ACCESS

ACCESS uses technology to provide top of the line courses and teachers. This helps out with schools that may not have as much money to ensure everyone gets the same quality education. Especially schools that do not provide extra programs like advance programs or any other extra courses.

These classes are delivered through a website or video conferences. This gives students the chance to take classes that are not offered at their school or even finish early by taking classes in the summer. This allows students to work at their own pace and makes them responsible for their actions.

I believe this could and could not be a good method of teaching. I think it would depend on the student and their learning style. Videoconferences may not get through to some students because of the lack of one on one like you would with a teacher in the classroom. It could however be good to use as reinforcement. If a student is not doing well in a class, they could use the online activities such as the lab, which was mentioned, to make sure the student grasps the idea.

I think we have a long way to go before we could rely completely on technology for teaching. Besides the errors that may be involved, I believe the social skills like communication may lack in classrooms such as these.

Movie Thoughts

I thought the movie clip was very informational. It showed the importance of being educated, especially with technology. This clip showed how well off the United States is in every possible way. I believe this means there should be no excuse for anyone in this country should struggle in computer skills.

The film discussed how important technology is every day life especially jobs. It showed the effort that is being made to get other less fortunate countries involved and supply them with the things they need to make them more successful.

I believe we should help other countries by updating their technology. I know right now may not be the best of times as far as our economy, but I believe it is important for these countries to be familiar with computers. When I went to Costa Rica that was one thing I noticed. I went on a mission trip and we helped with the schools. All the rooms had minimal electricity let alone a computer. When we went in town they would have computer labs crammed with people because they did not have them in their homes. Here in the U.S., it's not uncommon to have 4 in one home.

Also, I believe it is important to keep material updated in the classroom. Like the video was saying, as a parent, stay involved with school to make sure what is being taught is useful information. Make sure what they are learning will help them in the long run.

ALEX & ACCESS

Alabama Learning Exchange(ALEX) is a guideline to ensure that teachers across the state are on the same page as they teach. This site provides lesson plans for each subject. Within the lesson plans there are additional links that help reinfore the lesson being taught. ALEX also provides other websites that include information about practically anything you need to know while teaching. There is a search engine provided so you can search the site for things such as lesson plan ideas. To learn more information on ALEX, Click Here

About Me

My name is Megan Stokley. I am a junior at South this year, majoring in Elementary Education. I am originally from Mobile and attended high school at St. Paul's Episcopal. Throughout high school I wanted to attend Auburn University. My parents, however, convinced me to stay home my first semester and said I could then transfer. By the end of my first semester, I had found a house that I had remodeled and put a lot of work into so I decided to stay home.



My family would say I am a "Daddy's Girl." I have gone hunting with my dad since I could barely walk and also enjoy fishing. My favorite, by far, would be deep sea fishing. Summer is definitely my favorite time of year. I enjoy going to the beach or fishing with my dad. Another thing I find interesting is fashion. I love shopping and I love studying the history of fashion. One of my favorite icons I like to study is Jacqueline Kennedy My favorite store is Anthropologie
Originally I wanted to major in fashion merchandising, but that changed during my senior year in high school.



I decided I wanted to be a teacher my last year in high school. I took a community service class that made me realize how much I loved being around children. We did many projects in this class. A weekly project we had was a tutoring/mentoring program we had with Bessie C. Fondeville, which is a low income school located in the projects. We were each assigned a child, once a week we visit their school and tutor them in reading, another day they would come to our school where we would do fun activities. That was definitely a life changing experience for me. I didn't realize how much some eight year olds had to face. Another weekly project we did was Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts at Augusta Evans. Augusta Evans is a school for special education. For me, this was a trying project. It was hard to keep control, but I enjoyed it. We also led the Special Olympics, which was a lot of fun. That year I realized how much I got out of helping others, especially children, which led me to a degree in teaching.



I have 2 other younger siblings. A sister, Lindsay, who just started South this fall. I also have a brother, Ethan, who is a sophomore at St. Pauls. My sister just moved in with me, which has been a big change since I have lived alone for two years. She is majoring in Radiologic Sciences. My brother plays football and baseball.

First post

I think the blog is a neat idea. It was really easy to set up using the step by step instructions. This is going to be a great tool to use not only in this class, but in the classroom. I used a blog once before in high school for an English project, but am not too familiar with how they work. So I'm looking forward to becoming more comfortable with it.