Website Evaluation - The Bat Cave

What a cool name, huh? The Bat Cave, I love it. That's what I usually call this site, because of the URL - http://ddd.batcave.net/ , but I think the real name is "Live Simply, Simply Live." Mainly because of the external documents on the site, it's a fantastic little place for English language teachers. Most of the content is geared towards upper elementary/middle school learners. But, because the activities are so fun, I think the materials can be used for just about any age/level of language learner.

If you click on the link to the site above, it appears at first to be more of a personal site. You can tell that the author is a teacher because of the pictures, but the main purpose of the site seems to be more of a private/blog nature. And, it's true, there is a lot of personal information provided through links on the left site of the page. So, where is all the good stuff? Where's the content that can enhance my CALL environment? Well, it's farther down the page, under Important Links. All of these links are hosted by Esnips, which is a site that allows you to upload and share your own music files, pictures, videos, etc. This is where all the material is located, this is the meat of the site. The author has put a lot of time into this, and I can tell you from years of experience of searching through materials to use in my classroom, that this is some of the best content I have found. When I think about CALL, the definition, this site is what pops in my head. I encourage you all to take some time, click on each of the Esnips links. There is so much you can use in a CALL classroom.

What did you see when you clicked on the links? Well, there are language learning videos. These look great, but I haven't used them yet. You can do all kinds of activities based around these videos. For example, to test listening comprehension, you can make a worksheet with questions about the video. Or, you can simply ask the students questions about the video, to practice speaking. Also, there are hundreds of karaoke songs, which are so effective in teaching a language. Songs just make everyone relaxed and feel good. It's a super way to start off your class, for motivation, or, if you're teaching a new song, it can serve as a main lesson. The author has done a wonderful job of presenting detailed instructions on how to use the karaoke player. In addition to the karaoke, I have also had success using the PowerPoint games in my classroom. These are truly awesome to wrap up a lesson or to reinforce and review a topic. These can be used for reading and speaking activities. Even the quiet, shy students will get excited to speak out during a fun game like the ones created by the author.
The author provides several options to give him feedback. On the main page, you can sign his Guestbook, and leave a comment there. Or, you can click on the Contact Me button on the left side, and get in touch with him that way. Also, on all of the Esnips pages, you can leave a comment there. So, there is ample opportunity to leave your feedback about his site. This is a good thing.

Well, everything sounds so great about this site. There has to be something I don't like or that can be improved. Well, there is. I don't really like the layout of this site. I don't think it's particularly easy, especially for a first time user, to navigate around. I think the main problem is that he's trying to combine personal and professional. At first look, you might think "Well, this is a nice site about a teacher/runner/writer." And, you might keep searching for other sites without even seeing the tremendous content on this site. So, it is my opinion that if the author wants people to visit his site and keep coming back and using the materials that he has obviously put a lot of time into making, he should highlight his content more. This should be the main focus of the site. I also think that the Esnips pages are a bit chaotic. This is not really the author's fault, but when you click on one of the links, the page seems unnecessarily cluttered. For someone not used to using these types of applications, it will be very confusing. Keeping the appearance of the site, even the links, clean and simple is paramount.

My final verdict? Well, the content is certainly an A+ in my book. But, I think the author should consider making 2 separate sites. It all depends on his goals, I guess. But, if it were me, and I spent all that time making incredible language learning tools as he has, I would want the world to see them.