Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Blog Assignment Week 9


Alabama Learning Exchange

The first thing I noticed when I googled the Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX), was the the website was VERY well organized. On the home page, you can choose to explore things such as lesson plans, courses of study, web links, ect. Then, each topic is broken down between either subjects or for the teacher or student. The website provides links to the Alabama Department of Education, career and technical education, counseling and guidance, and several other links that may be useful to teachers everywhere. I didn't know anything like this even existed!! There is even a link you can click that will provide access to several podcasts that cover many educational topics.

ALEX is used to help students, teachers, and administrators share educational information through things such as links and podcasts that pertain primarily to education in the state of Alabama. You can create an account and become a frequent user. My favorite part was the link that led me to the courses of study. You can choose nearly any subject ranging from math to art to physical education. You are able to view objectives, and choose the grade level at which you teach. I believe this may be the most useful thing I have learned about in this class because I know I will definitely go back to this website later when I am teaching.

Alabama Learning Exchange


Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS) Program

When I first started to explore the website for the ACCESS distance learning, I found that it was interesting, but compared to the Alabama Learning Exchange website, very overwhelming and slightly confusing. The website states that their goal is to "create equity through additional educational offerings for all Alabama public high school students." This distance learning could truly be a blessing for some students who are very interested in learning, but because of the location of their school and the school access/use of resources, are not able to explore everything they may wish. The program was started in 2004.

I explored the tab on the website that strictly pertained to the students who might use this type of distance learning. I was surprised to see that the program provides students with access to 10 AP, or advanced placement, exams to practice with! WOW! I wish my high school teachers had known about the program and shared this information with me because I was in AP English and AP Chemistry as a high school senior. This tab on the website also has information for parents so they will know just exactly how distance learning will benefit their child. The program also provides ways to help you decide if you are ready for distance learning. I think the program is a great way to help students prepare for the transition between high school and college.

ACCESS

Comments 4 Kids

This week I was assigned a student named Robert. He is in Room Six. He and some of his classmates made a video of a race that some of them had ran. One little girl won the race, and they were all very excited to be a part of it. I was very surprised that students that young were making videos and posting them online! That's very awesome!






2 comments:

  1. Hey Jessica, I also found ALEX very organized and I thought it was a great resource as well as ACCESS. Thanks for sharing! :)

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  2. ALEX does seem like an excellent resource for students who wouldn't otherwise have the opportunities!

    ReplyDelete