Week 12

ITunes University is a free resource provides by Apple through the iTunes store. Anyone, including teachers and students can access iTunes U and get general information or full courses that are offered from some leading universities. In the section Beyond Campus, on iTunes, students can find museum exhibits showcasing original artwork, modern music, and historical achieves to name a few. Another section available is the language section, which includes everything from Introductory Spanish to Elementary Greek. There is also a new section that includes content for K-12 teachers and students.
I believe that Itunes U would be helpful to teachers and students for many reasons. One of the reasons is that students enjoy using their Ipods or Iphones, and it is a great way for them to access information from classes they are taking or just finding information for homework or projects. Another reason is that it is helpful to students because teachers can upload podcast so they can listen to them anywhere they are. Students can fast-forward to parts of the lecture that they didn't understand and review it as many times as necessary to prepare for a test. It is a different medium from the textbooks and class notes,that they have always had around.It is also just as easy for them to click on the lecture as it is to click on a their favorite songs.
I believe that iTunes is also helpful to teachers because they can go on iTunes as well and find information that goes along with what they are teaching in the classroom. If a student misses class, they don't have to worry about them missing the lectures if they have them uploaded to Itunes, they are available to that student. As you can see it is very beneficial for teachers and students to use iTunes.
To find out more about Itunes Click Here

Week 11

IPods are used in the schools for many reasons, one includes giving the bilingual students iPods to sing songs in English=, which helps them learn the English language better. Other examples include posting homework on school websites, so that the students can have easy access to them. It is also especially useful in teaching language skills. Another example includes, a teacher at Grand Prairie's Ervin C. Whitt Elementary School, who puts a rock song about solid, liquids, and gases on the iPods for the students to learn about. Iowa schools are now using iPods to give standardized test to the students.Using iPods is a great way to teach kids about subjects they might otherwise find boring.
Duke University did a study on using iPods in schools and found some academic uses for iPods, which include, portable access to course content such as lectures, songs, historical speeches, foreign language content, iTunes Music Store, Blackboard course management tool, and podcast. The iPods can be used to capture lectures, field notes, interviews, and will also help the students to be able to listen to the lessons they have recorded as many times as they need in order to learn it. An example would be for the students to listen to the vocabulary w0rds as they try to study and prepare for the test. IPods reduce the amount of physical materials, by having audio and video recordings, which provides a more convenient way to learn and study. Duke University found that the iPod was most useful for recording at short distances and in small groups. Using iPods is a great way to bring technology into the classroom. As teachers it is important for us to know how to use and incorporate iPods into our classrooms, so that we will not produce technologically illiterate students.

To find at more about Duke University's study Click Here!

Week 10

I found Dr. Alice Christie's web site to be incredibly helpful to me as a future teacher. She provides information to help teachers become technologically literate. She has information on many topics, some include photography,using a GPS, podcasting, and internet safety. I enjoyed the photography section because I love to take pictures, but I believe that the searching the web section would be the most beneficial to me as a teacher.
In the searching the web section she list search engines and subject directories for students, as well as parents and teachers. Instead of the students just searching on Google, she has a section on kids search engines, some include ask for kids,kids click, and Yahoo kids, which are all search engines just for kids, so they get information on a kids level.The internet is a great way to do research, but it is important that you know where to look for the information, and are able to trust the sites that you are getting the information from. In the searching the web section, Dr. Christie also includes an Online Researching Resources, which includes databases, encyclopedia and almanacs, web cam directories, virtual field trips, and ask an expert directories, which can be used by students, parents, and teachers as well. The virtual field trip section was interesting to me because you can take your students on a field trip around the world,while they are siting in the classroom.

Week 9

Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia that can be used and edited by anybody. It has been known to get edited by politicians, big corporations, and church groups that are deleting or adding words to help their images. For example, someone from Wal-Mart changed their image in 2005,by changing a line about how its wages are less than other retail stores to a note that it pays nearly double the minimum wage. Another example is Diebold, in which a user deleted 15 paragraphs from an article on e-voting machine-vendor Diebold, excluding an entire section critical of the company's machines.

Virgil Griffith a grad-student from Cal Tech created the WikiScanner, a search tool,that traces IP addresses of those who are making changes to Wikipedia. When changes are made to Wikipedia, it leaves fingerprints behind that offer hints about the contributor, such as the location of the computer used to make the changes. In the case of Wal-Mart and Diebold, the IP addresses came from inside the corporations. Wikipedia is not a reliable source to use in papers because the information is not fact based. The WikiScanner may help Wikipedia become more reliable because people may be more cautious about changing information, when they know that it can be traced back to them.

Week 8

In Karl Fisch's " Best of the Fisch Bowl 2007" the August blog "Creating Personal Learning Network" was neat to me. The blog explains how students and teachers can create personal learning networks, which is a collection of resources that you can go to when you want to learn something. The resources can be parents, teachers, the internet, books, journals and other forms of media. The teachers gave the students the assignments and are teaching them how to find trustful sources, and to help them find multiple sources on that same topic, but to compare and contrast them to get multiple view points on issues. The students don't only learn how to use their own personal learning network, but they should be learning how to be part of someone else’s learning network. How to provide relevant and meaningful information and analysis to others.
I believe this a really good assignment for students, by helping them to become more technologically advanced. The teachers assigned the Personal Learning Network as an assignment at school but they also wanted the students to take it another step and add things that they are personally concerned about. It is important as a student in 2008 to know how to make and use sources that are trustful. Whether you are writing a research paper as a student, or using the internet to find information to use in your classroom it is important to know how to use Personal Learning Networks, blogs, internet sources, and other forms of media.

Week 7

In Karl Fisch's "Best of 2007" September blog, he addresses the question "Is It Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" He says "We should stop being so nice. After all, we've got our qualifications and jobs, and we don't have the moral right to sit placidly on the sidelines whilst some educators are potentially jeopardizing the chances of our youngsters." I believe that is the absolute truth, as we have been learning that technology is the key to a successful future, it is crucial that the students learn about technology. How can we expect to have successful adults in the next generation if the teachers of today do not know enough about technology to teach it to their students?
As Karl Fisch says we the teachers will be jeopardizing our students futures if we can not teach them about technology. I agree that the teachers that are not willing to learn about new technology should find other jobs. Teaching is about learning new things and passing it on to your students. If we the teachers are not willing to learn new things, how can we expect our students to learn? As a future teacher I never want to jeopardize my students futures by not teaching them about technology because as Fisch says, it is a part of life not an add-on.
To see Karl Fisch's blog click here!

Web Accessiablity and Adaptive Technology

Mr.Steve Sullivan spoke to us tonight about the W3C and informed us how blind people can access the internet because of the W3C. He showed us some hardware that blind people can us to help them access the internet, such as magic, and jaws. Jaws enables them to listen as they move across the screen to the options they have and in the direction they need to go. Magic is a type of magnifying device that magnifies the screen to about 3 times the normal view.

Week 6

The first teacher I found using blogs internationally was Mrs. Kathy Cassidy a 1st grade teacher in Moose Jaw, Canada. She uses her blog page to showcase what the students are doing in her classroom. The blog also has exercises for the students to practice, and she conveys information to the parents. One thing that Mrs. Cassidy does that I though was pretty neat is that she post videos of the students as they are learning. For example,today September 26th, she posted a video of the students learning the letter "N", the students held up signs and said what the letter "N" represented. Mrs. Cassidy also has a blog for each student, on their pages, they type sentences with the words they are learning for that week, they also have pictures they have colored posted on the wall as well.
To see Mrs. Cassidy's class blog click here!

The second teacher I found using blogs internationally was Mr. Gary Coyle, an 8th grade humanities teacher in New Delhi, India. Mr. Coyle's students have their own blogs, for example they post responses to games they have played in class, and pictures that he ask them to analyze. Mr. Coyle also post homework assignments, a hall of fame wall, an about humanities section, and a Q1- Q4 section, which tells the students what they will be covering in each quarter. Each of the students blogs contain pictures on the subject they are covering, along with the response to what Mr. Coyle has assigned them to read or discuss. The picture to the right is one of the cartoons that the class analyzed and posted on their blog pages. I think that Mr. Coyle is preparing his students not only in humanities but to also be technological advanced in the world.
To see Mr. Coyle's classroom blogs click here!

Week 5

Angela DiIenno a fourth grade teacher at Providence Creek Academy in Clayton,Delaware uses blogs in her classroom. Mrs. DiIenno makes a new blog each week, which includes announcements and reminders for the parents, along with the homework, and test the students will have in each subject for that week. For example, for the week of September 15th-19th she posted what the students spelling words were, and what day the test would be on, also what they would be working on in the other subject areas for that week. I thinks this is a great way to keep the parents involved with what is going on at their children's school and it also lets the parents know what they need to be working on with their child for the week.
http://www.providencecreekacademy.org/
http://angeladiienno.blogspot.com





Mr. Langhorst, an 8th grade Ameican History teacher at South Valley Junior High School in Liberty, Missouri also uses blogs in his classroom. Mr. Langhorst does his blogs different from Mrs. DiIenno but it is also a very effective way. Mr. Langhorst's blogs contain ideas, pictures, new items, and thoughts about using technology in the junior high school classroom. He has a website that contains a parent resource page, student resource page, this week in class, weekly parent newsletter, and a Mr. L's podcast/blog page, just to name a few. Mr. Langhorst uses his blog page to post information on the history subjects they are covering in class for various weeks. He post study guides, and also uses podcast in which they can listen to him as he reviews them for the test.
http://www.liberty.k12.mo.us/%7Eelanghorst/blog

Week 4

Wow! I am in utter amazement after watching the video. I knew we lived in an technological advanced world but I had no idea it was that advanced. I was shocked to hear that more than 70% of 4 year olds have used a computer,that is pre-school aged children. I think it is a wonderful advancement and that it will enable more children to get an education in some of the poorer countries. There are nearly 2 billion children live in developing countries and one out of three never complete the 5th grade.In 2005, the One Laptop per Child Project set out to provide laptops for these children. Some of the children that will receive a laptop have never even held a textbook but now with these laptops they will be connected to the world. Technological information is doubling every two years, but by 2010 is predicted to double every 72 hours.
What does this mean for education? There are students in China, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, and the USA, who are creating, applying, understanding, and collaborating on projects everyday. As future teachers we have to make sure that the students are provided the resources and training necessary to prepare them to be successful in the 21st century society. Not only do students need to access the internet for educational purposes, but just for everyday life. People shop online, and never leave their houses, use myspace as a way to communicate and keep in touch with people anywhere in the world, or use google to search for information on any subject imaginable. Knowing how to obtain information from the internet will be crucial for my student's education. I believe that Alabama is bringing technology into the classrooms, and preparing the students to have successful lives with programs such as ALEX ,ACCESS, and the AVL.

Week 3

Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS) is an educational initiative of the Alabama Department of Education, which provides high-quality classroom courses and teachers via technology. This gives more opportunities and options for Alabama high school students to engage in advanced placement(AP) class, electives, and other courses in which they may not otherwise have access to. The vision of ACCESS is for the state of Alabama to provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning opportunities. Governor Bob Riley and state superintendent of education made an announcement in July that all 371 high schools in Alabama will have ACCESS distance learning by the time school starts in August of 2009.
ACCESS is creating more opportunities for students in Alabama to receive a quality education. ACCESS brings high-quality education to the rural and low-income schools that have limited course offerings for students. Through ACCESS schools that cannot offer the advanced diploma will be able to offer it, which is required by law. Schools that can not offer classes such as calculus, trigonometry, or physics will be able to offer them. ACCESS will provide teachers with additional multimedia and technology to improve their instructions in the classroom.
ACCESS offers Internet based courses, interactive video courses, and blended courses. Interactive video courses(IVC) is an audio/visual link between two or more geographically remote sites, delivered by a highly qualified Alabama certified teacher. Some of the advantages of using IVC is that it allows students to take courses not offered at their school, interact with students from different schools, it increases students responsibility for learning, and it keeps the students interested in learning. A blended course is a learning program where more than one delivery mode is being used, it often combines online learning, usually over the Internet with a traditional classroom setting. Some advantages of blended courses are that students can repeat an online lesson when necessary, it allows students to work at their own pace, and improves learning by supporting different learning styles. Internet based courses are delivered entirely online, students take the courses at school during the school day, and e-teachers interact with the students at the same time or later in the day. Some of the benefits of online learning are easy access to syllabus, efficient delivery of content, and it increases the students responsibility for learning.
I believe that ACCESS is a wonderful, convenient, effective way to ensure that Alabama students are given a quality education. My high school was unable to offer AP classes,or duel enrollment class, so I think that it is a great addition to the school systems. The student in Alabama are going to benefit greatly from ACCESS.

Week 2

In case you have never heard of Alabama's Learning Exchange (ALEX) I am going to explain what it is and how it is helpful to students. ALEX is Alabama's educational interactive web portal. ALEX offers courses of study in mathematics, social studies, science, and English language arts, just to name a few. ALEX also includes a lesson plan section where teachers can submit lesson plans or they can view lesson plans of other teachers. As I prepare to enter the school system, I believe that ALEX will be a wonderful tool that I can use to learn the most affective way to teach a subject, or just look at other teachers lesson plans to see how other teachers are teaching there students.It has a professional workspace and also a professional learning section that is used to find professional development opportunities such as teaching and learning tools,the best practices and more. I found the web link section of ALEX to be neat. It has a section for teachers, administrators, and students. Under the student tab it has a list of subjects that the students can research. Under each subject it has web links that the students can explore, they can do practice math problems, science projects, or they can play learning games. ALEX can be accessed by teachers, students, school leaders, and parents from Alabama or around the world. This is a good site for parents to visit and get assignments for their children to do during the summer. ALEX is a wonderful resource that can help children excel in school.
Alabama connecting classrooms, educators, and students statewide (ACCESS) provides opportunities for students statewide to engage in courses with multimedia content, interactive video conferencing(IVC), courses with two-way audio and video with both web-based and IVC components. ACCESS provides a distance learning option that is opening doors for Alabama students. ACCCESS allows students to take online classes through video conferencing, this allows more students to have access to advanced placement and other courses that might not be available at their schools. Governor Bob Riley, and the state superintendent of education Joe Morton announced that all 371 high schools in Alabama will have distance learning (ACCESS) in the 2009 school year, which is one year ahead of scheldule. ACCESS is a great program that will help advance students in school because they will have the opportunity to take advanced placement classes and possibly earn college credits. With ACCESS students will be able to start college their freshman year with classes behind them and get out of college into the work force faster.
The Alabama virtual library is another resource that the state of Alabama offers. AVL provides students, teachers, and residents of Alabama essential library information resources. It has databases of online magazines, journal and newspaper articles. AVL can be accessed from home, public school campuses, or any public library in the state of Alabama. In order to access the AVL at home, you have to get a AVL card from any public library in the state of Alabama. These 3 resources, ACCESS, ALEX, and ALV are all helping give Alabama students the opportunities and education that they deserve. With these resources Alabama students can raise the bar of excellence.

Getting to know me!

Hey everyone! I am Jessica McIlwain a sophomore here at USA! I am a transfer student from Faulkner State Community College, so this is my second day of school at South. I haven't had the best two days of my life but I hope I will like it more after I get adjusted. I am an elementary education major in hopes of one day teaching the 1st or 2nd grade. I love kids very much and can't wait to get into the classroom!

I work at Mobile Surgery Center where I am a business office clerk. Basically I file charts, get patient charts ready for the next day, do medical records, op notes and anything else that they find for me to do. I have worked there for two years now and I have to say it is a pretty good job most of the time.

I am originally from Silas, AL which is in Choctaw County. I graduated in 2006 from Millry High School. I moved to Mobile in June of 2006 and started at Faulkner State that fall. I couldn't wait to leave that small, small town, but the longer I am in Mobile the more I can't wait to get back!

I am 20 years old and live with my cousin and a friend of mine in a town house behind the Academy Sports and Outdoors. I am the oldest of two girls. My sister is one of my best friends. She is on the dance team at Millry High School and I try my best to never miss a game. I have been dating a guy for 6 years now and he recently moved to Troy, AL to finish his degree. I love to spend time with my family and friends. I am a Grey's Anatomy freak! I never miss a show!