What I learned!

I loved this class! At first I was a little bit intimidated but I ended up enjoying it very much. I thought the videos were great! I used the one for the tri fold brochure. I liked the way you emphasized spreadsheet. I think that is a great program that everyone should be familiarized with for several different reasons. I also liked the way you tested us. I also loved the way you used Google for everything! I didn't know Google offered so many great programs. Overall I enjoyed the class and think I will use most everything I learned in the future.

? A Formula for Success ?

I chose to review "A Formula for Success?" to write about. I mainly chose it because the title stuck out to me for some reason. After reviewing it, I realized just how much I agreed with him. There are so many teachers out there (in every school) who will teach the formula and how to use it but never teach why you use it. I think that this is where a lot of teachers lose their students. It is important to teach the students why they need to know the formula and why that particular formula is being used instead of another one.
Okay, so enough about me ranting and raving. As you can probably guess I have had previous teachers who would teach in the way listed above. Just one last thing...If you are going to be a teacher (like myself) PLEASE remember how bad you hated teachers that would just teach you how to do something rather than teaching you how to use it and why to use it!!!
Thats all folks!

The Best of Fischbowl...

Okay, so I read the post about being technologically illiterate and I thought that some of the points he was making were very true while others were just flat out rude! Teachers have to be "technologically savvy" when it comes to certain things--such as basic use of computers. I know I had a teacher who, every time something had to be done on the computer--daily, would make me or another student do it for her. I know we were not supposed to be in the particular program because it contained students grades and other information that should not have been available to students such as myself. The statements he makes about teachers needing to know the essentials are very true.
Now, the other part. I thought he was being very rude when he said (in my own words) that teachers who are not up-to-date with technology should be embarrassed to say so in public. Some people, especially older people, see computers as harmful more so than useful. In due time, I think everyone will be using the computer on a daily basis. He just should have left well enough alone when he said that teachers need to know the basics!!

INTERNATIONAL BLOGS

This a blog from a first grade class in Canada. It was showing the activities the kids done on the 100th day of school. This particular blog used a lot of video and I thought that was a great idea!!! This really gives the parents a 1 on 1 connection with what their child(ren) are learning in school. I hope to have blogs set up this way. It is not only a great way of getting kids to communicate with one another but also learning skills such as speaking as well as typing and using the technology they are given!

http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337


This next blog is from Monfort, it is a Catholic School in Singapore. It basically allows you to look at what is going on in the school as well as the students thoughts and opinions on certain topics.

http://www.montfortschool.blogspot.com/

Blogs

This is a blog from Albany High School in NY. It the students to give random blogs relating to real life. Some things that are discussed in this blog is how they are now seniors or either seniors to be--looking for colleges. It also contains a bunch of neat things that are both useful and entertaining to the students. I believe that having a class blog teaches students so many things that are useful in real life as well as while still in high school.

http://blogs.timesunion.com/albanyhigh/


I think that it is a great idea for Principals to have blogs. It not only is a great way of communicating with the teachers but also the parents. This blog has weekly letters to parents as well as keeping up with coming events and testing at the school.



http://hyerprincipal.blogspot.com/

ACCESS

ACCESS is a wonderful program that allows students, like myself, to advance in college while still in high school. I love this because it allowed me to get an entire year over with before ever stepping foot on a college campus! This will allow me to graduate in three years instead of four. My senior year was when I really was able to take advantage of these courses. My school hired two teachers that basically taught us how to do online courses while actually getting credit for the courses! Governor Bob Riley and State Superintendent of Education, Dr. Joseph B. Morton are the ones behind this plan to get high school students involved. ACCESS can be taken advantage of by those who are receiving an Advanced Diploma.

Dual Enrollment is also a branch of ACCESS. This is what helped me to advance in my college courses. Since I already knew I would be attending USA and majoring in Elementary Education, I knew the courses needed so took all that I could while still in high school. We had teachers from the local junior college come in and teach college courses. This is such a great thingand I wish that everyone would take advantage of this program. I am so glad that the State of Alabama finally done something that not only helps with the financial burden of college (dual enrollment is free)...at least where I am from! but it also helps those who want to advance.

ALEX in my Classroom!

As stated in my last post, I think that ALEX is just GREAT!! Teacher's already have such a load put on them and ALEX helps minimize the stress, time and work! Making lesson plans can be such a hassle, but with the help of ALEX it can be a little less stressful. Once I am a teacher, I definitely will use ALEX a couple times a week! The first year(s) of teaching can really be tuff so I will depend on this web site to help me make it!

The part of the ALEX site that I will probably find the most useful is the Courses of Study link. It allows you to make your plans and then add the COS last instead of spending a lot of time finding activities that follow the COS. I will also use it to find games and activities to help my students learn the material better because I don't like the concept of Burp Back Teaching--that's a whole other topic! Once again I love ALEX and can't wait to use it in my classroom!!!

ALEX

ALEX is a great web site for teachers. It contains so much valuable information including Courses of Study, Web Links, Lesson Plans, Personal Workspace, Professional and Distance Learning. Each of these links, once opened, allows you to explore and use the material that is offered.
I know from my personal use of ALEX, in another class, I found the Courses of Study link really useful. It simplifies the teacher's workload while working on lesson plans. All you have to do is complete your lesson plans, leaving out the Courses of Study, and once you are complete go back and search your subject and find the course(s) of study that matches your lesson plans. There are also games and activities that other teacher's have posted that worked for them. Something else that I thought was useful was that you, as a teacher, can create an account and save your lesson plans as you work on them. This makes using the information from ALEX easier to access. I think ALEX is a wonderful site and I think that all teachers should take advantage of what all is offered!

John Strange Web Site

The Fisch Bowl

After watching the presentation "The Fisch Bowl" I was surprised at many things! There were so many interesting facts that I did not realize such as 100% of college graduates in India speak English. I was not surprised however that the US had the least amount of college graduates in 2006. I found this presentation very interesting and helpful.

The Ficsh Bowl

After watching the presentation "The Ficsh Bowl" I was surprised at many things! There were so many interesting facts that I did not realize such as 100% of college graduates in India speak English. I was not surprised however that the US had the least amount of college graduates in 2006. I found this presentation very interesting and helpful.

Today...

Today we are taking pictures and of course I forgot! Oh well. I guess there is a 50/50 chance that it will turn out okay! ...depending on how well Dr. Strange can take pictures! Hope you all have a great day!

Hello everyone!

Hello, I'm Leslie and welcome to my blog!!