Website Evaluation 1: The Teacher James

This week in class, we’re doing an evaluation of a website or software program. This first evaluation (of two, according to the syllabus) is supposed to be of a “language learning blog.” Now, I read a lot of blogs, but most of them are about teaching in general, tech tools for education, or reflective practice. Only a few of my regulars directly relate to learning a language. One of my favorites is The Teacher James (http://www.theteacherjames.com). Full disclosure: It’s written by my friend James, who has been very active in teacher training, professional development, and TEFL in Brazil, Korea, Belgium, and—most recently—Costa Rica. We did our CELTA together in Seoul back in 2009, and I’ve been following his blog ever since.

The evaluation I turned in is below; I’m including the questions for reference, on the off-chance that someone not in the course stops by this blog and wonders what might have been asked. They also provide handy breaks that make this a little more readable, I think. (And if you’re actually James stopping by—well, I hope I accurately represented your blog!)

Software/Website Title: The Teacher James

Website URL: http://www.theteacherjames.com/

Grade/Age Level: high school through adult

Language & Content:

1)    What is the intended purpose of the software or website?

The goal is to share teaching ideas, lesson and activity suggestions, and reflections on TEFL. Target audience: EFL/ESL teachers

2)    What is the content of the software or website and how is it presented?

This blog contains the reflections, insights, and teaching ideas of an EFL teacher in Costa Rica. It’s presented as blog posts, which are uploaded at random intervals, sometimes in conjunction with or in reference to a topic raised in #eltchat or another online ELT community. It also occasionally features guest bloggers.

3)    What external documents (some guides) does the software or website include? Are they effective?

The author frequently includes external links to articles, websites, lesson plans, videos, #eltchat topics/discussants, and more. It’s easy to find his source material or to read more about the topic he’s discussing.

4)    In what ways is the software or website interesting to the target audience?

The author has a variety of interesting insights and clever ideas for lessons. See “Strengths” (#8), below, for details.

5)    For what language goal(s) is this software or website useful/effective?

The lesson ideas shared in this blog tend to be primarily fluency-focused. The activities described run the gamut, covering all four skills.

6)    Does this program or website offer practice? Assessment? Feedback? Of what kinds? (give examples)

No. It’s a blog aimed at EFL teachers. No practice, assessment, or feedback is necessary.

7)    Is this software or website easy to use? (i.e., navigation, layout, etc.)

Yes, it’s quite easy to navigate this blog; see below for details.

8)    What are the strengths of this software or website?

* This blog is a bit easier to navigate than many of the other teaching blogs I follow. There’s a handy list of links at the top (“My ELT Blogroll,” “About Me,” etc.); and in the right-hand column, there’s a word cloud of key words, a search bar, and a list of popular posts. Previews of the most recent posts are offered, so readers can easily skim and decide which posts they’d like to peruse in greater detail.

* While I don’t always agree with the author or his teaching style, his posts are great for inspiring new, spin-off ideas; for example, his “Silent Movies” series of posts made me think about exactly how I was using authentic video in my classroom, how my style was different from his, and how the strengths of his approach might be integrated into my own classroom. (I also liked many of the videos he included!)

* As mentioned above, original sources, additional links, etc., are thoughtfully provided.

* The author is very receptive to feedback, and he usually takes the time to reply to comments on his blog. Occasionally, some interesting conversations take place in the comment threads.

* Really, as much as I love this blog’s lesson-sharing and reflections on teaching, I think its biggest strength is the enthusiasm it radiates for professional development through reflective practice and personal learning networks (PLNs). “Write about your experiences,” it seems to urge, “then share them with others! Let’s learn from each other!” In fact, it was because of this blog that I first started using Twitter to create a PLN, and my first teaching blog (not the one for this class) was a direct result of the author’s encouragement.

I think other language teachers will enjoy this blog for its lesson ideas, and they’ll appreciate the author’s recommendations for articles and other blogs to follow. Soon, they might even find themselves inspired to share their own lesson ideas and thoughts on teaching!

9)    How can this software or website be improved?

Format-wise, from a language teacher’s perspective, I’m not sure the links at the top of the page are the most effective way to organize the information. The choices currently listed there are probably not the options language teachers are most interested in. The blog might be more helpful for this audience if the posts were grouped by topic (e.g., “Lesson & Activity Ideas,” “Dogme Style,” “Using Videos,” etc.), and then these topics were listed at the top of the page (or perhaps in a drop-down menu), making the information more visible and accessible. (Perhaps the provided word cloud obviates the need to group topics this way, though.)

Content-wise, I wouldn’t mind seeing additional reflections on lessons he’s done—and additional lesson details, for that matter. I also wish the author would post more frequently! He’s been averaging once a month for the past year, but he used to post every other week. It’s his own blog, though, and I’m sure he writes as frequently as he can, about whatever topic is motivating him to write.