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Blogs in Classrooms

The first website that I visited http://elementary-school.blogspot.com/. This is a blog that was designed by a school librarian in Texas. This blog is used to inform elementary teachers and librarians about several different websites that are designed to keep them informed and improve their skills. One of the posts that I read was about flash card math for elementary students. It had a link to the website, so I went to it. On the website, there were math worksheets and several math word problems which was very helpful. Here is a link to the website: http://www.flashcardmath.com/handcrafted2.asp

Another blog that I visited was a 12th grade Pre-Cal class by Professor Kuropatwa. I believe that he used his blog very efficiently. There was assignments, notes, and quizzes posted for the students and the students would have to post lectures and answers to questions. One student even recorded the lecture and posted the voice lecture on the blog. The teacher also made reference to a website that another teacher had informed him about. He put a link on the blog because he felt it would be useful to the class. The link to this blog is: http://pc40sf06.blogspot.com/

This was a picture that I got from this blog. It was posted beside one of the quizzes that was labeled probability.

Overall, these blogs are very helpful. I wanted to give two different examples of the use of blogs because obviously they can be used for any reason. In the first example, the librarian just wanted to inform other educators about information that is out there. When we look at the second example, we see more of a classroom setting. Students are subscribed to the blog and the blog is where they find all of their assignments. I think it is a great way for students to not only interact with their teacher, but it also gives the students an opportunity to interact with one another.

Did You Know?

This video was very informational. Technology advances so rapidly on a daily basis and we cannot let our children get behind. Our children are our future. Jobs today no longer ask for basic reading and writing skills. You must now be able to type so many WPM, know how to surf the internet, know how to use computer applications in an effective manner, etc. We need to be able to communicate with people all around the world. E-mail is so important. E-mail is how we connect with our teachers a lot of times. What about the e-companion site? A lot of my teachers use the e-companion site to send out important information. The internet allows students and teachers to use the ACCESS system to improve their teaching and learning. I think it is very important for all students, no matter what age, to have an understanding of technology. Technology is no longer a thing of the past...technology is going to continue to advance everyday.

ACCESS

Alabama Connecting Classrooms and Students Statewide is an education initiative of the Alabama Department of Education. This program allows students to engage in activities that may not be available to them. ACCESS allows new and innovative ways to motivate your students to want to learn. ACCESS allows teachers to have interactive videoconferencing. ACCESS allows teachers to have one-on-one interaction with their students. To become an ACCESS teacher, you must be highly qualified in the state of Alabama in the subject that you are wanting to teach; you must meet background check requirements; you must have prior experience in teaching an assigned ACCESS course; and, you must attend training during the summer and the school year.

A few courses that are offered through the ACCESS program that I found interesting are under the general electives. ACCESS allows students to take accounting, global studies, personal finance, nutrition and wellness, and web design. In high school, I did not have the chance to take these classes. I think that having these classes for students could give them a better insight on what they want to do prior to entering college.

ALEX

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) is an online resource for educators in the state of Alabama that is designed to share many types of educational materials and information in a very efficient manner. ALEX uses many tools to help teachers manage their classrooms. These tools include the following:

Courses of Study: This tool allows the teacher to know what kinds of material should be covered for each grade level on each different subject.

Web Links: There are several different links to websites that are valuable for teachers.

Lesson Plans: This feature allows you to create your own lesson plan or find a lesson plan by browsing through the different subjects.

Professional Learning: This feature list different websites that allow teachers to read the latest news and learn about the latest teaching and learning tools.

Distance Learning: Distance learning is used to provide studetns with information that may not be available to them in the classroom.

The Alabama Learning Exchange program allows our educators to have many helpful resources and also keeps our educators updated with the latest information. Because of ALEX, our students have many new learning opportunities and ALEX allows students to receive higher education.

About Me

Hi! My name is Haley Nicole Drinkard and I am a junior with a major in Elementary Education. When I first started at South, I was an education major, but I let certain people in my life persuade me to change it to accounting so I would make more money. After two semesters of accounting classes, I could not take it anymore. Accounting is the most boring thing I have ever studied! I am glad I finally realized that. Now I am happier than ever to be doing what I love, working with children.

Also, I just found out that I am expecting a child of my own. My little angel will be here on September 6th and I cannot wait. Everything happens for a reason, and I now know that education is definitely the right field for me. Family is very important to me and having the summers off with my child will be amazing. I cannot wait to become a mommy!

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