International Class Blogs

Well, as I said in last weeks post I found a great blog from a first grade class in Canada. The teacher, Kathy Cassidy, posts videos of the class applying different concepts that they are learning in the classroom. Also they have a chat pack where you can chat with the class live if they are near the computer. In addition to all of these great features there is also a class roster. When you click on a child's name it navigates you to their own blogs. Each child makes posts to there own blogs!! I really enjoyed reading the children's posts. What a wonderful way to keep parents involved with what's going on in the classroom as well as teaching the children a wide variety of skills that will be useful from now well into adulthood. I found this blog particularly interesting because of its wonderful features and because this is the age group that I think I want to teach. I have included a picture of a few of the children coloring on the first day of school(below). Also seen here the class is watching a pheasant being released into the wild(above)!! You can check out Ms. Cassidy's 1st grade blog here! Another international class blog that I found was a class of 8 and 9 year olds in Rotorua, New Zealand. This class is the first to go digital in their school and they look like they are having a great time on their digital journey. Some of the students work is displayed on the site as well as their own posts about different topics. They also correspond with other classes all over the world via their blog and also use live feeds to see and talk to each other. All of the blogs I visited had really great features and what a great way to correspond with other children around the world. Some children will never have the opportunity to travel to other places and meet people from other cultures. These blogs provide these great experiences right in the classroom! I could not get any pictures from this blog but check it out!!

BLOGS USED IN THE CLASSROOM

The first blog that I found was really neat, but not here in the United States. I will include a link here so that anyone interested in checking it out can do so. The blog is from a first grade class in Canada. The teachers name is Kathy Cassidy and I thought that there were some really neat features on their blog, but I will not go into detail since it does not fit the criteria for this assignment. However, you should definetly check it out!!

Another blog I found that was being used in the classroom was Mrs. Putnam's 5th grade blog at Salem Elementary School(pictured above). It appears that the blog is mainly used s a tool for the students and parents to keep up to date with current assignments and things going on in the classroom. It doesn't seem as if the students are very interactive with the blog. Only the teacher seems to post to this particular site.

The class pictured above is Mrs. Myrmel's 3rd grade class. This teacher mainly uses her class blog to let everyone know what is going on in the classroom. The teacher did have the class post comments to the blog telling everyone about what they did over the summer. The class is learning quite a bit about the Monarch butterflies life cycle and has even tagged and released one that was raised in the classroom. I thought that was very neat!! I really enjoyed looking at these blogs. As a parent I would love to have access to a blog in my child's classroom. What a great way to be involved in your child's education!!!

ACCESS

Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide also known as ACCESS, is a wonderful resource for high school students in Alabama. Students can now take many different courses including: core, advanced, honors, AP, dual credit, elective, remediation, and supplemental courses via the Internet. This allows students, no matter where they attend school, to access courses that in the past weren't always readily available. The courses are taught on the web, as well as interactive video conferencing. A blended approach is also utilized to address students varying learning styles. Not only will this help high school students with their current learning objectives but it will also prepare them for college as well. They will learn how to navigate the web and the computer with ease.
Not only will the students benefit from this new distance learning program but the teachers will also gain extended resources and will have the opportunity to provide feedback for course improvement. I think that this opens the door to many new and wonderful opportunities for students and teachers here in Alabama. I do not think that this is a resource that I will utilize as a teacher since it is geared toward the high school age group and I will be teaching at an elementary level.

ALEX

ALEX or the Alabama Learning Exchange is a wonderful website for teachers. It is a free resource that allows teachers to search by subject, grade level, and topic. After finding what you are looking for you can easily find lesson plans for that topic. The lesson plans are very detailed. The objective of the lesson plan is stated. The time that it will take to complete the lesson is given. Also, the materials needed for the lesson are listed as well as other resources that may be useful and the things that you need to prepare for the lesson. The procedures to carry out the lesson plan are provided in great detail. Basically it breaks everything that you need down into easy to follow instructions. The website also provides links to other sites that prove useful for the teacher or the student relating to each lesson plan. Another thing that I really liked was that as a member you can create you own workspace where lesson plans can be stored and you can submit your own if you like. You can also submit variations to lesson plans if you find something that works better for you and would like to share it with others.

I found this website very easy to navigate and the information provided very useful. As a parent I immediately searched for lesson plans relating to topics that my second grader is currently learning. I intend to use some of them to help my daughter at home. I think that this is not only a wonderful resource for teachers but anyone that may work with children or that have children of their own. I feel that I would definitely utilize this website in the classroom. What a wonderful resource!!!!