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.

All About Me- Jan 18

My name is Stephanie Upshaw. I am 38 years old, not your typical student. I am a senior at South Alabama seeking a degree in Physical Education. I am recently divorced and have two children. My son's name is Noah (age 9), and my daughter's name is Katelyn (age 11). Right now they are are my life. Everything I do, I do for them. It's funny how you always hear about the sob stories of single mom's but until you become one you can't fully understand what that means. It's really hard to juggle my life and their's but things will work out and I take this challenge as a learning experience and know that I will be better for it. I fully believe that hardships make us better people. If I could give younger people any advice it would be this: Do not let anything stand in your way of finishing school and getting your degree. Even if you don't go to work right away, you will always have that degree to fall back on in the future. No one can ever take that away from you. You never know what lies in store so as the scout's say, "Be Prepared!". Going back to school when you have a family is difficult. Get it out of the way when you are young, you will thank yourself later. OK I'm getting off my soap box!!

A little more about me... I graduated high school in 1989 here in Mobile. I recieved a dual scholarship to play basketball and softball for Mobile College (now the University of Mobile).
I had it all! I didn't have to pay for one thing. I lived on campus-free, meals-free, books-free, tuition-free... and I did not take advantage of the wonderful opportunity that was given to me. Instead I wanted to have a good time. I did not take it seriously and lost my scholarship. I left there and recieved ( a second chance) a full scholarship to play softball for Pensacola Junior College. I played for two years and did really well but at the end of the two years I was really tired of school and thought I could get a job and still do well financially. The money was fine for a while - I really didn't have many responsibilities. I met my ex-husband and got married. We had a wonderful 10 years of marriage. We had two children and he did well financially so I did not have to work.
Without getting into any details, the marriage ended and here I am trying to get my degree to support myself and my two children. I love sports and kids so I figured I would put the two together and try to make a career of it.

Stephanie's First Blog -Jan 18

Hi! My name is Stephanie Upshaw. Welcome to my Blog.