BLOG POST #13

ALABAMA LEARNING EXCHANGE (ALEX)
ALEX is a website for educators or aspiring educators. It contains a variety of different resources. On the Alabama Learning Exchange website, you can access a collection of lessons plans for all grade levels and subjects. They also have all courses of study and the content standards for each. On ALEX, there is a link to a podcast gallery, where you can listen to podcasts from other educators or make your own. They have several web links with resources for both teachers and students. You can also build your own personal workspace where you can store lesson plans and web pages for future access. You can broaden and build your professional development and stay up to date with the latest trends in education by visiting any of the resources available from the Alabama Department of Education.

I think that ALEX is a great tool with a ton of information. I encourage anyone going into the education field to explore what ALEX has to offer.  It is a great resource for new teachers to ask questions and get different ideas and approaches for their own classroom. And with the personal workspace, it helps you to stay organized. I have already been using ALEX and will continue to do so. I have gotten so many different ideas for lesson plans already and I really like the fact that you can access any standard, at any grade level for all subjects. That has been really useful to me. The podcasting gallery is rich with information and ideas, which I had never known about until now. Collaboration is key in the education field and ALEX is a good website that enables you to do that.

SURVEY RESULTS

FOR THIS PROJECT, WE HAD TO CONSTRUCT A SURVEY AND DISTRIBUTE IT TO A GROUP OF PEOPLE. MY SURVEY WAS ON HEALTH AND FITNESS. IT WAS DISTRIBUTED TO 23 PEOPLE. THE MAJORITY OF THE RESPONDENTS WERE ALL IN GOOD HEALTH, PRACTICED HEALTHY EATING HABITS AND CONSCIOUS ABOUT THEIR OVERALL HEALTH. HERE IS THE SURVEY:




THE RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWED:

PROGRESS REPORT ON FINAL PROJECT!!!!

For our final project in EDM, our group is going to do the ABC's of Technology. We will find a word, technologically related, that corresponds to each letter of the alphabet. We are going to screen capture simple clips of these programs for the video with a brief explanation of why it is important or useful.

PROJECT #15

Our group did a movie project about a guy, a college student, who gets lured into temptation and temporarily falls away from his faith. After realizing his mistakes, John turns back to his faith.

BLOG POST #12

ASSIGNMENT:
watch the video Future, Technology, and the Next 50 years
write a post on your thoughts of the video, whether you agree or disagree. If these changes are made during the next 50 years, will they effect us in a positive way or a negative way? Are you prepared for the changes discussed?



POST RESULTS:
As interesting as these innovations are, I don't know that many of them are realistic in the sense that they will happen within 50 years, or even at all. But you really never know, look how far we've come in the last 20 years, so I guess that anything is possible.The most questionable ones that I found were LCD contacts, Robots, nano robots that are injected into your bloodstream to cure disease, and 1 billion earth-like planets in our atmosphere. They are all very fascinating ideas and if the world really comes to that, who knows what we are capable of. On a positive note, having a water powered car would be pretty awesome, but what happens when the water runs out. I am ready for just about anything. I would like to think that some of these things are possible and that they will make our world a better place to be. When I am 80 years old and they are able to inject a little robot into my bloodstream, I will remember this post..and say "wow, it really happened." Until then, I may be a little skeptical. Lets be realistic. But like I said, anything is possible.

PROJECT #14-TEACH SOMEONE

COMMENTS FOR KIDS #3-7

#3- I commented on a student in 2nd grade at Pt. England School in Auckland, NZ. This was a new student in the class and we were to say hello to her. Here is my commment, "Hi Akaiti! What a beautiful name! My name is Margeaux Estevane. I am a college student at University of South Alabama. I just wanted to say hello and that I hope you have a great year this year and you meet lots of wonderful friends in your new class!!!!"

#4- Isabella is a year 6 student at a school in Sydney, Australia. She blogged about a recent trip she made to China. This girl was an extraordinary writer. Very descriptive. Here is what I wrote to her, "

Hi Izzy. My name is Margeaux. I go to college at University of South Alabama in Mobile, Alabama. I am reading your blog as a requirement for my educational media class. Wow! Shanghai!! I have always wanted to visit China. How exciting. Do you visit there often? I take it that you have family there. After reading your post about Day 2 in China, I felt as if I was there with you. Such vivid details. You are a phenomenal writer. Great Blog!"

#5- This was a high school student who writes a post about a book called Poisonwood Bible. It is a book about how girls are rejected in education and the oppression of women. Here is my comment, "

Hi! I am a student in Dr. Strange's EDM 310 class at University of South Alabama. Great Post. You are a fantastic writer. It is plain to see that you have a lot of confidence in your abilities as a student. I think that is vital. I enjoyed the section on the Poisonwood Bible. Sounds like an interesting book. But I agree, it is time to break the cycle. Generation after generation are just repeating what they learned growing up and it is time to break free from that. So many different issues in life reside in the same phenomenon. If half of the kids had the same will and confidence as you, I think the situation would shift. Great post! Great Writing!"

#6- On Comments for Kids #6, we were asked to comment on a 6th grade student from Iowa. This young man, in his blog, writes a story with the letters backwards and asks if we can make out what the words say. He also wrote a "What If" poem, what if there was no sky, what if we couldn't say hi, what if we couldn't cry..there were 15 "what if's" Here is what I said, "Hi Josh. I am a college student at University of South Alabama. I thought this post was really cool. Very different. It took me a few minutes to figure out the words but I was finally able to get the gist of it. Also, I enjoyed your “What If” Post. Very clever. I liked how you made everything rhyme. You sound like a very creative writer. I find myself asking some of those questions sometimes..What If? Very good job on your blog. Keep up the good work!!!!"

#7- I was asked to comment on Mr. McClung's blog. Mr. McClung is an 8th grade teacher at Woodland Jr. High located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is a clipping from Mr. McClung's "about me" section of his blog. "I focus centrally about team/partner work. I believe that it is hard for every student to learn from traditional teaching methods. I try my best to keep things as fresh as possible and FUN for my students." He is very down to earth and seems very dedicated to his students. Mr. McClung does a "band of the week" post. The particular post that I commented on, the band he had listed was called Arcade Fire. Here is what I wrote, "Hi Mr. McClung. Im from Dr. Strange’s EDM class. I love this idea of Band of the Week! What a down to earth teacher you seem to be. I actually remember hearing this song, Wake Up, on Where the Wild Things Are. I listened to a few of their other songs as well. Cool Band. What in the world is a hurdy gurdy?! I am going to google that right now! I look forward to seeing next week’s band!"