Blog Usage in Schools

There is one educational blog found at this site. The blog was created and is used by an AP government and history teacher in Raleigh, NC. The teacher's name is Betsy Newmark and she uses the blog to keep her students up to date with current events in history, politics, news, and classroom activities. The blog has been in use since 2002. The blog is open to the public and viewers are allowed to comment on the content included on the site, and they are provided links to other people's blogs. his blog did not contain any photographs.

Another teacher blog that I found is owned by Tamara Fisher. Tamara is a K-12 gifted education specialist in Montana. on this blog, Tamara offers informative information to teachers in her category or those considering working in the special education field. She tells cute stories geared towards how gifted some special education children are. Society may close the door in their faces, but they are missing out on some of the most talented citizens. On this blog, Tamara also offers informative information about signs to look for in suspected gifted children. The link to the site can be found HERE.
These are the pictures available from the website.

Presentation

ACCESS

ACCESS is the acronym for Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide program. The intent of this program is to provide all students with the advanced courses that are required for diplomas. Some students in rural areas does not have access to courses such as physics and trigonometry. The access program has a mission to interconnect schools throughout the state of Alabama with an effort to communicate with the distance learning courses.

ACCESS works with the ALEX program through communication on and off line. ACCESS provides access to the best courses and teachers through technology; the courses are internet and interactive based. The ACCESS program requires extensive amounts of funds. Videoconferencing is how the teachers communicates with the students.

When I was in high school at Moss Point High School in Moss Point, Mississippi, I had the benefit of using a program similar to ACCESS. We did not call ours ACCESS as far as I knew, we only used the name distance learning. The instructor for my genetics class was the teacher for students at Bay High. It was a fun experience for me because it was new, and I had the chance to meet other enthused students in a different city. The equipment was high tech and there were many rules we had to follow to protect ourselves and the equipment. When I become a teacher, I would like to conduct an ACCESS class.

Using ALEX in the Classroom

As a new teacher, I would try to make full use of ALEX in my classroom. I would first obtain a membership to the website so that I could have full access of the materials. Depending on the grade level that I was teaching, I would research the grade guidelines outlined on the site to see what types of activities I could plan to gain the interest of my students. If I was confused about how to proceed with my lesson plans, I would look over some plans already on the site that was completed my fellow colleagues.

In order to help my students, I would use research of some of the websites recommended by ALEX. These are websites that provide interactive activities for students, worksheets, and quizzes. If possible, I would have computers in my classroom that gives the students the opportunity to use the virtual library offered by ALEX. As a beginning teacher, I think ALEX will be very valuable and benefit my students and I well and help us succeed as a team.

ALEX

ALEX is the acronym for Alabama Learning Exchange. It is a website available as an aid to help teachers in the Alabama school system. There are materials available such as help with lesson plans, virtual libraries, and outlines for material students should learn in each grade level. This website would be quite helpful for a first year teacher. Although they may not know what to expect going into the school year for their specific school, they can research the material on ALEX to have a general understanding of what is to be expected in the state of Alabama.

The ALEX website gives teachers the opportunity to create an account in which they are allowed to access other teacher's lesson plans and use some of the contents for their own lesson plans. ALEX even offer links to other educational websites that teachers can use to access printable worksheets and even quizzes that can be used in their own classrooms. This website gives ideas of activities teachers can use to engage their students more in the classroom. Overall, ALEX is a highly resourceful website for the Alabama education system.

Second Day of Class

Today is the second week of classes for this semester. Everything has been great so far, except for "renewing" my sleep schedule after the holiday break! However, I will be glad when this semester is over. I have always done well in school for the most part, but I will be glad when I earn a degree and get it over with! Since I am majoring in elementary education, most of the rest of my life will still be spent in a classroom. :-)

Fischbowl

Yes, shift definitely happens! During this video, I was like WOW! I could not believe all those statistical facts. We are led to believe the U.S. is the dominant country and now we have more immigrants in our country than there are in their own. It is true many people here do not speak English anymore or may not even know how to speak our language. I’m just glad I do not fit into that category of typical 21 year olds! I will make sure that when I have children, their television, internet, and video game hours will surely be limited. I would want them to be more tuned into the books that are produced daily but are barely read. I think every parent should see this and I believe the way to do that is broadcast it on every television channel at least once a day for the ones who are not computer literate. This video had a positive impact on me and I will be recommending it to some of the parents I know.

Tenative Powerpoint Presentation Plans

My current plans for my powerpoint presentation includes information about my family, friends and what we did during the Christmas holidays.

Introducing Shannika

My name is Shannika Williams. I am currently enrolled at the University of South Alabama majoring in elementary education. I have always been a lover of children, although I do not have any of my own. I have been a bible school teacher at my church in Mississippi for several years. Initially, I wanted to go to school to become a nurse; however, when I started working in the hospitals and nursing homes, I quickly changed my mind! There is a small soft spot in my heart for cheerleading and if I am still at South when the Jag football team kicks off, I may try-out for the season!

My First Post

I am ready to learn how this blog works.