as a whole."

And how do we put the news together? With David in the Negev, Gail Mann and Ann Shlapobersky in the northern part of the country, and Renee Wahl and Ellen Serfaty covering the middle--traditional meetings were clearly not feasible, especially in light of our busy schedules. So we used Chat!

Our first meeting on Random Dalnet #etni was an unqualified success. We pooled our ideas on the type of format and content we envisioned: creating columns for features and special interest areas; creating an interactive relationship with our readers; bringing new information on web sites and technical tips for teachers and students; and providing introductions to international and local cyberspace projects being undertaken by students and teachers in the schools. Everyone finished our first meeting--with minutes reduced from a log that several members kept--with a true sense of the potential for using chat to conduct important meetings across geographical lines, allowing us the luxury of contributing from the comfort of our homes. With success behind us, we tried chats through a newer technology--ICQ, which required some of us to download and learn, or update this technology. We have to admit that later chats were not as successful--we have learned to cope with the 10PM witching hour when, as a result of rate-drops, it seems like every wired home in Israel is on line--and our lag time often became quite frustrating. For some reason that we have yet to determine, we were not as successful in logging our meetings with ICQ. However, despite some setbacks, it is amazing that--even though some of us have never met face-to-face--we have created a productive “staff” working relationship, with the emotional flavor of supporting our individual needs for creativity and learning how to use new technologies.

We are lucky that Ann and Gail agreed to take on the job of lay-out and format. Ann relates, “Gail and I tried to create a layout which would be easy to use for all members, would-be-members of ETNI and visitors. Gail and I have worked together before and we have learned to draw on each other’s strengths and negotiate through the differences. I believe that the format for the paper was born the minute we decided to take responsibility for the layout. After surfing for so long, we knew what was needed and what we wanted to do.”

Gail: “Since Ann and I have been surfing for a while, we knew which news - layout features we wanted to incorporate to make this newspaper aesthetic and easy to use. As Ann said, we already had an idea what we would do if we would plan a newspaper, so it was easy to put it together. To make the layout, one of us prepared an aspect of the site i.e. general layout, buttons, and graphics, and e-mailed it to the other. Comments and changes were made and sent back. When we needed to clarify something, we met on ICQ for early morning meetings, talked on the phone, and even met once the old-fashioned way, face-to-face.”

This newest issue of the News caught us all in a very busy time--so we conducted all of our planning by e-mail. David created a “mini” list that we use so that each of us--with the press of a button--can communicate with every member of the Staff. For example, the “shell” of this article was distributed to all the Staff, and they added material and comments from their perspective--and the document was turned around into a consolidated effort. It is likely that after we go to press (and enjoy at least a taste of vacation) we will “meet” on Chat once again to look at what we have accomplished, what we would like to improve, and plan for the next school year--the mechanics of getting the job done are easily handled through the more faceless media of e-mail: when it comes to brainstorming, we have concluded that Chat definitely promotes sharing thoughts and new directions.

Renee has chosen the Treasure Trove feature of bringing us new URLs from her extensive surfing activities. “I get my URL's from my extensive collection of bookmarks. I belong to three EFL mailing lists and get many site recommendations from them. Others are links I follow from recommendations of ETNI members. So far I have been able to match the column URL's to the focus issue of each ETNI News issue. I write my column in Netscape Gold Editor and send it off as an email attachment to Gail Mann who then cleans it up and formats it into the beautiful document you all see in the final newsletter. And thank you to all you ETNI members who have offered your own favorite URL's. Keep them coming!”

Ann and David have chosen to bring us news about the exciting developments that international and Israeli teachers and students are undertaking with computer technologies. David: "My column focuses on international initiatives. This involves a discussion of the activities of international organizations such as KIDLINK (prior issue) and I*EARN (this issue) as well as individual initiatives by teachers in the field. The aim of this column is to discuss the scope, nature and significance of international correspondence and cooperation as well as specifically explore its relevance to our own EFL needs in the classroom. "

Ann: “My column emphasizes projects done in Israeli schools for the local population. For the first issue, I sent out e-mail to the ETNI discussion group asking teachers who had done computer or Internet projects to send information about the set up and implementing of the project. I feel that there are many teachers in our community who have done or are doing some very innovative projects and others who would like some inspiration so they can get started. This column is a place where both types of teachers can share and learn. There are many teachers out there who are using the Internet effectively, and I hope they will use this column to share their ideas.”

Gail not only has end-product responsibility for lay-out, she is in charge of keeping communication flowing between teachers and inspectors though her Ask the Inspector column. “Teachers were asked to submit their questions by e-mail or by using an on-line form. I then went through the questions, many of which were similar, and came up with a list of “co-operative” questions. These were sent to three inspectors who answered the questions between them. Once the answers were approved by Judy Steiner, I put them on the net. Unfortunately, for this issue, I hardly received any questions and the results are evident. This column relies totally on ETNI members--without your input, we can’t put it together. Hopefully more questions will be submitted in future issues.”

Gail also conceived of the need to provide technical tips for teachers:

“I think I got this idea from other on-line magazines I have seen. I try to choose a subject that is related to questions that have come up in the ETNI discussion list and are difficult to explain with simple e-mail because they need graphics to make the explanation clearer. It’s also nice to know that if in the future someone asks a question related to one of TTips that have already appeared in ETNINEWS, we can simply point them to the correct page and they can get a clear explanation. If anyone has any special requests for this column, please let me know.”

Due to unanimous demand, David works with all of us, to share his invaluable advice based on the list’s and News’ history. He also guides us through changes to the ETNI website that have occurred since our last News publication.

"The ETNI website has become more and more dynamic during the last few months as teachers, teacher educators and ministry officials continue to send in their contributions and learn how to utilize the web site for imparting information to Israeli EFL educators as a whole. We are now looking for even better ways to make educators throughout Israel more aware of the web site and its possibilities."

Aside from the virtual “bean-counting” of setting agendas, meetings, keeping track of tasks and editing articles, Ellen contributes to our editorials, as well as the PhD--Pupils Having Difficulties column. “When faced with the task of coordinating the News staff’s efforts--all of whom were far more knowledgeable and experienced in producing on-line newsletters and using computers as a regular feature in their classrooms--I opted for using my past experience as an administrator to “get the job done”, with the added bonus of getting to express my thoughts and explore subjects in virtual print.”

And the most important aspect of the ETNI News effort--you, the readers not only raise subjects of interest, you shape the News through the feature articles and other contributions that you make to our on-line effort. “We hope to see more people contributing more material as time goes on...especially in the area of feedback that we have connected to every article and letters to the editor. It’s a great opportunity to write, explore and publish articles on their “pet” subjects. And without contributions by the readership, we wouldn’t have a News”, comments Ellen.

We come full circle back to Gail and Ann--they built the “home” that our article/furnishings fit into...and they lay-out each article as it is received. Gail: “As we receive articles, we decide whether they need to be edited for the net (usually because of length), check any links and add color or pictures for aesthetics.”

Ann: “Gail puts the final draft on line for the staff to review and comment. We have found that seeing the paper on line gives us a better view of the working layout. Final changes are made and the next issue is announced.”

Most articles are edited prior to being sent to Gail and Ann for lay-out: however, we are flexible enough to edit “on-line” as well: “I’ve learned the valuable tool of downloading an article from the site (from Gail’s Tech Tips in Issue#2), and using the Netscape Composer to make any editing changes in style, as well as becoming more conscious of the differences in traditional text versus publications that will be read on-line”, Ellen remarks.

Hope you enjoyed our tips...let us know if you found any of them useful in creating your own on-line publications. AND KEEP THOSE CONTRIBUTIONS COMING!