Part of the reason I spent so long researching these websites is that there are some many relevant associations who have extremely relevant and useful sites! In terms of collecting both ideas and resources, this has been a very successful part of my plan. To reflect on my research, I’ve complied my notes on each website, focusing on its relevance to curriculum planning using VELS, and also the useful teaching and learning resources each site offers. I was going to post this the other day, however bonfires and brother’s birthdays and other stuff derailed that plan! And also severe editing was required – you don’t need to read all my copious amounts of notes no matter how exciting I think they are!!
Most of the information I found useful on the Mathematical Association of Victoria’s (MAV) website (at http://www.mav.vic.edu.au/) was restricted to members only. This only proved to be a matter of waiting for log on details as I joined for half-price at their conference last year! As I’ve mentioned in other posts, the Curriculum Planning section of the website was most relevant to my development plan. Everything is organised by VELS levels and maths topics, which as well as making the activities and teaching sequences of a unit plan much easier to plan, is a good indication of what each progression point might look like in practice. Many of the resources are hard copy, or have to be bought (eg. Maths300, RIME), however I think there is a high chance of many of these resources already being owned by schools. I also intend to follow some of these up in the Deakin Library when I get a chance. I’d also like to investigate the learning objects for mathematics on my next rounds, as I have seen a few of the Indonesian ones in a class at uni, and I think they have heaps of potential to my future unit plans.
The Victorian Indonesian Language Teachers’ Association (VILTA) website (at http://www.mltav.asn.au/indonesian/) was not nearly as in depth (or time consuming!) as the MAV site, however I did find some great resources. There is information on Indonesian supermarkets, restaurants, bookshops, excursions and incursions, which I could see being very useful in providing authentic Indonesian experiences. There is also a really nice collection of useful weblinks.
In terms of finding materials on VELS in unit planning, the MAV’s website was the most useful to me. The other professional associations were still useful (read about professional development in my next post), but the MAV’s was by far the most complete. The only possible drawback is in it being limited to members of the MAV, however in just the few experiences I have had at their annual conference, and exploring their website has convinced me of the importance of this association.
One of the reasons I think that the MAV website stood out so much is that other associations do not have nearly as strong an internet presence. I receive newsletters, email bulletins and journals from both VILTA and MLTAV (Modern Language Teachers’ Association of Victoria) which are very useful in terms of connecting with the profession.
Wow! As a fellow future teacher of Indonesian I think it’s fantastic that you’ve become a member of organisations such as VILTA for assisting in becoming an Indonesian educator. You’re so right about organisations like this one being a valuable source of information for teachers so that they can use bits of information (from their websites) to further their teaching and as a result, engage students. I’m really glad to see that you’re venturing out and discovering PDs which will help you further yourself as a teacher. Keep up the great work!