Culture and Diversity in the Classroom

Sir Ken Robinson's lecture on Education and Creativity

Sir Robinson lecture was about how and why education kills our children's creativity. He begins with stating that ALL children have tremendous talents and that creativity in education is just as important as literacy. He mentions that even Shakespeare had an English teacher, and this shows how important our roles are as educators. He goes on to mention that all over the world there is a hierarchy of education...with math and sciences at the top, then humanities and language, and lastly, the arts. This is because educational systems were not formed until the 19th century, in order to meet the needs of industrialism. This should be reformed! In the world today, because of overpopulation, and the availability of education, degrees have a decreasing value (he calls this academic inflation). We should be encouraging all types of expression, interests, and education not only because of all the different talents of our children, but so we can open up different opportunities for them in the future. He also mentions 3 things about education that always hold true: education is diverse, intelligence is dynamic, and intelligence is distinct. The main point of his lecture was that we as educators should rethink fundamental principals we are using to educate our children. No talent is more important then another.
I completely agree with Sir Robinson! As a future special educator, I fully realize that not all children learn the same way and excel in all the same areas. We should encourage all talents and abilities no matter what it takes. It is also a proven fact in education that when a child is allowed to succeed in something that they are good at and enjoy, they gain self-esteem, and all other areas improve. It is an absolute shame that so many schools in America have eliminated many areas in education having to do with music and the arts. This should be illegal. Would we ever eliminate math? science? Of course not.

My Experience with Twitter

When I first started using twitter I did not like it. However, after finding out about a few helpful tools I learned that Twitter can be a great way to stay updated on news, keep up with my favorite bands, and learn from other teachers about teaching methods and how they are in fact using twitter themselves and how their students are using it. This became much easier after I began using tweetdeck and monitter. These tools make it easier to find people to follow and organize your tweets and messages.
Through twitter I was introduced to various podcasts on autism by following "Autism Speaks", met teachers from all over the country, found articles on early childhood special education, and followed my favorite band by keeping up with "PanicCrew" tweets. I also was able to tweet briefly with my computer professor about problems I was having with it! It is a quick, easy way to communicate with others and proved to be very helpful! For an entire weekend I was slightly addicted to twitter. After a while I began signing on periodically just to check for messages and see if there was anything tweeted about that interested me.
As an early childhood special education major, I don't see my future students having the capability of using a tool such as twitter. However, I will certainly use it for ideas for teaching and for collaborating with other teachers all over the world. I also find it to be a great tool for older students who can effectively navigate a computer. This would be a great starting point for research or other ideas related to school.
The only negative aspect about twitter as that tweets must be kept SO short. There is so much I want to say in response to certain tweets! However, I can see why it must be kept that way, when receiving so many messages from so many people. All in all, I feel twitter is a great way of communication and conversation between people from all over who may have never gotten the chance to share ideas with those living in other places.

EDM 310 podcasts evaluations

The assignment for this week was to listen to and analyze four podcasts recorded in our very own EDM 310 class with Dr. Strange. I chose the one in which Kimberly and I participated in on "Burp Back Education," the podcast on Randy Pausch's last lecture with Megan and Keith, the podcast about useful teaching tools for elementary school teachers by Joyce, Jared, Lauren, and Erica (who are actually in another class at a separate time), and the interview conducted by Jonas, Hannah, and Anthony on social networking in education. Overall, I feel that my fellow classmates and I did an exceptional job, but still have plenty of room for improvement. In this post I will critique each podcast, and give a brief description on each.

The burp back education podcast was designed as an interview with our course instructor, Dr. Strange. I feel that this interview flowed naturally and consisted of relevant, important questions, in which Dr. Strange answered eloquently. As, I listened to this podcast, however, I thought of many other topics and questions that I should have asked about at that time. Hopefully, this will lead our listeners to asking more questions about the topic as well. The podcast provided a link at the end of the interview that could allow listeners to further research project based learning teaching skills and ideas. Overall, I feel this podcast was successful in explaining burp back education, and how to avoid it.

The next podcast I listened to was about Randy Pausch's (a professor at Carnige Mellon) last lecture. This podcast came across as slightly scripted and mechanical. However, except for a few exceptions, the podcast was well organized. Another feature I found useful was that they provided a way for the listeners to view his speech themselves. The only suggestion for this podcast would be to practice more and become more familiar with the information.

The third and fourth podcasts I listened to were hard to find problems with! The podcast on useful internet sites for elementary school teachers provided many sites such as askjeeves, education-world.com, and teacherpathfinder.org, and a description of how each are used for teachers and/or students. The only thing I may want to suggest would be to not repeat certain functions of these websites too many times because it may become repetitive. As for the interview of Angela Rand, I found this group asked great questions and Mrs. Rand seemed very informed and passionate about social networking and its many uses. Overall, all groups did a great job creating their very first podcasts!

Blogging-Is it really THAT useful?

Reviewing my own blog, and reading the content of one of my fellow classmates, I can confidently say that blogging is overall very beneficial to students, teachers, parents, and any other learner. Blogging is a way of sharing ideas and information all over the world to other students, a way for teachers to communicate with parents about their child's curriculum and school events, and also a tool for teacher-teacher relationships linked all over the world through sharing teaching strategies, helpful educational websites, and a way to learn more about another teacher's culture or environment for better understanding of certain topics that may be addressed in the classroom.

As I read through Jonas Cockson's blog, I noticed that we had similar ideas on many assignments. I also found several points in his blog that I didn't think about when completing the assignment. For example, one thing that Jonas found very important involving the videos "The Edible Schoolyard" and "A Night in the Global Village" was how much activities such as these can improve the student-teacher relationship. He mentioned that it slowly becomes more of a mentor relationship. This made me realize one important fact. The more comfortable and confident a student is with the teacher, the more likely they are to ask questions and be engaged in what is being taught. I can certainly remember teachers growing up that kept themselves at a certain impersonal distance from their students at all times. This causes a certain type of insecurity and fear with that teacher and therefore results in a intimidated, disinterested child. I am very glad that I found this point on Jonas's blog and was able to personally expound on his idea. This is the essence of social networking and blogging in education!

One negative aspect of blogging is that just because a particular teacher posted certain information on a blog, does not mean that it is correct or the best way to teach. There is a certain amount of sifting one must do to find the most useful information, resources, and ideas. Another downside of blogging is that there should be a certain amount of supervision present when students are surfing blogs. There are all kinds of inappropriate blogs and blog topics out there that we my not want our children to be exposed to.

In all, blogging is a wonderful tool for all aspects of education and the people involved within its process (parents, teachers, and students.) Blogging will absolutely be a resource tool for me throughout college and my teaching career. Blogging and other social networking sites are very important and all teachers need realize its power and take the time to use it properly. Share what you learn so that others can benefit from it! Learn from others so that YOU and your students can benefit from it! These actions are our duty and obligation as teachers.

Growth v. Fixed Mindsets in Learning

During this video the interviewee describes the difference between what she called a "fixed" and "growth" mindset. She explains a "fixed" mindset to be of a student who believes that their basic intelligence is a fixed trait and that there is nothing they can do about how smart they are. They often avoid certain activities that may show their intelligence.

Other students, with "growth" mindsets want to grow and develop as a student by learning as much as they can and striving to be a better student. Her idea was to teach this type of mindset to half of a classroom of students in a workshop, and the other half simply teach a study skills class. During the "growth" workshop, she explains to students about how the brain is like a muscle, and that it gets stronger the more it is used. She found that the students that attended the workshop about the "growth" mindset had the most improved grades by far then the other group of students.

I firmly believe and agree with the video in that students and all learners of all ages can improve their learning skills through practice, curiosity, and the belief that they can learn anything. One thing I thought of when viewing this and thought to be a good example of this idea was of something I learned in my Education in a Diverse Society Class. First of all, many female girls are acquiring the "fixed" mindset when it comes to math and science. This belief of girls not being as good at math and science as boys is instilled by our own society. Evidence shows that girls do not lag behind boys in math and science until about the 4th grade. This proves that something changes in these girls lives...not that they are not as smart as the boys. Also, from what I learned in that class is that students coming from a low socio-economic status often adopt this mindset as well, but for all areas of school. If we teach girls, and those of lower socio-economic backgrounds in particular this type of mindset at a very early age, student achievement would result in a more even playing field. I do, however, believe that all students could benefit learning a "growth" mindset. This will be something that I try to instill in all of my future students and within myself! One of the concluding statements of the video was that it is impossible to be a good mentor without a "growth" mindset....and I agree.

iTunes U, WGBH podcast K-5

I selected three podcasts from the featured provider WGBH to listen to. The were entitled "Energy Flow on the Coral Reef Ecosystem", "Observe Clouds", and "The Total Solar Eclipse Animation." The first video I found to be very informative, however, some of the information could be slightly advanced for elementary school-aged children. It was very detailed and organized in presentation, with beautiful footage of the coral ecosystem. Even if were too advanced for these small children, it directly made the point of how energy flows through the food chain. I enjoyed this video very much and learned some things that I myself did not know!

The Second video, "Observe Clouds," didn't teach much information and was only about a minute and a half long. In the beginning it tells the viewer to observe the patch of sky that appears on the screen as it moves across the sky. After about 30 seconds, the video speeds up and a question appears asking if you can see the clouds moving and changing shape. After this the screen reads, "Let's watch it again," and the clip repeats. At the end of the clip the screen appears with this message, "Next time you see clouds, stop and watch them move and change shape." I liked the clip very much because it is telling children to stop and observe nature, however, it's not exactly the most educational video I have watched on iTunes.

Because the second clip was so short I decided to watch another video. This video was a virtual demonstration of a solar eclipse. I found it very appropriate for children from K-3 grade. It very explained each step of the process while including definitions of certain words that may not be understood. I think this would be a wonderful video to add to a lesson about space in the classroom.

These types of podcasts could be useful as a teacher by assigning them as homework or playing them in class to accentuate my lesson or activity. Many processes and experiments could be demonstrated on a video such as these and could provide students a greater more concrete understanding of these complex processes. I also believe when my students are assigned to watch certain videos for class, that they will stumble upon another subject they are interested in and view other podcasts that just strike their own interest! These videos will be a great tool for all educators and learners!

The Edible Schoolyard and A Night in the Global Village

These videos, provided by Edutopia on iTunes, were nothing short of amazing. The first video I watched was entitled The Edible Schoolyard. It was a short documentary of how Martin Luther King Junior Middle School used an organic garden completely grown by the students as a bases for all subject areas in school. The students spend their entire first period planting and tending to their garden while facilitating their math skills, social/cooperative skills, and scientific knowledge. The garden helps better portray topics such as the life cycle and recycling of matter, some chemistry, ecology basics, math, cooking, environmental science, and even social studies/history. What I also found intriguing, was that all learning styles are accommodated with the garden. Students have the opportunity to learn auditorally, visually, and kinesthetically while participating in maintenance of the garden!

The second video I watched was entitled A Night in the Global Village. This program is used to teach students how other people in the world live in poor living conditions, without proper supplies, water sources, food, or adequate shelter. They spend 24 hours living together in a natural setting, and are forced to trade and bargain with other groups for supplies they were not provided. One group, the refugees, begin with nothing. They must then build a fire, cook their food, and purify their water before they go to bed in their shack-like shelters. This teaches the students important living skills, cooperation, and can truly reveal to young people how others throughout the world live their daily lives. This program is also a nonprofit organization that works to donate livestock and other supplies to the deprived all over the world. Another aspect of this program called "Read to Feed," is utilized in the classrooms. This program provides books that educate students about other cultures and explains how American choices affect the rest of the world.

As an early-childhood special education major, I think that the most useful podcast for me would be the edible garden podcast. My goal is to work with autistic children ranging from 0-5, and in my experience, autistic children learn so much more and are much more engaged when participating in hands on activities. Perhaps the most prominent aspect of autism is social interaction. With something like a garden, or any other project the requires team work and cooperation, better social skills can be acquired with others. These podcasts will certainly remain in my mind when I become an educator, and I hope that I will one day create similar learning environments for my future students.

itunes University

Researching iTunes University was very informative, however, it was also frustrating! This should be used by all professors at the University of South Alabama (the university I attend). This tool could be so useful for all students but in particular for those students with special learning differences or those who may encounter serious health problems during the semester. It is a way for teachers to post their lectures or other helpful audio and visual mechanisms so that students can review what they learned in class or see what they missed if they were unable to attend.

iTunes U could be the world’s most extensive collection of free educational media available to students and teachers. iTunesU has over 100,000 educational audio and video files available, and has quickly become a wonderful tool for mobile learning. It gives the influence of the iTunes Store to professors so that they can distribute their lessons/lectures to either their students only, or to all over the world. Professors can do this by choosing to create a password intended for students registered for their class. iTunes is compatible for most all computers, making access more readily available for most students.

Psychological research proves that students who download a podcast lecture receive higher exam results than those who attend the lecture in person. This is probably because podcasted lectures give students the opportunity to replay the lecture to better understand it. This aspect in particular, can be very helpful to those students who may have difficulty with audio learning, and can give them a chance to take better notes, or see an experiment or demonstration done again. Also, this can be used by teachers in order to see how other instructors are teaching a particular subject/topic that he/she may be having trouble conveying to their students themselves. Over all, this is a very useful tool for all learners and teachers and should be integrated into all universities.

For more information on iTunes U, click here.

The ipod in education

When searching the web for uses with the ipod in education, I was surprised and excited to find many cites on how to use the ipod in the classroom. Lesson plans, audio lectures, video lectures, podcasting, notes, references, quizzes, photos, calendars, games, and RSS feeds are all available through itunes and can be converted to the ipod. The most useful, however, seems to be the ipod touch because it has an automatic internet connection, and a touch screen, making web navigation and downloading easier and more accessible then the basic ipod.

There are many educational games available for the ipod such as the new and improved Oregon Trail, which I loved as a child. This particular game is not free; it costs $6.00 from the App Store. However, about 25% of the games available in the App Store ARE free. Here's the description of Oregon Trail from iTunes:
Oregon Trail shares information like what clothing to wear, how much oxen weigh, and which is the best seat in the wagon. Of course, by playing students get to practice map skills, conserve resources, and develop a strategy. Teachers using this in school will enjoy teaching students about dysentery (and other historical diseases) as well as having students compare the game to the real struggles pioneers had traveling across North America.

Some examples of free applications are: Grammar Girls Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, English Idioms and Slang, Storynory: Free Audio Stories for Kids, MathGrad: Everyday Mathematics Explained, and First Amendment Minute.

Duke University, as an initiative to promote creative uses of technology in education, conducted a kind of experiment with there first-time freshman in 2004. They distributed 20GB ipods with voice recorders to each freshman and incorporated their uses in 15 courses at the university. They were used in courses such as foreign language, music, social science classes, and humanities courses. The ipod was used as a course content dissemination tool (portable access to music, lectures, historical speeches, etc...), a recording device during lecture, a field recording tool (interviews, environmental sounds...), study support through the ability of repetition, and for a back-up for file storage. Duke found the ipod to be very useful and will continue to encourage its use and other technology to improve the learning environment.

To find out more about the use of the ipod at Duke visit:Duke's final evaluation report.

For other ideas on ipod use in the classroom click here:Learning in Hand

Alice Christie

The site has several major sections. It is a resource for students and educators wishing to use technology in their classrooms. It also provides resources for educators on web design, links to her research publications, and a gallery of her photography. The section that I found most useful was her guide for web searching and researching. Here, Alice provides a a comprehensive list of searching tools for teachers and students, and online databases, including encyclopedias and almanacs, web cam directories, virtual field trips, and simulations.

Her ideas on virtual field trips were very exciting! She explains that virtual fiels trips are engaging to students because they enable students to make connections between themselves and the extensive world environment they live in with the click of a mouse. AND IT'S FREE! On efieldtrips.org, there are many locations throughout the world such as the Alaskan coast, the everglades, and the wetlands of Watsinville that kids can experience, and also historical trips through time in which students can get a feel for events such as the attack on Pearl Harbor and the struggle for equality during the civil rights movement on America. These tools will certainly be helpful for any teacher in almost any grade!

Please visit:
efieldtrips

Wikipedia

The articles assigned about wikipedia were not surprising. Companies such as Walmart and Exxon, and organizations such as the Catholic Church and the CIA have changed information on Wikipedia in their favor. This was made possible to see by a graduate student named Virgil Griffith who created a database specifically designed to track down the editors of wikipedia. I believe that wikipedia can be a good starting point for research, but it should not be used as a factual source for information. It should probably be considered what kind of subject is being researched. For companies and other organizations, edits should be expected by that company on wikipedia.

Randy Pausch's last lecture

Wow. What a fantastic speaker. I was crying by the end of his lecture. There are a few important teaching methods Randy used in this speech to make learning effective and interesting. He used a powerpoint so his audience could follow what he was saying visually, he used humor,and a warm, conversational style of speech.

Randy shows that not only did he engage his students at MIT, but he engaged all of campus, parents, and other outsiders. He made his classes and projects interactive and made many efforts to open opportunities for his students after graduation. All teachers should make an effort to do this for their students! Randy also used what he called "head fakes" for his students. This means that he basically tricks his students into learning something hard by making it fun.

There are a few points that Randy had in his speech I would like to mention. His whole speech was about childhood dreams, enabling the dreams of others, and lessons learned. First, I loved what he had to say about "brickwalls." Randy says that brick walls are there to stop people who don't want it badly enough. He also stated that experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted.

Randy was a phenominal teacher who truly pulled the best out of his students by interesting them, making them work hard, and by requiring that their work be hands-on. He opened doors for them, challenged them, and learned from them. This is what a teacher should be and I think that all future teachers should watch this video. For anyone who stumbles upon my blog and reads this post, please follow this link and watch the video. You won't regret it!

May 2007-Customer Service

On this post, there is a video from youtube with the audio from a customer service call to HP from a man who needed software sent to him primarily because of a mistake made by the company itself when he sent his computer in to be fixed. During most of the call the customer service agent asked questions about different identifying numbers of the computer (which is apparent upon pulling up the file), and the man was left on hold for most of the time as well. After the phone call was disconnected, another person from HP called the customer back to ask him about his experience with customer service and his phone call.

Mr. Fisch posted this video to remind teachers that our students are like our customers. I really liked this quote from him: "It seems like most of the time (at least in my little corner of the world) that instead of being treated as the customer, we look at it in the opposite way. That the folks that are supposed to be serving the customer in each of those relationships are instead looked at as the ones with the "power" in the relationship. That too often administrators are treated like the customer of teachers, that teachers are there to meet administrator needs. And that teachers don't think of their students as customers often enough, but instead the students are supposed to meet our requirements."

It is important for us to take special care and time for each of our "customers." Poor customer service has almost become expected when dealing with companies on the phone. Has the same concept become expected in the classroom? We hope not! Being conscious of our students needs and doing everything we can for the best learning atmosphere and opportunities possible is our duty. Is this not customer service?

Listening to student podcasts

This assignment required us to listen to previous podcasts done by students in the past. The first podcast I listened to was about how youtube can be used for educational purposes. I felt that these students did a great job with this assignment! As compared to the professional podcasts I listened to for the last assignment, it was almost as good. The only suggestion I would have for improvement would be that the conversation needed to sound a little bit more conversational. However, it was very well organized and informative.

The second podcast I listened to was not as well done as the first. This podcast was about facebook and how it can be used for educational purposes. It was informative, but it was obvious that the students were nervous and stumbled alot on their words...saying alot of "um's" and "like's". I would suggest practicing the episode a few more times and becoming more comfortable with the conversation before recording. Even though I learned alot from the podcast, it was hard to follow and slightly boring.

Karl Fisch

Karl's post from September of 2007 proved to be very...well...shocking. I must say, however, that I do agree with his point....Teachers today that are not technologically educated are like teachers in the past who could not read or write. It is unfair for certain students to have teachers who do not incorporate technology into their teaching methods. This could severely hurt the child in the future because other students are receiving this type of education and information is more accessible for the child.

Karl also mentions that Headteachers and Principals who have staff who are technologically-illiterate should be held to account. This is very true! If teachers don't understand computers that is not their fault, but they should be taking steps to learn about computers and have a better understanding of how we can use them for education. If THEY don't take action, the principals should. There are workshops available and research that can be done online to where anyone can learn at least basic computer skills. If the teacher hasn't learned it, they can't teach it!

Podcasts

This assignment gave me a much better understanding of what a podcast is and what their uses can be. The podcasts assigned were mainly informative, designed to expel information about a specific topic/subject. However, after listening to these podcasts I noticed that on the itunes store there are many different purposes for podcasts. Some are for entertainment, news, comedy, and there are even podcasts on podcasts! I chose 3 podcasts of the six we listened to to write about that I found the most engaging.

Ed teck talk was the most engaging podcast for me. I listened to episode #31 about self-directed learning. It began with a fun introduction of each speaker and a short explanation of what self-directed learning means. They explained that self-directed learning is usually set up by someone else, but utilized my the individual. Electronic Village Online is one place that students can go to online where you can pick certain posts to check on regularly and learn from. It is not something that you need to see every day or else you get behind. You can pick your interests and choose when you want to look up any updates.

The next podcast I found very interesting was kid cast. This began with the introduction of the host and an update of what he had been doing since the last episode. He then introduced the topic. The topic was how he disappointed to see that the podcast were created by students because they were required to and not because of an interest. The content was not focus in the podcasts, the focus seemed to be the assignment itself. The host explained to the listeners how to make students want to make a podcast and how to organize them to where there is an easy way make multiple episodes and an easily-flowing conversation of these episodes. The point is to have an extended academic conversation!

The smartboard lessons podcast is a very helpful tool for teachers seeking free ways to engage students in what they called mind concept maps with other students and teachers online. In this episode, there were two speakers. At the beginning, they introduced themselves and the topic, which was different blogging platforms. They then spent most of the show talking about different sites for student blogging.

Each podcast was nicely organized and fun to listen to. To be honest, I thought that it would be very hard to keep my attention without a speaker to look at. It was much easier then I expected, and I enjoyed this assignment!

My Presentation

Rachel Boyd's class blog-nelson, new zealand

Mrs Boyd's blog seems to be mostly ran by students, and not by Mrs. Boyd. There are several videos posted that the children made themselves entitled "The Lorax speaks for..." These videos describe how the lorax speaks for different elements of nature because they cannot speak for themselves. Each child's personal blog has a link posted for easy access.
room9nelsoncentral.blogspot.com

Kool Kowhai blog in New Zealand

Janet Blaauw's class just began a new school year. It appears that she is quite the hands on type teacher! She and her class have planted various plants -from veggies to flowers, hoping that monarch butterflies will land on them and lay eggs. She has also been doing a lesson on egg development in chickens. Her blog is easy to navigate, as well, and provides very helpful educational links and other teacher's blogs to visit.
http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=83975&blog_id=&listclass=11543

Mrs Blakely's kindergarten blog

Mrs. Blakely's kindergarten blog is much more simplistic then McClung's. I believe it is aimed more at keeping the parents updated on what is going on in the classroom. The picture above, for example, is posted on her blog about the groundhog day lesson. She explains that there will in fact be six more weeks of cold weather to look forward to. Two things I found helpful for other teachers is that she includes a list of blog links that are like her blog. This can provide teacher's everywhere with ideas and projects that other teachers are using.
kdgroom102.blogspot.com

Mr. McClung's blog in Noel, MO

Mr. McClung blog made his class look so exciting! I wish I had a teacher so involved and creative in elementary school! Everything is nicely organized and easy to navigate, while giving off a warm, welcoming vibe. A few things I noticed about Mr. McClung's blog were that he had a blog archive, a place for useful links for his students, and his posts were frequently updated with reminders of future activities. This seems to be a great way to keep students and parents updated and aware of the progress of his class!
http://mcclungsblog.blogspot.com/

fischbowl videp

Wow! What an interesting, intimidating, and informative video! I guess America and the rest of the world has some work to do to keep up with how quickly technology is advancing. As future teachers, it is our duty to make sure that our students are exposed to as much technologically enhanced education as possible. America needs to catch up with the rest of the world and make sure that our future (our students) becomes familiar with other languages and are trained to understand 21st century technology. Students are collaborating all over the world, researching with one another via the internet. Our students should be a part of this! This is, however, kind of scary. What will happen to hands on learning, I wonder? It seems that educational practices may be taking too sharp of a turn towards technology.

ACCESS

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators, and Students Statewide) is a web site designed to provide new ways for students to have access to high quality education and coursework who may not readily have access to it in Alabama. It does this by giving students the option of taking advanced placement courses and dual enrollment courses online. Some of the web based courses include regular and AP English, regular and AP social studies, science course, foreign languages, electives (computer, technical, psychology, writing, accounting, nutrition...), health, and art. One interesting thing I found about ACCESS is that some courses use IVC (interactive video conference) as a way to teach the course with 21st century-style e-teachers. ACCESS provides typical classroom teachers new innovative way to teach by using this web site with their students as well. This will, as their mission states, "...provide an infrastructure that delivers quality learning opportunities for all citizens."
This may or may not be useful to me as an early childhood special education teacher. For my major, I will instructing special needs children ages 0-4. Typically these children would not be taking the courses such as those provided on ACCESS. However, it is a great site to be aware of, and I will share my knowledge of it with other teachers who may be trying to figure out ways to provide a better education to their students.

ALEX

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange) is intended for Alabama teachers, parents, and students as a resource for educational materials and information. As you can see clearly laid out on the homepage of this website, lesson plans, Web links, and interactive activities are provided as a way to share the best of what Alabama teachers have found to be effective in their classrooms. These resources prove to be reliable as well because most are connected to the Alabama Courses of Study by National Board Certified Teachers. Searches can be conducted for almost any subject my it be academic, for the arts, and even physical education. And the best part?....It is free! There are no fees involved and can be accessed by any teacher or student.

This can be very useful to me as a teacher in the future. Sometimes it is hard to figure out the most effective way to teach as a new teacher simply due to lack of experience. ALEX provides the most some of the most effective resources, information, and materials used by teachers who have already found them to work for most students.

Welcome!

Thank you for taking the time to view my blog! I will be posting various objectives I learn in EDM310 throughout the semester. We will be learning so much this semester!