Schools Using BlogsUS & International- Feb 1

I googled blogs for schools and I found a website that helps schools set up blogs for their classrooms. The name of the website is ePALS.com. It shows you how to create a blog and gives examples of schools who used this website to create thier own blogs. One of the schools they used for an example was Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, California. A teacher there set up a blog to interact with a school in China, Guangxi University of Technology. They were able to discuss on various topics and learn about each other's cultures. I thought this was really neat!!


Another website I viewed was for an elementary class in California named, Windsor Hills Elementary School. They used their blog to write a petition to save the coral reefs in their area.

This is such a great Picture!!!!!

Another blog that I came accross was A Teacher's Adventure in India. She went to India for 8 weeks and blogged about her entire trip. Her son went with her and attended school there. Thier pictures and adventures were amazing and she was able to stay in touch with her class in the U.S. and exchange information. Here are some of her pictures she posted:

The Class

Did You Know- Jan25

DID YOU KNOW?
I watched this video and came to two conclusions, one very different from the other. First, technology is a wonderful thing that has happened to us. We are able to connect to parts of the world that never would have been possible for many of us. We are able to access information on any topic at any given time. We are able to connect to people in a variety of ways via phone, text, Internet, and web cam. Cures for disease and illnesses can be researched and discussed in forums without having to leave the office. Doctors can now operate with less evasive procedures that allow us to heal faster and reduce our time spent in a hospital, just to name a few. Technology has given us so many opportunities to do really good things but it also has opened up a whole new world of crime, disappointment and greed. Which leads me to my second conclusion. With new technology in the wrong hands, people's identity are being stolen, bank accounts cleared out, terrorist are able to gain information and access our security measures and use it against us, weapons of mass destruction are a real probability now instead of a possibility. Health is on a decline and obesity is on the rise with less emphasis on exercise. Whatever happened to hard work, morals and looking out for one another? More emphasis is put on trying to "out do" and "out smart" other countries and even each other in our own country. How do we know if technology is not responsible for some of the illnesses and birth defects such as cancer and down syndrome? What about our planet? What have we done to our natural resources? What chemicals and pollutions do we put in the air for our children breathe? Instead of spending time as a family, technology offers too many distractions such as TV, Internet, phone calls, text messaging...

Technology is a wonderful thing in moderation. Our children should be educated to be able to compete with the rest of the world but also be taught the simple things in life are just as important. We may be smarter and more educated than our forefathers but our work ethics, morals and social skills are diminishing, and that scares me.

ACCESS-Jan 25

ACCESS Distance Learning (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide) is an education program designed by the Alabama Department of Education to help high school students broaden their educational opportunities by using technology. ACCESS offers students Advanced Placement (AP) or college level courses and courses
needed for the Alabama High School Diploma with Advanced Academic Endorsement. ACCESS is very similar, if not the same as the distance learning or on-line classes that colleges make available to students who are not able to attend regular classes. This website offers a large variety of subjects from remedial to advanced course work. I think this is a great website to for students who want to increase their knowledge and possibly get a head start or advantage over their peers.

ALEX-Jan 18

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange)is an online resource teachers can use to help instruct their students with reliable information geared toward each grade level and each subject. Teachers can use this website to create lesson plans, access web links,get a variety of ideas to use in the classroom that is designed for specific subject matter, and many more things. This website is great for a teacher who is teaching a typical class or a class with special needs. It provides a great deal of information and ideas to design a plan specific to his/her students. I look forward to using this website as a resource to help me develop my own individual style of teaching and to get different ideas for effective teaching.