Thursday, July 16, 2009
My EDM 310 Blog Assignments are Now Complete.
I really enjoyed taking this class with everyone. Thanks for the great teamwork! Everyone was very helpful and made it fun to come to class. Thanks to Mr. Sullivan for being a great teacher with a good heart.
Thoughts on Tools Covered in Class
Blogs
A tool I intend to use in the classroom is a blog. I will use it, not only for my benefit, but for my students and their parents. This will give me another means of communication with my students’ parents and my students. I will be able to provide information about me, information about the school, information on student work, and student projects. I can post a calendar of events and homework assignments so parents will always know what is happening. The options are endless when it comes to blogging and would be very beneficial in the classroom.
Spreadsheets
I will be able to use spreadsheets for a variety of tasks in the classroom. I can use it to store my student’s data regarding many areas, to create multiplication tables, or currency tables. Knowing the formulas will reduce the amount of time in creating the tables and will ensure accuracy.
Google Tools
I feel Google tools would be very useful to me as a teacher, as well as my students. There are many tools available that I would use for everyday classroom duties such as the documents tool, form builder, spreadsheets, and presentation creator. Google tools can be accessed anywhere there is an internet connection. I would allow my students to use their creativity to produce presentations using the presentation creator. They would also be able to use the documents tool to create a story, a poem, write a letter, etc. The students would be able to save their work so it doesn’t get lost and share their work with the teacher or anyone else they wish. Google tools is something new to me, but now that I am using it, I have found it to be a wonderful resource that I will continue to use.
Picasa
Picasa is something I will use as a teacher in creating presentations such as powerpoints, as well as other projects that will involve my students. My students will also be able to use Picasa for their presentations. This again will allow them to use their creativity. There are many tools available for editing photos and enhancing them.
ALEX
ALEX will be a very useful tool to me when I start teaching in many ways. There are several features that I know I will use often. The lesson plan feature will be very helpful and time saving. This will allow more time to devote to carrying out the plan effectively. The personal workspace feature will allow me to store and organize my lesson plans as well as submit them to be considered for adding to the ALEX lesson plans. The professional learning feature will be one of the most useful tools. The areas on this feature are very motivating to me as a teacher to be the best that I can be and to know that there is always room for improvement. ALEX is an awesome tool for educators and students allowing them more opportunities to expand learning and is something that I look forward to using.
ACCESS
ACCESS stands for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide. This is a web-based program that allows students to take advanced placement courses, electives, or other courses that are not offered at their school. ACCESS Distance Learning provides every student an equal opportunity to achieve their goals no matter what their limitations are at the school they attend. Students will get instruction from highly qualified teachers who are provided with multimedia and technology tools for effective teaching. Not only will students interact with teachers, they will be able to interact with other students. ACCESS offers web-based courses as well as interactive video conferencing courses. The online courses can be synchronous or asynchronous. Using ACCESS will allow students to reach for the stars.
ITunes
I feel iTunes would be a very helpful tool to me as a teacher in many ways. If I need supplemental information on a particular subject, I could put in my key words in the search tool and within seconds have many tools to choose from. Another great feature is that you can be anywhere to access it. You can access it through your IPod, phone, Mac, or PC. This would be a great way to maximize your time while in the car or in an airplane. There are great organizational tools available as well. You can organize your tracks in folders for easy access. I know how crazy and full my days are, but knowing I can go to a specific folder and find everything I need in one place makes for a better day.
Podcasts
I will definitely use podcasts as a teaching and learning tool for my students. I could do my own podcast on a particular subject and let my students listen to them in a listening center and have some sort of task assigned with it for my students to complete. I would also have my students create their own podcast. This would allow them to not only learn about the particular subject they will be speaking on, but show their creativeness and have fun along the way. This would be another option besides a pencil and paper test.
Delicious
I have found Delicious to be a great social bookmarking tool to have available to me. This is a great way to organize websites that I visit often for easy access. There is also a link to see the list of the most popular bookmarks. By adding my friends and my family members to my network, I can view their interesting bookmarks.
A tool I intend to use in the classroom is a blog. I will use it, not only for my benefit, but for my students and their parents. This will give me another means of communication with my students’ parents and my students. I will be able to provide information about me, information about the school, information on student work, and student projects. I can post a calendar of events and homework assignments so parents will always know what is happening. The options are endless when it comes to blogging and would be very beneficial in the classroom.
Spreadsheets
I will be able to use spreadsheets for a variety of tasks in the classroom. I can use it to store my student’s data regarding many areas, to create multiplication tables, or currency tables. Knowing the formulas will reduce the amount of time in creating the tables and will ensure accuracy.
Google Tools
I feel Google tools would be very useful to me as a teacher, as well as my students. There are many tools available that I would use for everyday classroom duties such as the documents tool, form builder, spreadsheets, and presentation creator. Google tools can be accessed anywhere there is an internet connection. I would allow my students to use their creativity to produce presentations using the presentation creator. They would also be able to use the documents tool to create a story, a poem, write a letter, etc. The students would be able to save their work so it doesn’t get lost and share their work with the teacher or anyone else they wish. Google tools is something new to me, but now that I am using it, I have found it to be a wonderful resource that I will continue to use.
Picasa
Picasa is something I will use as a teacher in creating presentations such as powerpoints, as well as other projects that will involve my students. My students will also be able to use Picasa for their presentations. This again will allow them to use their creativity. There are many tools available for editing photos and enhancing them.
ALEX
ALEX will be a very useful tool to me when I start teaching in many ways. There are several features that I know I will use often. The lesson plan feature will be very helpful and time saving. This will allow more time to devote to carrying out the plan effectively. The personal workspace feature will allow me to store and organize my lesson plans as well as submit them to be considered for adding to the ALEX lesson plans. The professional learning feature will be one of the most useful tools. The areas on this feature are very motivating to me as a teacher to be the best that I can be and to know that there is always room for improvement. ALEX is an awesome tool for educators and students allowing them more opportunities to expand learning and is something that I look forward to using.
ACCESS
ACCESS stands for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide. This is a web-based program that allows students to take advanced placement courses, electives, or other courses that are not offered at their school. ACCESS Distance Learning provides every student an equal opportunity to achieve their goals no matter what their limitations are at the school they attend. Students will get instruction from highly qualified teachers who are provided with multimedia and technology tools for effective teaching. Not only will students interact with teachers, they will be able to interact with other students. ACCESS offers web-based courses as well as interactive video conferencing courses. The online courses can be synchronous or asynchronous. Using ACCESS will allow students to reach for the stars.
ITunes
I feel iTunes would be a very helpful tool to me as a teacher in many ways. If I need supplemental information on a particular subject, I could put in my key words in the search tool and within seconds have many tools to choose from. Another great feature is that you can be anywhere to access it. You can access it through your IPod, phone, Mac, or PC. This would be a great way to maximize your time while in the car or in an airplane. There are great organizational tools available as well. You can organize your tracks in folders for easy access. I know how crazy and full my days are, but knowing I can go to a specific folder and find everything I need in one place makes for a better day.
Podcasts
I will definitely use podcasts as a teaching and learning tool for my students. I could do my own podcast on a particular subject and let my students listen to them in a listening center and have some sort of task assigned with it for my students to complete. I would also have my students create their own podcast. This would allow them to not only learn about the particular subject they will be speaking on, but show their creativeness and have fun along the way. This would be another option besides a pencil and paper test.
Delicious
I have found Delicious to be a great social bookmarking tool to have available to me. This is a great way to organize websites that I visit often for easy access. There is also a link to see the list of the most popular bookmarks. By adding my friends and my family members to my network, I can view their interesting bookmarks.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
iPod As A Teaching Tool
There has been a new approach to using technology in the classroom over the last several years. According to the article found at Click Here, Duke University distributed iPods to all of its freshmen in 2004. Critics said this will be a distraction and will send the wrong message to the students. A Duke official stated, “The goal of the giveaway is education, not entertainment.” Some of the uses for the iPod mentioned in the article are to listen to assigned songs or audio clips in music or foreign language courses, record interviews in the field, and record lectures.
After researching other uses of iPods in the classroom, I found great suggestions on the Classroom 2.0 website. I have listed below some suggestions from the website from teachers around the world.
· Download audiobooks on iPods for listening centers
· Download lectures
· Download special recordings
· Create videos for download
· Students could create content based on class curriculum
· Research and writing
· Share and critique work
· Making podcasts
After researching other uses of iPods in the classroom, I found great suggestions on the Classroom 2.0 website. I have listed below some suggestions from the website from teachers around the world.
· Download audiobooks on iPods for listening centers
· Download lectures
· Download special recordings
· Create videos for download
· Students could create content based on class curriculum
· Research and writing
· Share and critique work
· Making podcasts
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Dr. Alice Christie's Resources for Educators
I found Dr. Alice Christie’s Website to be very helpful and informative. Some of the topics she discusses on her site are: educational technology, classes, workshops, GPS and Geocaching, searching the web, web design, publications, photography and consulting. I especially liked the information she had regarding rubrics under the educational technology section.
I find rubrics to be a little difficult to create at times. Dr. Christie lists many great ideas for rubrics that will be useful to me as a teacher when technology is involved. She has rubrics already created for the following: Adobe Acrobat, Digital Imaging, Electronic Portfolio, HyperStudio, Inspiration, iMovie, iMovie Video Production, Powerpoint, and Web Evaluation. I wouldn’t know where to even begin when creating a rubric when technology is involved, so this site is awesome.
I find rubrics to be a little difficult to create at times. Dr. Christie lists many great ideas for rubrics that will be useful to me as a teacher when technology is involved. She has rubrics already created for the following: Adobe Acrobat, Digital Imaging, Electronic Portfolio, HyperStudio, Inspiration, iMovie, iMovie Video Production, Powerpoint, and Web Evaluation. I wouldn’t know where to even begin when creating a rubric when technology is involved, so this site is awesome.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Chrome OS
Chrome OS is a new operating system that Google will be putting on the market in about a year. Google is already branded really well and is well established in the search engine world, so they might do really well with this new operating system, but it just depends on how simple and effective it will be. Because of Google’s initial marketing approach in starting their operating systems on netbooks, its impact on education will probably be slow at first. Most educational research done on the computer is done from an already existing pc that has windows. Until current networks of computers used in schools become obsolete and need to be replaced, Chrome OS will not have the opportunity to compete against windows. If they want to make an impact, they should give away computers with their operating system to children in the schools.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Reflections on Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
Randy Pausch was such an inspirational individual that seemed to love life and absolutely loved his career. In his speech, he talked about being a professor at Carnegie Mellon. He was so passionate about everything he was involved in and would go to extreme links to get around the rules if it meant he could be involved in something really great. One example of this he gave was when his students had an opportunity to visit NASA but no teachers were permitted to go, so he read through the rules and noticed that reporters were permitted to attend. You can fill in the rest of the blanks. Randy Pausch was clever in more than one way and one statement he made, which makes sense, was to always bring something to the table and you will fill more welcome.
He talked about hitting brick walls. He stated that brick walls are there for a reason. Randy said, “They let us prove how badly we want things.” This statement is so true in everyday life. We run into brick walls on a daily basis and how you respond to it is the test. He also talked about indirect learning, which he called “head fake” learning. Basically this meant you have to make them think they are learning something else having fun learning something hard.
He didn’t teach with textbooks. In his Virtual Reality class, they had project after project. The students were able to focus on learning to work with each other. He didn’t give them a whole lot of direction with these projects so they wouldn’t be limited on what they could do. They learned from each other and from trial and error. When the students came back from working on their first project, he was so blown away that he really didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to limit them, so he said, “You did great, but I know you can do better.” This way they can reach for the stars.
In the lessons learned segment of his speech he talked about parents, mentors, and students. He talked about his experiences and gave very good advice. Some of the advice he gave was to never lose childlike wonder, care about others, you can’t get there alone, tell the truth, apologize when you screw up, focus on others, don’t complain but work harder, and be prepared. I think we all can learn lessons from viewing this video. If we follow his advice, I feel we can all live very fulfilling lives.
He talked about hitting brick walls. He stated that brick walls are there for a reason. Randy said, “They let us prove how badly we want things.” This statement is so true in everyday life. We run into brick walls on a daily basis and how you respond to it is the test. He also talked about indirect learning, which he called “head fake” learning. Basically this meant you have to make them think they are learning something else having fun learning something hard.
He didn’t teach with textbooks. In his Virtual Reality class, they had project after project. The students were able to focus on learning to work with each other. He didn’t give them a whole lot of direction with these projects so they wouldn’t be limited on what they could do. They learned from each other and from trial and error. When the students came back from working on their first project, he was so blown away that he really didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to limit them, so he said, “You did great, but I know you can do better.” This way they can reach for the stars.
In the lessons learned segment of his speech he talked about parents, mentors, and students. He talked about his experiences and gave very good advice. Some of the advice he gave was to never lose childlike wonder, care about others, you can’t get there alone, tell the truth, apologize when you screw up, focus on others, don’t complain but work harder, and be prepared. I think we all can learn lessons from viewing this video. If we follow his advice, I feel we can all live very fulfilling lives.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Response to "Did You Know" Presentation
This presentation has started me thinking and almost worrying about where I will be sending my children to school. They just turned two and I know it seems early, but now is when I should start thinking about it, especially when there are waiting lists at some schools. Up to this point, I have been focused on being able to send my children to a private school because I went to a private school and loved it and would want them to have the same opportunity, but now I think I need to reconsider.
After viewing this presentation, my thoughts have shifted to a whole new thinking process. I am now questioning if the private school I want to send my children to is equipped with the skills my children will need to make it in this world successfully. I think that public schools are probably more equipped now than private schools for our changing world. Now, I feel like I am going to have a hard time deciding whether to send my child to a private school and hopefully protect them from some of the negative behavior they would be exposed to in a public school or send them to a public school where they might be better prepared for what is ahead. I am thankful that I viewed this presentation because now I know the types of questions I need to ask the administrators before deciding to send my children to a particular school whether it’s private or public.
After viewing this presentation, my thoughts have shifted to a whole new thinking process. I am now questioning if the private school I want to send my children to is equipped with the skills my children will need to make it in this world successfully. I think that public schools are probably more equipped now than private schools for our changing world. Now, I feel like I am going to have a hard time deciding whether to send my child to a private school and hopefully protect them from some of the negative behavior they would be exposed to in a public school or send them to a public school where they might be better prepared for what is ahead. I am thankful that I viewed this presentation because now I know the types of questions I need to ask the administrators before deciding to send my children to a particular school whether it’s private or public.
iTunes University
I feel iTunes University would be a very helpful tool to me as a student in many ways. If I was in search of a University to attend, I would be able to go to itunes University and within minutes I would be able to find lots of information about that Unviersity. I also feel the recordings of class lectures to be a very big pro for iTunes University. If I need supplemental information on a particular subject, I could put in my key words in the search tool and within seconds have many lectures to choose from. The best part about it is that the lectures are free, as well as audio books. Books are expensive these days and as a student and a parent, I need to save as much money as possible.
Another great feature for iTunes University is that you can be anywhere to access it. You can access it through your IPod, phone, Mac, or PC. This would be a great way to maximize your time and educate yourself while in the car or in an airplane. There are great organizational tools available as well. You can organize your tracks in folders for easy access. I know how crazy and full my days are, but knowing I can go to a specific folder and find everything I need in one place makes for a better day.
Another great feature for iTunes University is that you can be anywhere to access it. You can access it through your IPod, phone, Mac, or PC. This would be a great way to maximize your time and educate yourself while in the car or in an airplane. There are great organizational tools available as well. You can organize your tracks in folders for easy access. I know how crazy and full my days are, but knowing I can go to a specific folder and find everything I need in one place makes for a better day.
Friday, June 19, 2009
My Response to Karl Fisch's Blog Post
After reading the post titled, Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher from Karl Fisch’s staff development blog for Arapahoe High School, I have formed several different opinions regarding the statements made. I do agree with some of the statements made, but some were a little extreme. Because of their bluntness, I do see how the staff at this school would be annoyed by the statements made.
I realize that there are many teachers that have been teaching for 20 or more years that did not grow up with or get any schooling on the use of computers or many other technologies today, but with today’s technological advanced society, it would be an injustice to your students if you didn’t try your best to get educated. I do think that there is a general feeling among older generations of teachers that it’s okay to be technologically illiterate, but I think the younger generations of teachers feel that it is not okay. I do not see how today’s student’s of the colleges of education would be able to graduate if they were illiterate when it comes to technology or even the basic functions of the computer. There are many useful tools that can be obtained from the computer to enhance your student’s learning. Almost every job out there requires some sort of use of technology and it is our job as teachers to prepare them for it.
I realize that there are many teachers that have been teaching for 20 or more years that did not grow up with or get any schooling on the use of computers or many other technologies today, but with today’s technological advanced society, it would be an injustice to your students if you didn’t try your best to get educated. I do think that there is a general feeling among older generations of teachers that it’s okay to be technologically illiterate, but I think the younger generations of teachers feel that it is not okay. I do not see how today’s student’s of the colleges of education would be able to graduate if they were illiterate when it comes to technology or even the basic functions of the computer. There are many useful tools that can be obtained from the computer to enhance your student’s learning. Almost every job out there requires some sort of use of technology and it is our job as teachers to prepare them for it.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Podcasts by EDM 310 Classes Spring 2009
My EDM 310 class will be doing our own podcast in a few weeks, so I listened to two podcasts from Bob Wakeman’s EDM 310 class from last semester to get familiar with how they are done and to see how I might introduce improvements in my podcast. The first podcast I listened to was titled, The Last Lecture of Randy Paulch BW0119W and the second was titled, Shift Happens and How it Affects Me as a Teacher BW0818.
By listening to these podcasts, I identified some weaknesses that I will try to improve on in my podcast. Some of the podcasts I listened to jumped right into talking and I was lost because I didn’t know the topic. I noticed that in one of the podcast, someone started talking about a video, but I had no idea what the video was about because there wasn’t an explanation about a video. I will let the listeners know what the discussion is going to be about and not just say the title of the podcast. Also, some students sounded like they were reading and not having a conversation. I will try to talk with emotion and not in one tone so my listeners will not go to sleep. These are just a few ways I will try to improve my podcast.
By listening to these podcasts, I identified some weaknesses that I will try to improve on in my podcast. Some of the podcasts I listened to jumped right into talking and I was lost because I didn’t know the topic. I noticed that in one of the podcast, someone started talking about a video, but I had no idea what the video was about because there wasn’t an explanation about a video. I will let the listeners know what the discussion is going to be about and not just say the title of the podcast. Also, some students sounded like they were reading and not having a conversation. I will try to talk with emotion and not in one tone so my listeners will not go to sleep. These are just a few ways I will try to improve my podcast.
Monday, June 15, 2009
International Schools' Blogs
Zurich International School is located in Switzerland. The school’s website uses a blog on its site which can be found using the following link:Click Here
The main focus of this blog is to raise awareness to the students, their families, and the community of the impact we have on our environment and ways we can help our environment. The blog contains questions, further readings, speakers, and a calendar of events.
North Jakarta International School is located in Indonesia. The school website uses a blog mainly for the parents that can be found using the following link: Click Here
The main focus of this blog is to keep the parents informed about what is going on at the school. It also updates the parents on the results of recent events as well as solicits help from the parents for events that are coming up. There is also a place for parents to make comments.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Podcast
This weeks task was to go into iTunes and listen to various podcasts to get an idea how podcasts are produced. I listened to the following podcasts: Smart Board Lessons, KidCast, Connect Learning, EdTech Talk, MacBreak Weekly, and This Week in Photography. I found podcast can be done in different ways.
In this particular Smart Board Lesson podcast, there are two hosts, but they are not in the same room or even in the same state. They are thousands of miles away in their own office co-hosting together. As soon as the posdcast begins, one of the hosts introduces the topic that is going to be discussed during the session, which is math movies. Then he introduces the co-host and ask what specifically she is going to be discussing. Once the other co-host is introduced, they start talking about random things that have happened to them recently then they get into the main discussion of the math movie topic. For the remaining time of the podcast they discuss different math movie links and ways to incorporate them into lessons with the class.
With this particular KidCast podcast, there is only one host talking in conversational form but with just the listeners. The host jumps right into the topic after introducing the topic. The topic for this podcast is video podcasting which is basically audio podcast using video as a medium. He basically discusses the myths of video podcasting as well as the pros and cons. The entire session is very informative dealing only with video podcasting.
ConnectLearning episode 90 consists of a host on special location with an audience of thousands. The host starts off by introducing himself and giving the date. He lets the music play for several seconds and then introduces the topic of podcasting in the classroom. He immediately opens the floor to his audience allowing them to ask questions they have regarding using podcast in their school. The host then gives the audience his take on the question given.
MacBbreak Weekly podcast consist of two hosts in the same studio. The podcast starts off by giving credit to their sponsors. Next, they start talking about things that have been going on with them and what is new in the Apple industry. The hosts basically go back in forth with each other discussing the topics at hand and their experiences.
EdTechtalk podcast consist of several host. The hosts incourage the listeners to chat along with them during the podcast. The main host welcomes everyone and then the other hosts start discussing their topics. They basically talk back in forth about issues they have been having and the other hosts share their ideas on the subject.
This Week in Photography podcast consist of several hosts as well as a special co-host. The co-hosts are all in different locations. They start off by giving credit to their sponsors. Next, they talk about what’s in the news concerning their topics which has to do with photography. They ask questions back in forth to each other concerning these gadgets and give their ideas on the matter.
In this particular Smart Board Lesson podcast, there are two hosts, but they are not in the same room or even in the same state. They are thousands of miles away in their own office co-hosting together. As soon as the posdcast begins, one of the hosts introduces the topic that is going to be discussed during the session, which is math movies. Then he introduces the co-host and ask what specifically she is going to be discussing. Once the other co-host is introduced, they start talking about random things that have happened to them recently then they get into the main discussion of the math movie topic. For the remaining time of the podcast they discuss different math movie links and ways to incorporate them into lessons with the class.
With this particular KidCast podcast, there is only one host talking in conversational form but with just the listeners. The host jumps right into the topic after introducing the topic. The topic for this podcast is video podcasting which is basically audio podcast using video as a medium. He basically discusses the myths of video podcasting as well as the pros and cons. The entire session is very informative dealing only with video podcasting.
ConnectLearning episode 90 consists of a host on special location with an audience of thousands. The host starts off by introducing himself and giving the date. He lets the music play for several seconds and then introduces the topic of podcasting in the classroom. He immediately opens the floor to his audience allowing them to ask questions they have regarding using podcast in their school. The host then gives the audience his take on the question given.
MacBbreak Weekly podcast consist of two hosts in the same studio. The podcast starts off by giving credit to their sponsors. Next, they start talking about things that have been going on with them and what is new in the Apple industry. The hosts basically go back in forth with each other discussing the topics at hand and their experiences.
EdTechtalk podcast consist of several host. The hosts incourage the listeners to chat along with them during the podcast. The main host welcomes everyone and then the other hosts start discussing their topics. They basically talk back in forth about issues they have been having and the other hosts share their ideas on the subject.
This Week in Photography podcast consist of several hosts as well as a special co-host. The co-hosts are all in different locations. They start off by giving credit to their sponsors. Next, they talk about what’s in the news concerning their topics which has to do with photography. They ask questions back in forth to each other concerning these gadgets and give their ideas on the matter.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Use of Blogs in Schools
Shepard Elementary School, located in Columbia, Missouri, uses a blog which can be accessed through the school's website. You can get to the website by following this link Click Here
A teacher of this school, Mr. Villasana, uses a class blog for many reasons. He provides family information, information about him, information about the school, student pages, and student projects. He also provides a secure login for his students to post items that they might only want him to see. He gives them each a user login id and a password.
Eugenia Porter Rayzor Elementary School, located in Argyle, Texas, also uses a blog which can be accessed through the school's website. You can find the website by following this link Click Here
The school uses this blog mainly for the parents of the students. It is a classroom assignment blog for parents. The school involves the parents by posting questions that they would like their feedback on regarding assignments for the students. They have a form listed for the parents to fill out including their name, email, and comments that is to be submitted once completed. Their comments have to be approved by the school staff before being posted on the site.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
ACCESS Distance Learning
ACCESS stands for Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide. This is a web-based program that allows students to take advanced placement courses, electives, or other courses that are not offered at their school. ACCESS Distance Learning provides every student an equal opportunity to achieve their goals no matter what their limitations are at the school they attend.
There are many benefits for students who choose online learning. Students will get instruction from highly qualified teachers who are provided with multimedia and technology tools for effective teaching. Not only will students interact with teachers, they will be able to interact with other students. ACCESS offers web-based courses as well as interactive video conferencing courses. The online courses can be synchronous or asynchronous. Using ACCESS will allow students to reach for the stars.
There are many benefits for students who choose online learning. Students will get instruction from highly qualified teachers who are provided with multimedia and technology tools for effective teaching. Not only will students interact with teachers, they will be able to interact with other students. ACCESS offers web-based courses as well as interactive video conferencing courses. The online courses can be synchronous or asynchronous. Using ACCESS will allow students to reach for the stars.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
ALEX
ALEX is an educational tool put in place by the Alabama Department of Education. It is an interactive web portal that provides resources that are, for the most part, connected to the Alabama courses of study. These resources include: a full list of the courses of study, web links, lesson plans, personal workspace, professional learning, distance learning, search tool, and a help tool.
The Alabama courses of study feature list the courses of study that all teachers are required to follow through the course of the school year for their particular grade level. The lesson plan feature list many different plans for each of the subject areas taught over the school year. The web links offer helpful links for students, administrators, and teachers. The personal workspace feature allows teachers to store and submit lesson plans. The professional learning feature offers educators resources that will allow them to enhance professional growth. The distance learning feature allows students to take web-based courses that are not offered at their school. The search feature allows you to find information that you are not able to find as well as minimize the search process. The help tool provides support for any issues or concerns you may have while using ALEX.
ALEX will be a very useful tool to me when I start teaching in many ways. There are several features that I know I will use often. The lesson plan feature will be very helpful and time saving. This will allow more time to devote to carrying out the plan effectively. The personal workspace feature will allow me to store and organize my lesson plans as well as submit them to be considered for adding to the ALEX lesson plans. The professional learning feature will be one of the most useful tools. The areas on this feature are very motivating to me as a teacher to be the best that I can be and to know that there is always room for improvement. ALEX is an awesome tool for educators and students allowing them more opportunities to expand learning and is something that I look forward to using.
The Alabama courses of study feature list the courses of study that all teachers are required to follow through the course of the school year for their particular grade level. The lesson plan feature list many different plans for each of the subject areas taught over the school year. The web links offer helpful links for students, administrators, and teachers. The personal workspace feature allows teachers to store and submit lesson plans. The professional learning feature offers educators resources that will allow them to enhance professional growth. The distance learning feature allows students to take web-based courses that are not offered at their school. The search feature allows you to find information that you are not able to find as well as minimize the search process. The help tool provides support for any issues or concerns you may have while using ALEX.
ALEX will be a very useful tool to me when I start teaching in many ways. There are several features that I know I will use often. The lesson plan feature will be very helpful and time saving. This will allow more time to devote to carrying out the plan effectively. The personal workspace feature will allow me to store and organize my lesson plans as well as submit them to be considered for adding to the ALEX lesson plans. The professional learning feature will be one of the most useful tools. The areas on this feature are very motivating to me as a teacher to be the best that I can be and to know that there is always room for improvement. ALEX is an awesome tool for educators and students allowing them more opportunities to expand learning and is something that I look forward to using.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
All About Me
My name is April Breanna Black Yrabedra. I am 28 and have lived in Mobile my entire life. I come from a large family. I have three brothers and one sister. All of my brothers are married with children. My brother, Jay, is my twin. I am the older by two minutes. My parents adopted my sister when she was two weeks old and she is now 13. I am married to my high school sweetheart, Adam. We have been married for 6 years, but have been together for 16. We have twin girls named Averie and Haley. We just celebrated their second birthday.
My husband and I love spending time together outdoors. We especially enjoy bass fishing in the pond and flounder fishing under the Dauphin Island Bridge. We recently became big fans of snow skiing in Colorado. The snow covered mountains are breathtaking and the sushi is delicious.
I graduated from the University of South Alabama in 2004 with an Elementary Education degree. Since I have been a stay-at-home mom for the past couple of years, I am taking two classes this summer to keep my teaching certificate current. I am taking this class as well as a classroom management class on Monday nights.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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