Assignment 9

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange)

I researched ALEX or the Alabama Learning Exchange.
This is an excellent resource for Alabama teachers that gives them a wealth of information all in one spot. ALEX includes links for the Alabama Course of Study, lesson plans, professional learning, podcasts, personal workspace and web links. I used a site similar to this when I was teaching. It may have even been the same one. While searching the Alabama Course of Study link I looked through the technology education portion. I was shocked to see just the K-2 objectives in technology. Not only are K-2 student supposed to know correct terminology, but they should also be able to identify, use and design using digital tools. They should even know correct posture and finger placement. I was in high school before I learned the above objectives.

My favorite aspect of ALEX is the lesson plan area. You can either choose to search for lesson plans in a certain grade level or subject that meet an objective or create your own. It is so nice to be able to collaborate with other teachers and not have to reinvent the wheel. This also gives a new teacher an idea of what is expected of the grade level they are teaching and what the students are capable of. The grant information under the professional learning tab is an excellent resource too. As a former teacher, I am always looking for grants that help classroom teachers directly. If I were an actual college student I would definitely apply for the following grant listed on ALEX:

Media Smart Research Awards

Cable in the Classroom, the education foundation of the cable industry, will award up to three prizes of $2,000 each for excellent research papers on media literacy instruction. Papers can be submitted by graduate or undergraduate students at US colleges and universities. Winners will also be brought to Washington, DC, to discuss their research results at a forum with educational leaders. Submissions for the "Media Smart Research Awards" are normally due by the end of May. For more information, see http://www.ciconline.org/award

ALEX also has many podcasts to choose from. Some of them contain information that enhance student learning and that include information about Alabama. There are not only resources for teachers but for students and administrators too. This website helps all teachers to become successful in their career as educators. I will be sure to remember it when I am in the classroom.

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide)

ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide) is a website that benefits Alabama public high school students. The vision of ACCESS is to provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning. High school students are able to take a wide variety of classes that include college board advanced placement courses and modules that help them with their high school graduation exam. This benefits those students who need help catching up (remediation courses) and those who want to better prepare for their college career. The format looks easy to use and it provides technical support to students and teachers. This would be important since the courses are strictly online. There are opportunities for middle and high school educators to become facilitators for ACCESS as well.

I think this is a very useful program that Alabama has implemented for middle and high school students and it should help bring our schools into the 21st century when it comes to technology. It will truly benefit students in hard to serve areas. I however was amazed at the amount of money poured into this site each year. Just in the year 2008 they spent over 25 million dollars to design, coordinate, support and implement this program. I can't help but be bitter when our schools are in such peril right now. So many educators and support personnel are losing their jobs. The elementary teachers do not even get their allocation to buy necessary supplies for their room. I myself spent thousands on resources for my classroom. Classrooms are overcrowded and the conditions are only getting worse. I hope that ACCESS is not affected by the current conditions, but are programs like this taking away from our ability to give elementary students the fundamentals they need to become successful learners?

Comments4Kids Week 9

This week I again was assigned to James a Year 8 student. He did a very detailed charcoal sketch of a man's face. It portrayed a sort of painful anger and showed many of the muscles in his face so it looked like he didn't have any skin. The drawing was accompanied by a poem that talked about his frustration when dealing with our lack of concern for the environment and its effects on global warming. My comment on his post is as follows:

Hi James!
It’s me again from Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I am glad to see that you can display so much passion in your writing and in your illustrations. I like works of art that evoke emotion and responses whether they be positive or negative from their audience. You have done a beautiful job of portraying your frustration with our generations lack of concern when it comes to the environment. What will the future hold for our children? It is painful to think of what could happen if something is not done now. Keep up the great work!