My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing this experience with me. I enjoyed being a part of this class and learning together. I wish the best for everyone and their future. We will continue on our way to being the future teachers of this world. Everyone have a great holiday season. Take Care!

My Learning Experience

I have learned many things in this class. I had never before used Google doc, or spreadsheets I have always used Excel and Word and I must admit that I like them better. But, through this class I have learned to use free tools from Google and I appreciate that. It wasn't always easy and often frustrating but, I learned anyway.
Podcasting was something new to me and I was not excited about participating because I am very private and I don't like my voice broadcast for everyone to here. It was Ok but not something that I would do again. The part of class that I like the most was learning how to add links and pictures to documents, this was great. I liked the ACCESS visit and was impressed. I also was interested in ALEX the ALT tags were learned to use were great and something I hadn't thought of before. Presentations I have done many times so this wasn't a new experience for me.

One thing that I would have wanted to do was spend more time in an ACCESS lab and experience a class and learn more about how they broadcast their classes and all of the technical features that go with it. In retrospect, I learned a lot in this class and some of it while kicking a screaming. I had gotten used to the programs that I have experience with and didn't see a need for these others to take their place. Maybe a little closed minded, sorry. This was a good experience.

EDM310 Blog Experience

I must admit that I have had very little to do with blogs until this class. I have read some blogs before but never had a blog myself. My experience with blogging is that it is great for someone else but I have little time for it. I am too busy to spend time blogging. Blogging reminds me of writing a journal and I was never into that either. Because of this class though, I was forced to see other blogs that I would never have seen before and I learned things I didn't know. It isn't that I don't "get out", it is just not something for me. I explore the internet I use technology, but writing a blog is not for me.

I have learned a lot in this class using blogs. I am not sure that the subjects were something that I would have chosen. Blogs are a good way of having a lot of information stored from all around the world by using links and gadgets that are easily accessed. It affords the opportunity to communicate with others over long distances that would otherwise be impossible. There are, I agree, a world of possibilities and discoveries and yes blogging is a good way of sharing this information. So, for those who enjoy blogging then I say go for it.

I read Brett Kittrell's blog and I found it to be interesting and he seemed to enjoy making the posts from the sound of his entries. His blog is well constructed, organized and full of information. The photos that he used were good and his blog was almost up to date. I know that he has spent a lot of time on his work. I appreciate the time it takes to construct such a blog. Maybe he has blogged before and maybe he likes it.

Blogs are used in some of the classes that I have observed in but not many. Mostly, what I see are tutorial websites and test preparation websites being used. I don't know if it is because of a lack of funding or the time that is needed for test preparation is more important but I just don't see that many in the classrooms I have seen so far. I might try it in my classes if there is enough interest and funding for the computers.

iTunesU

I viewed a documentary from Duke University covering HIV epidemic in South Africa. The title was Broken (HIV education film from South Africa), which was produced by MadaboutArt Productions. The short Documentary was a re-enactment of a father raping his daughter(Dolly) and the mother looking the other way when she was told by the brother that the rape had occurred. During this story it reflects the current attitudes of looking the other way in these crimes, which only propagates the spread of HIV and AIDS. The documentary was a public service type message and ends with a message from children to family to protect them because they are the future. It was very well done and I appreciated it.

ACCESS LAB

I went to Mary G. Montgomery to view their Access Lab. Mr. Rose was very kind and showed us a room filled with electronics from a cabinet filled with laptops and two plasma screens mounted on the wall. He told us about internet courses taught in that classroom and how his AP students have access to courses not taught in the school. This allows the students to become better prepared for college study. He showed us the ELMO they have in the class and VCS or video conferencing system in the classroom. There were two cameras and Mr. Rose had a condensing mike so that he could talk at a normal level and still be heard in classes being broadcast elsewhere. Mr. Rose controls everything from a master panel. This was very neat to see. I wish that I had had an opportunity to use a lab like this when I was in high school.

I hope as a teacher, I will have the opportunity to be a part of an access lab in the school where I will be teaching. It really does change the dynamics of the classroom. Students are no longer restricted to the curriculum offered at their school. Instead, they can reach out to other schools in other states and countries. Students can learn from classes taught anywhere in the world.

These labs are expensive but I don't what kind of price we can put on the educational advantage our children can have with a lab like this. We have to find the funding necessary to keep these labs working and running strong for the future.

EDM310 Class Podcast

The first podcast that I listened to was "Blogging and Teaching". This podcast was presented by Rachel Davis, Justin Tullis, and Myrenda Howze. The group as a whole had good information and interacted well with each other. Transitions were very smooth and everyone seemed relaxed. However, toward the end there seemed to be growing spaces of dead air between speakers. It sounded as if they had begun to run out of things to talk about and were trying to stretch what they had. The group spoke clearly and loudly enough, they could be well heard and it was pleasant to listen to.

The second podcast was "Can You Tube Be Used for Educational Purposes". The presenters were Adrienne Lynch, Joylyn Reese, and Brian Stevens. The group seemed to have researched their topic very well. It was very informative and they were able to show the pros and cons of You Tube. The only problem that I noticed was the transitions and they were a bit rough. Maybe they didn't have enough time together to coordinate their information for presentation. Toward the end the group began to fade a little and there was a little dead air in the broadcast, but it was great information.

The third podcast was "Reflections on The Lecture of Randy Pausch". The group was Brett Kittrell, Jenny Mosely, Taylor Irvin, and Bree Smith. Once again, I felt that there was good information in the content of the presentation. Perhaps, they could speak a little louder and more clearly. Their presentation was very enthusiastic but the transitions were a little rough. There was good group participation.

The fourth podcast was the one I helped present called, "College of Education Classes and Technology Used in Them". The group members were Kathryn Bentley, Kerrie Owens, and Hanna Nolan. I think were prepared and had good information but, I don't think that we interacted as much as we could have as a group. The presentation was given like three individual speeches. I need to speak more loudly and clearer but, I don't like the sound of my voice and this didn't surprise me. Everyone else was loud enough and clear enough to be heard well. We needed to interact more as a group.

Electronic Contact

For my electronic contact assignment I found a teacher in Cairo, Georgia who teaches 12th grade Economics classes and tenth grade World History. His name is Justin Amaro and he teaches at Cairo High School. He uses the computer lab for his remedial graduation classes and uses a program called USAtestprep.com to help his students prepare for the graduation exam and he finds it to be very successful. In his Economics classes he uses the same program to help prepare his students for their End-Of-Course-Test. This is a state issued test for all economic students. He also uses an interactive program called InvestSmart that emulates a stock portfolio. Its website is investsmart.coe.uga.edu. Here, he creates a class and his students compete to see who can make the most (or lose the least) amount of money over the course of the semester through buying and selling stocks. He uses powerPoint in most of his lessons

He also teaches a remediation class for kids who have failed Prealgebra. The school uses a program called OdysseyWare for this. Here, students can practice problems and get immediate feedback. Mr. Amaro feels this program has too many loopholes that students can find and it is not very effective. However, the test preps are very effective and adds to the success rate of his students.

I asked Mr. Amaro about how these programs are funded and he said that they have money earmarked in the budget for them. The programs I talked about are easy to subscribe to and use. The test preps would be easy to implement in a school that doesn't have much established provided they have a computer lab with internet access. The kids in his class love the games and practice questions and practice tests that allow them to become comfortable with the tests. The tests are very representative of the actual tests.

I think that I could use programs that would allow for test simulation in my classroom to help students with test anxiety. The practice would help lower the anxiety for better performance during the real thing. Programs would also benefit my students that are not into traditional classroom settings and get bored easily.

Mathematics with Technology

I watched the podcasts and I could tell Judy Chandler was well versed in the use of technology in math courses. It is a way of engaging students with hand on applications. This is great because students are actively participating. Ms Chandler feels that technology use in math classes in important and can enhance the educational experience although some others would disagree. With a hands on technique students actually learn what they are doing and they don't just practice for a test. They retain what they learn so the education is not wasted.

Technology in math classes can offer an immediate response to the students work. In this way, students will know if they are doing it right before they commit it to memory. Students can have better resources for their math studies with the use of technology in their class. Ms. Chandler believes that technology should become a part of the curriculum and not just something to add on the side. The student will benefit from actually seeing how problems are worked and what the results are and while they try to apply the knowledge they get immediate feedback. They don't have to wait for manual tests to be graded and returned a week later when they have forgotten the concept.

I am finding the use of technology in the classroom more and more appealing as I learn about it myself. I am all for anything that will challenge a student no matter what their ability. Computers keep student's attention and engages them in their educational process. Most students don't enjoy sitting in a classroom and listening to a lecture. It is hard to focus and become interested. But , by using technology the student once again takes an active part. The technology is out there and students need to incorporate it in as much of their education as possible and that's what I want to do in my classroom.

I know that there will be "old school" teachers out their that would not agree with me but, I think it is because of a fear of the unknown. They don't have experience with it and are intimidated by it. If they can get past their fear they will find an improvement in student's performances. I am all for making learning more interesting and fun. I don't want to be stuck and let the tech world paast me by without joining and learning.

Growth vs. Fixed

I visited the Stanford News website "Growth vs. Fixed", and I agree with their theory of growth mindset. The video was about two views on intelligence growth through continued education and learning and fixed intelligence. The growth view sees the mind as a muscle (which it is in my view) that needs exercise and challenges in order for it to grow and become stronger. The fixed mindset is depressing because there is no growth of intelligence, you are just stuck with what you have. Stanford held a workshop where the students were divided into two groups. One group was given the growth classes and taught how the brain can increase and grow through challenges and learning new things. They compared the growth to that of a baby learning new things. The other group was just given study skills without any motivation to grow through learning and making mistakes. At the end of the study teachers could tell which group their students belonged to because group one students improved dramatically and group two continued to have declining grades.

Even a race car coach could see the results and he wanted to apply this training to his drivers so that they could learn from their mistakes and become better drivers. It is obvious that they make mistakes during races but unless they see the mistakes and learn from them then they will continue to make the same mistakes. If they continue to make the same mistakes over and over again then they won't win. So this coach wanted the drivers to study the races, see their mistakes and improve their racing skills. Through their growth they increase the wins that they obtain.

This view of growth through education is an idea that I have always believed in or I wouldn't have returned to school to complete my degree. I believe that you will continue to learn throughout your lifetime if you let yourself. This is a view that I want to instill in my children when I teach. You won't stop learning just because you graduate unless you don't try. No, you won't always get it right the first time but you will get it and you will learn. This continued learning will add on to the person that my students will become and that is great. The world changes and you have to keep up with the changes or it will leave you behind. But, most important without continued learning what do you have to look forward to. Why are you here on earth? I want my students to be hungry to learn and stay hungry for knowledge the rest of their lives.

The Cigar Box Project

I found a sight that I found quite interesting. The students are from Calgary Science School and they started a year long project of discovering Canadian history through cigar boxes. They would collect the boxes and study the pictures on the box and research for what time period they we from. The class is led by history teacher Neil Stevenson. The website can be found here The students created five historical panels and three short documentaries. They were "Inspired by the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa,Canada." There you will find an online exhibit of cigar boxes called "Canada in a Box".here The students had no experience with layout or design so the school brought in a graphic designer named Teak Sato, from the Alberta College of Art and Design, to give the students some basic lessons in layout and design. This was so interesting I loved the idea.

This is a great way to engage students creativity and give them hands on view to history, which I admit is a passion of mine. History can sometimes be boring to students but I can't see how a student would have time to be bored. Each student is concentrating on the pictures and wanting to find out where they came from and what the story is behind the picture that they are engaged in a hunt. Students can utilize technology and build skills while learning history. I know that I would have like such a project when I was in middle school or even high school. What a great idea and what terrific work.

The Edible Schoolyard/A Night in the Global Village

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This is a very interesting and creative approach to learning. The concept started by Alice Water reconnects students to how they get their food. It incorporates nutrition and agriculture, science and chemistry allowing students to experience an all encompassing classroom in nature. The scene is Martin Luther Middle School in Berkley California where students have cleared a parking lot and made a garden. They learned every aspect of gardening and preparing the food that they grew. They also learned the concept of composting to enrich the soil and make it better for planting. Students get a chance to improve their school, learn and be proud of what they are doing. Most importantly they are having fun and don't even realize that they are learning. I think that is when a subject really makes an impact on the student.

This project is teaching students to appreciate and respect the earth and how important it is to protect the environment that sustains us as humans. The students become aware of the ecosystem and how everything works together to benefit everything else. In this way a student can learn to appreciate what the earth has to offer and what it takes to keep it environmentally safe. This realization can be translating in their own lives. They can see what an individual can do. Students learn how the ecosystem effects businesses and their very way of life. They get a chance to see how everything is effected by their actions, that's a hard lesson to try to teach in the classroom.

I would love to teach sustainability through hands own activities such as the Edible Schoolyard. It is a way to bring a concept to life and have students become passionate about a subject. That is an invaluable tool of teaching. Anytime a teacher can bring a subject to life, to make it real for their students then they will have made an impression on those students. Some students will never have a chance anywhere else to experience gardening and learn how our food gets to the table.

A Night in the Global Village is a great idea too. At the Rocky Mt. School of Expeditionary Learning, students have a chance to experience poverty and hunger in real life situations. The students at the school go to a special camp at the Heifer Ranch in Arizona to stay in a village created for them there. The students are split into groups representing impoverished countries with very little or no resources. They spend the night in a village constructed by the school and have to learn to negotiate for the things they need to survive. Students learn on a global scale how hunger and poverty affects relationships with other countries. Some of the groups had nothing but, the group from Guatemala had water, the most important resource, and therefor they had the power. Students got the chance to see how those with resources could demand that those without do things to get something they need. They learned how those without are subject to control by those that do have things. This podcast shows how conditions can affect relationships globally.

This is a concept that is not easily understood in a classroom. They need to experience some of the hardships to understand how someone could become desperate and in need for things just to survive and are willing to do what it takes to get them. Students learn how to work together to survive out of necessity. They don't have the luxury of being concerned with just their individual comfort.

I think that the village is a great idea for students to experience walking in someone's shoes. You can read about this but the experience brings it alive for you as a student in a way a book can not.

Podcasts

I listened to some pod casts and found them interesting and much like a talk show on the web. The SmartBoard lessons gave rules and expectations for the year and educational plans for the students. This cast was based out of Canada and they were really interested in other countries that used podcasts and would like to share. This was something I wanted to listen to so I could get an idea of what a podcast was like. I needed to know what to expect and well I do now.

Another podcast was Kid Cast, which had instructions for kids by kids on how to podcast. There were plenty of start-up ideas and how tos for kids to learn how to start a podcast and what to say. Topics would range from history, and how toes, to Ripley's Believe It or Not. They had topics on health and fitness and nutrition for kids. These kids even talk about environmental issues like global warming and what is happening in their world. They really have an opportunity to get involved with their world and talk about possible solutions. This podcast joins kids from around the world and lets them share their ideas in one place.

When listening to David Warlick with Connect Learning, the discussion was about a different approach to educational leadership conferences. He had gone to the Science Leadership Academy and their new plan was called "Educon" which was a combination of education and conferences, its all about talking, communicating with other school leaders to brain storm ideas about leadership in education in their own schools. Communication is one of the most important aspects of an educational team. This cast gives an excellent example of how to utilize pod casts to achieve widespread communication.

I think that pod casts can be a very useful tool in education. It is beneficial for both the teachers and the students. I think that I would like to incorporate the use of pod casts in my classroom with my students. It is best to keep an open mind when approaching the use of pod casts, you never really know how you can utilize them in everyday teaching. I think that many more teachers should use pod casts to give a more exciting approach to teaching. Pod Casts allow students to participate more in their own educational process. The class becomes more proactive than passive.

Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

As I watched this lecture, I had to admire someone for speaking in front of so many people and do it with such poise and grace. The composure that he had, under very trying and difficult times, was amazing. But he didn't focus on this, he focused on the positive and that's admirable. The first thing I noticed in his speech was that he was very well prepared and comfortable with his material. He kept eye contact with the audience and even made personal references making the lecture more personal and inviting to the audience. He spoke about the use of indirect learning and I hope as a teacher I can use these techniques to make learning something not seam like your learning something. That is a great talent if you can do it well and I think Randy did.

The tenacity of Randy Pausch is obvious and that is what got him to where he was. He called it determination but no matter what you call it it is shared by those who achieve success. Every great leader has had it and every great educator has it. The ability to take dreams and turn them into reality takes this skill. When road blocks are put up in front of you in the pursuit of your dreams and they will then that road becomes a challenge and not a defeat unless you let it. He had a dream of the virtual reality classes and he made them happen. He knew that to be successful in a class like that creative license had to be taken. He fought for that because for most schools that is not what they want. They like structure with locked in plans, anything else is very scary for them. But I know from experience as an artist that you can't be dictated to and be creative. You must think for yourself and make mistakes and learn from those mistakes, otherwise you won't learn. Randy knew that and conveyed that to his students.

Creativity unlocks childlike wonders and creativity invents new ideas and inventions and is what allows us to evolve. Creativity is needed to learn to help others. I mean to really help others you have to see a vision of success in what you are doing. There will always be more than one way to accomplish something and an open mind will allow the discovery of new ways. I think Randy encouraged that creativity so that his students could achieve more than they thought possible to achieve. That negative bar was missing. The thing that we use to stop our growth, that thing that keeps everything safe because there is no risk involved, that is what stops us from achieving if we let it.

So, I think that we shouldn't let it,(that crazy bar), stop us. I believe that that was what Randy was trying to say. He said look what we can do if we just let it happen and don't set limits. This is what happens when we let our minds expand and give it freedom to create. To nurture this idea is one of the greatest gifts that a teacher can give to their students. Students can and usually learn more in self directed education settings and I think that we need those settings more and more in classrooms.

Ipods

Ipods are being used more and more in the classrooms to aid in instruction, as a means of taking tours, listening to interviews, and student presentations. Students use them to listen to guest lectures. They can learn a new language or listen to music and concerts all from their classrooms or anywhere. The student can access videos, pictures and books, see them and read them anywhere. This technology makes available information that might not be available to some students. It not only opens the world of knowledge but, puts that knowledge at their fingertips. Ipods travel which is important in our world of laptops. Most podcasts are listened to on the go and not in the classroom. In this way podcasting has moved the classroom to the world and the world to the classroom.

Duke University was credited as a pioneer in the use of ipods in education. Duke University has increased its use of ipods in the classroom. They use them to supplement instruction in many ways. They even went so far as to distribute ipods to be used by incoming freshmen. The students would then be required to use these in any class that required ipods. They formed a group called "DDI", to distribute and encourage there use. Your can check out DDI at: here The Center for Instructional Technology has interests in videocasting too. Some instructors feel that the use of this technology allows them to bring the class outside of the classroom and into the real world.

The use of ipods is increasing from elementary and middle schools, to high schools and colleges all over the world. I feel, that anyone not using them will be missing a lot and are at risk of being left behind by technology. I hope to use this technology in my classroom when I begin teaching.

My Presentation

Dr Christie

I was going through Dr. Christie's website and found very interesting topics. One is how to involve the young and older student and teacher together to learn from one another. This shows that everyone has something to contribute and you are never to old to learn something new. But the site I was most curious about is the link to web page designs. Since we have to design a website I thought that this would be most informative and I was right. There were many examples of how to start websites and create them to be target specific. She told how to add animations that would be interesting for kids. She offered links for downloads of animations that would work for web pages designed with students in mind. There were examples of good web pages, excellent web pages and not so good web pages with suggestions on how to improve the look of the pages.

Her site is a great opportunity to learn things that I could use in the classroom. A website for example is most useful to provide information about who I am and what I do as well as personal interests and classes that I teach. It would also be beneficial to show my educational background and plans for the future. By providing this information on a website I would be opening a link to parents who would otherwise never really learn about who I am. The website would be a way to draw students interests in me as a teacher and as a person, definitely an advantage in teaching.

Wikipedia

I don't think that Wikipedia can ever be fully trusted. As long as the sight is not regulated and verified any type of change can be made. Yes, I know that you can tract the changes but, most people don't take the time to do so. This allows for misinformation to be broadcast as fact and spread all over the internet. As someone who loves history I have learned that not all that is written is fact and in fact it is often tainted with personal opinions and ideas. I have always read several sources if I was interested in something in particular. I also won't read what the historians have written without comparing personal biographical accounts of what happened as well.

Most people that I know that just want quick information will use Wikipedia without any concern as to the authenticity of the content. They are just looking for a quick answer and they don't care if it is truthful or not. An example is celebrity tabloids , many are not accurate but people are just curious and want some information even if it is wrong.

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With growing technologies being used in the educational field, it is necessary to be able to make this information available for students to access. Filters are a necessary evil to protect students. However, if that protection limits useful and necessary knowledge then the use of that technology is mute. It has been an ongoing battle with companies that claim one thing and do another. I think we have to push for companies to take responsibility for there claims, even if that action takes the form of legislation. Many advances that we have had in this country led to products being produced for certain functions and, not until these companies were held accountable by law did they take responsibility. That type of accountability has to extend to software companies as well. It is a different field and products are being made for consumer usage so, the laws have to extend to this medium as well.

I think that once again as a country we need to support education and this support should include the internet and protection of its use. One thing is always a problem, people want to have a strong diverse education system with well qualified teachers but they fail to see the need for financial support to accomplish the mission. What would be ideal is that the different education systems throughout the U. S. should have their own team of software producers that would benefit and work for the educational system and not bureaucracy. Someone outside of the system should not be making the decisions of what is important and safe and what is not.

Karl Fisch

I agree with Fisch that teachers, in order to be effective teachers, must keep up with advances in technology. For one thing, If they are not familiar with new technologies, you can bet their students are. How can a student learn from someone that is not in touch with the current world. Admitting to not knowing is not a sin but not wanting to do something about it well, that is another story. As Fisch says technology is to much a part of our world to ignore it. As educators we want to prepare our students for the world. How then, can we effectively do that if we are not connected to that world. Technology is the connecting fiber of everything we do as Fisch says. To ignore the technology available would be like trying to jump from one mountain to another. Technology is what students relate to and want to learn about. We need to be able to teach it otherwise, we are not really doing our job.

I don't feel that a teacher should ever stop learning themselves. When new technologies are available they should try to learn as much as they can. Their jobs can be made easier by what they learn. I also feel, that classes should be offered and incentives made for teachers to always continue their education. With everything they have to do, I know it isn't easy to have to worry about learning something new. We ask our students to learn something new because our world is constantly changing and we have to change with it. We have to evolve and teachers should want that. They should never be satisfied with the knowledge they have now but should want to learn more. Life is learning and it doesn't stop until we die.

International students blogs

My first international blog that I came upon was Sunshine Coast Grammar School,located in Queensland, Australia. It is a Christian based, but multi-denominational school that has grade levels pre-k thru twelve. Something of interest is that they have six international "sister" schools located in Japan, Italy, China, France and Canada, so there is a lot of cultural diversity. They offer a variety of sport activities like, soccer, softball and football. In addition they offer various language courses as well as music and choral programs. They offer classes through the Internet as well. Many students board at the school for the year. Take a look:
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I also found a blog belonging to a class of ten and eleven year olds out of New Zealand. They each have a blog that describes who they are and something about their family. In their blogs they talk about what they did at school that day. One student talk about something she was knitting and others talked about field trips they took. One girl named Claire was telling everyone about the characters or little figurines they were making and hers was of a reporter interviewing someone. Greg was talking about the bad weather they have been having with wind blowing everyone around and people sliding off the road. He says he has been without power for two days. Some of the entries are very interesting so, check them out at:here Here is a picture of Claire.

us student blogs

I found a blog written by Conners Emerson School which is a k-8 school in Ear Harbor Maine. The home page gives general information about the school from schedules, assignments, to different presentations throughout the year. There are student links and teacher links. Here is a picture of the "mathelets", a math competition club at the school. The student links offer other educational opportunities about local and distant places and cultures. The teacher and staff links offer NWEA meeting notes and continuing training sessions, as well as forms and documents that a teacher would, ie. grant forms, Title One forms. Look for yourself at here



The next blog that I found was from Albany High School in New York. In this blog was some of the same information and hopes and dreams of the future, mixed with a little fear of growing up and to quote Anne Meyers to "being kicked out of the nest"
Also were many comments on fundraising events and athletic events around the school. One student was dispelling myths and lies about her school, showing her school pride. Here is her picture and her name is Sara DeWitt. You can check the comments at:click here

Did You Know?

As I watched the video "Did You Know", I was suddenly struck with the very truth of the place technology holds in the educational world. It has held this place because it is such a vital link in our world in general. Without knowledge of how to use computers and related technology, a person can be compared to someone in a library who cannot read. Vast amounts of information is in cyberspace and you have to know how to reach it, capture it and use it. More knowledge is available than can be kept in one place and yet this knowledge needs to be available to everyone. This knowledge is the key to communication throughout the world. How can we communicate without knowledge of the subject we are communicating with or about. What library is going to be large enough? What classroom can be large enough to contain everything we want to know? What better way to share information fast enough for the information to be useful than through computers. As our world grows, so must our technology and our ability to use the technology available to us.

The technology is out there to be used but the equipment is not available to everyone who needs it. Meeting this need should be a concern of everyone who wants an educated, well informed society, who can meet the world and interact with it. We need to address this with our congressional representatives. We need to get communities involved in fund raising to bring computers to the classroom. The very businesses that will one day want to hire some of these students will want someone capable of using this technology and someone able to grow with it. So, I think we as a community, as a nation we have got to convince these companies to help prepare students with the computers they need in their classrooms today. It is an investment in tomorrow that we can't afford to miss. The gains are just to high and in comparison the losses can be devastating.

If we don't act now we will lose our place as a strong country because our citizens will not have the education needed to be knowledgeable, purposeful and responsible. How can a country stand strong without it's people knowing about other cultures, languages, politics and religions. This isn't something that we can aford to ignore if we want to continue growing in the new millennium. We have to do what ever it takes to keep up in the world, so that we can be a productive, knowledge based society and that means for everyone. So, speak up, start fundraisers, write letters, make calls and fight for what we need. Are you with me?

ACCESS

ACCESS is a state web site that allows students who are in advance placement or who might not be able to take a class to take advantage of courses not taught in their area. It uses the Internet to connect students with classes and teachers that they would otherwise not have the opportunity to meet. The students can study subjects that are not in a standard school program and this will expand their learning outside of the formal classrooms. Students from all over Alabama can come together and learn in a virtual classroom. It is not for the gifted only but remedial studies are offered as well as supplementation to regular classwork. Teachers can have an opportunity to share their knowledge to many more students through video format.

Through technology, the classroom is not limited to four walls but can be endless. Teachers and students can collaborate with other teachers and students and shared learning takes place. ACCESS provides a great opportunity to expand a classroom and the world of learning by using technology.

ALEX

Alabama Learning Exchange, known as ALEX, is a web site that offers standards in subjects taught by teachers all over Alabama. Subjects such as English, math, science, arts, social studies and others are represented. A teacher could click on a subject and get lesson plans, schedules, work space ideas and plans. But this information is not just available to teachers but also to students and administrators. All of this information and subject matter is sorted by grade level so that plans can be made that are appropriate for the grade level you are interested in. This model helps with the continuous flow of information in an organized way. Students are presented material in a similar way that other students are exposed to the subject. Also available are leadership development requirements for teachers, and even information for Special Education.

Not only are these links available through ALEX but ALEX provides another link to "ACCESS" or Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide". This link allows students in advance placement to be able to study subjects not available in their area or school district. This basically opens the world of knowledge to students who might not be able to learn about the subjects in there school. The use of video conferencing allows students to learn with other students not in their classroom. It does change the dynamics of the classroom by breaking down the barriers location. With the use of ALEX, teachers can join other teachers in the state in providing a common subject plan.

I feel that ALEX allows students to go anywhere in the state and expect the same type of subject matter and similar approaches in the teaching of these subjects. By doing this a students education is not hurt when he/she moves within the state into different districts. In addition, teachers can feel assured that they are providing education that is up to the standards of other educators in the state. Students are provided with well educated teachers who are up to date on educational methods and on their particular subject matter.

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Who am I?

Hello everyone! I am new to blogging and am a bit shy about talking about myself. I returned to school after the death of my husband and chose to pursue a major in special education. I am an older student but I believe you should never stop learning. I draw and paint as a hobby and train my Jack Russell in frisbee. I am not from the U.S. originally. I am Canadian and was born in Toronto and I have lived in three different countries--U.S., Canada, and Japan.