DSU Professor wins Honorable Mention Web Site Award

Dakota State University professor, Debra Knutson has received one of two honorable mention awards from the 2002 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Affiliate Web Site Award. Knutson edits the The South Dakota Council of Teachers of English Web site, www.sdcte.dsu.edu.

“This award is important to South Dakota Council of Teachers of English (SDCTE) to get some acknowledgment from the national organization,” said Knutson. “Because South Dakota is such a small state in terms of population, we sometimes feel like our affiliate gets overlooked by the national, so their recognition is very important to us.”

The awards, established in 2000, are designed to recognize those Web sites which are outstanding for their high quality contents, easy navigation, size and speed. The entries were judged by a committee of independent judges.

The NCTE is dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of English and language arts at all levels of education. Its membership is composed of elementary, middle and high school teachers, supervisors of English programs, college and university faculty, teacher educators, local and state agency English specialists and professionals in related fields.

“Traditionally, the majority of SDCTE members have been high school and middle school teachers,” Knutson added. “There hasn’t been much articulation between high school and college programs. One reason the SDCTE Executive Board was excited when I said I’d be willing to establish this website two years ago was that they saw this as a way to open the doors of communication between high school and college English programs.”