A Little About ALEX and ACCESS

The Alabama Learning Exchange
    The Alabama learning exchange is a website that connects teachers, students, and parents through the internet. To me it seems to serve a few different purposes. In one aspect, it connects parents to the classroom. There is an abundance of links connecting to the Department of Education so parents can stay up to date in the local school systems. Links that connect them to academic material that their children are learning while at school and other resources that help them better understand what is going on inside the classroom. In another light, it is a great tool for teachers to share and collaborate on their ideas for their classroom. There is a database of lesson plans for every subject and all topics covered in those subject areas. English teachers can collaborate on lessons covering Macbeth with other professionals all across the state through this one website. There are also resources for students to connect to the Alabama Virtual Library and links that will help them find online tutoring for all subjects. This website connects those inside and outside the classroom so they understand what's going on, and where to get help if they need it.

Alabama Connected Classrooms, Educators, & Students Statewide
  The Alabama Connected Classrooms is an online program that sets up an extensive online learning network through the Alabama Department of Education. With Interactive Videoconferencing (IVC) and other online resources, they provide an education environment for high school students to collaborate and learn. It is essentially an online PLN for students to acquire real academic credit towards their highs school and potentially college career.


     Both of these resources can be extremely useful inside my future classroom. To connect them back to student success and academic achievement, I could recommend these websites to students who are struggling in certain fields, but even more importantly I could use these to help me become a better educator. If my class is having a hard time with a topic I can see what other teachers are doing and try their ideas in the classroom and see if there is more success. It's a wonderful way to keep yourself up to date and relevant as a teacher. There are also tons of resources for students that I would definitely point out for their benefit. I remember using the Alabama Virtual Library when I was a student and I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world. That was my first taste of how the internet can be used academically. Both of these websites bring technology into the classroom in a manner that influences the students to see their computer through a different lens. Suddenly the laptop becomes more than an online socialization surfer, it becomes a very valuable tool they can use at school.