Blog Post 13

ALEX

ALEX was created by Alabama's Department of Education to help educators, parents and students find resources for education at one convenient site. ALEX stands for Alabama Learning Exchange. The website includes resources, web links, and lesson plans. What is great about ALEX is that the website is never complete. That being said, outside input is considered for the website by ALEX's executive personnel. The resources on ALEX are connected with Alabama's state curriculum.
Material can be searched for in a variety of ways. You can search by subject, age, lesson plan, and web resources. As I'm meandering through this website I'm very impressed. The set-up is easily understandable and convenient. There is even a podcast database. The podcasts can be beneficial to everyone. For example, a teacher can watch a podcast to vicariously learn how to do a project or experiment. Another way a podcast is beneficial is a teacher can search an informative podcast and have the class watch it. Better yet, students can make their own podcasts and apply for them to be on ALEX! On the site, there is a link titled ALEXville. Alexville is where colleagues can communicate. That's a great way to get feedback on lesson plans from a lot of teachers! ALEX allows you to have your own account. Here you can store and submit lesson plans and web pages.
ALEX seems to be very valuable. Why am I just now finding out about it?!?! I'm sure ALEX will be handy for me as a teacher, especially starting off. It will also be a motivator for me to create effective lesson plans. I'm very competitive, even with myself, and if I submit a lesson plan my goal will be for as much positive feedback as possible. ALEX enables teachers all over Alabama to collaborate. From previous Edm blog assignments, I've learned collaboration is a good thing in the education system. ALEX is a great way to collaborate with teachers, students, and parents. It seems to be a program that can turn good teachers into great teachers.

Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide (ACCESS) Distance Learning
ACCESS is a site for videoconferencing throughout the state. Alabama Supercomputer Authority is the program's technology partner. ACCESS is available to all Alabama public high school students. ACCESS seems very helpful for students and educators. Students who do not have the transportation to get to and from help sessions at school probably benefit a lot from this project. It's convenient and also helps save money.