International Schools

Technology has provided students with a new audience for all their ideas. The use of technology in the classroom is limited to presentation tools or document production. The collaboration and communication elements of the web are often overlooked. Blogging and podcasting provides students with wide audiences. Allowing students to become a part of the dissemination of information is a valuable lesson for twenty first century learners. Technology has generated increased interest in the classroom. 91% of the students agree that blogging and podcasting have made them more interested in current events and classroom content. International teachers are using technology in the classroom the same way that U.S. teachers are. By linking with other classrooms around the world to see the varying educational levels and course of study. Also it enables the students to enroll in distance learning classes that may not be offered in their school.

Blogs in the K-12 Classroom

Dawn Hogue a teacher Sheboygan Falls High School said that it’s about using blogs as web tools to create community and collaboration within the classroom. It should be about getting students excited about writing and thinking. Teach students to be responsible Web content generators. It allows us to collaborate with anyone, anywhere, at anytime. True bloggers don’t only write blogs, they read them, comment on them and participate in a community of ideas. Mrs. Hogue says that she uses her blog as a course management tool to set up pages for her classes to publish things like assignments.


http://www.mshogue.com/wsra_08.htm

Access in the Classroom

I feel that the Access Distance Learning program will be a big asset to the classroom teacher. I would utilize this program in my class by allowing students to enroll in dual enrollment for preparation of the college level courses if they qualify. Also my students will be able to link to other schools around the country to enquire of how their course of study progresses. We would be able to do comparisons with other high schools concerning for example what types of books are being read and utilized for their course work. It would be an advantage for my students to enroll in web based courses not offered at their school. This would definitely be a tremendous innovation to education in the technology of today. It would also be a valuable for the idea of having interactive video conferencing available to talk directly with another educator. There is no doubt that the Access system will be a vital part of the classroom.

Alex can be a beneficial tool for the teacher in the classroom. One way that I can use Alex in my class will be for the student web links, where they can go on to their course of study and pull up web sites for whatever topic they may be searching for. It can be utilized in the classroom to help create lesson plans. As a special education teacher it can provide me with the standards and guidelines required. It can also assist me with developing an IEP program for each child. Alex would be beneficial in the classroom in applying for grants for educational resources such as computers for learning and essay contests. There are numerous ways that Alex can be used in the classroom, and these are just a few.

Alex is an acronym for the Alabama Learning Exchange. It provides multiple resources for teachers in various areas of course study. Alex provides educators with web links, lesson plans, search modes, personal workspace, professional learning material and distance learning. For example professional learning provides you with teaching and learning tools along with other resources. A personal workspace account allows you to store and submit lesson plans and teacher web pages. You can access the course of study by grade level for the different courses in math, science, English and social studies. Alex provides you with teacher web links for the different areas of study in education.

Hey ! my name is Charles Agee and I'm to old to be back in school, but I'm having fun anyway. It makes me feel young again. I have been at my present job for the past 20 years, and I'm ready for something new, so here I am back in school. This spring semester I have this great EDM class to teach me how to use these different programs to prepare for my next career. It sure will be nice because my current occupation is so micromanaged. It has been interesting learning to do all these neat things that I had no idea about before. Although I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go, but I guess I'll get there.