Extinction of Print

After reading this article, I do agree with the author on most of his points. I do think that print will become obsolete in the not too distant future. Coming from the technological age, I do understand that the internet and technological sources are much more common in day to day life rather than books and newspapers. When working on a school project or looking to reference anything, I immediately turn to the internet. Rarely do I ever step foot in a library to use it for it's intended purpose. I do go to get a quiet work environment but I don't always use the books and periodicals. Often I find myself just using the library's computer lab, just like the author mentioned in the article about the library he was visiting.

As far as news goes, I get most of my information from t.v. or the internet. I still do pick up a local paper every now and then just for a change of pace but I definitely do not rely on it to keep me up to date.

I do think that it's important to continue to require students to read paper books and/or articles. People get a completely different experience reading a book and reading a summary online. Also like the article said, the internet usually only provides bits and pieces of what real books actually have to offer. People are in such a hurry these days that they have no time to sit down and take the time to read something that may take more than a few minutes. On the other hand, I do think it's important for kids to be able to listen and watch also. I just think reading and seeing it on print adds a whole new dimension.

Response to video

I think that the technological changes that have been made in the past few decades are a great thing. Like the video said, it has changed the way people can and do view the world. It puts more knowledge out there for everyone to have access to. Who wouldn't want to have easily accessible information that used to not be available?

I think multimedia and things like film and video will change classrooms. They already have. There are interactive classes online taught by teachers halfway across the world. Even things like this blog page make for a better learning experience and also a better student-teacher connection. I think these advances will only help. Especially in the education field.

Blogs in the Classroom

After searching on Google for classroom blogs, I found a few interesting examples of teachers using blog sites for their classes.

I found a third grade teacher in Michigan that uses a blog site to communicate with her students and their parents. She talks of different activities that have gone on in the classroom. There is also a tab for homework and other assignments that are due. The teacher , Mrs. Myrmel, seems to use this blog mainly as a way to let parents know what their kids are doing at school. It's a great tool considering most kids today do not let their parents in on what they really do at school. The link to this blog is : Mrs. Myrmel's Classroom Blog

This is a picture of the students using computers in the classroom.



Another blog website I found was from another school in Michigan (apparently Michigan really likes blogs). It's from a fourth grade class at Holmes Elementary. It is similar to the other site I found in that it's a resource for both students and their parents. It talks of different activities and assignments the students have been doing. It reminds parents of field trips that are coming up and other events such as Open House. Looking around at the rest of the site, it gives links to helpful sites that help with different parts of the class. There is a link to a mulitiplication practice page and even a site for children's online games so it's not all about school all the time. There is also another link to a different teacher's reading blog page. Here is the link to this blog page : Mrs. Smits' Classroom Blog

And this is her fourth grade class at Holmes Elementary School on Dune Day.



All in all, I think these blogs are a fantastic way to keep kids and their parents up to date on what is going on in the classroom. I think as technology becomes more prevalent in schools these blogs will start popping up all over the place.

Creating Links and Adding Pictures to a Blog

To add a link to a page we can either write the html code or use the tools that Blogger has built in. The tool to add a link looks like a link of a chain. This is a link to The Fischbowl ,a blog used in training teachers in technology at the Arapahoe CO High School in Littleton, CO.

Here is a picture of Arapahoe High School.

ACCESS

ACCESS is a way for less privledged schools to get the same opportunities as other schools in Alabama. It provides ways for schools to have distance learning and advanced courses for students who may not have it available in their schools. There are various AP courses available for teachers to get information on and for students to take. They help to provide these schools with the technology and equipment to have these courses available.

Teachers from various schools can connect through videoconferencing to teach in different locations. Having online classes available increases teacher opportunities and resourses. They can connect with other teachers at many different schools. It could present a problem to keep students motivated online but there are also many more ways to try to do so. Online quizzes and practice tests along with the class syllabus and class notes are always available to help students. Plus, many young people now are very comfortable using computers and the internet and would rather do that than do work in a classroom.

All in all, ACCESS seems like a great resourse for both teachers and students. It's great that Alabama is working to have equal opportunities for all public schools.

ALEX in the classroom

I think I could find a lot of use out of ALEX in the classroom. Thinking about being a teacher, one thing that seems like it would be hard would be to create lesson plans and find stuff for my students to do all the time. This website has lots of examples and tools to help you create lessons plans for each subject. It seems like it would be extremely useful. ALEX seems like a big database for teachers across the state to give their ideas and techniques for everyone to share. It's a good way to network and gain different ideas.

ALEX would also be a good website to tell students to visit. It has links and search tools that would be helpful if students were trying to do specific research on a subject. It's a safe website that can be monitored so teachers know where their students would be getting information and know that it is reliable. They also have e-learning which I assume might be used for activities that students can go online and do through that website.

ALEX would be a very good tool to use in the classroom. I know I could definitely see myself using this website once I become a teacher. I'm sure it will only improve by time I actually am a teacher.

ALEX

From what I've seen just by browsing the website for a few minutes, I think that ALEX is a very helpful website. It seems to have anything a teacher could need all in one place. It cuts out a lot of extra researching that teachers would have to do. I know I have a hard time finding what I'm looking for on the internet sometimes if I just do a regular Google search. With this website, it seems to make everything really simple and easily accessable.

They provide sample lesson plans and a program to make your own lesson plans. There is information on every different subject that would be taught in a school. They provide lots of resources and links to help teachers out in any different way they may need assistance. I have not had a chance to really look through all that ALEX has to offer but just right off the bat it seems to be extremely useful for teachers.

About the Future

I just watched the You Tube video About the Future. It was really interesting. There were definitely a lot of things in there that I have never really thought of. I have spent a lot of time in the past couple of years thinking about the Internet and how big it is and it really freaks me out. I don't really understand it. It boggles my mind that something is so big yet intangible.

I don't know what the future is going to be like with computers. I do think that they will find a way to make a computer smarter than a human could ever be. I think it eases my mind a little bit to just assume that all of that will happen long after I'll be gone.

I really enjoyed watching that video. I'll probably watch it again. It really gets you thinking about a lot of things. It makes me wonder if all of their predictions will be true. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Powerpoint Presentation

My PowerPoint Presentation is basically just going to be a brief outline of my life. It has my family and friends and the people in my life in it. I also am mentioning my dogs because I love them. Since I'm from the Mississippi Gulf Coast I couldn't help but mention the hurricane since it has been such a big part of my life in the past 2 years. It's hard to explain to people just how bad it was unless they experienced it for themselves. Also in my presentation I am mentioning my two jobs and also where I go to school. It basically is just an overview of my day to day life.

-Christy-

Me

It's hard to try to describe myself in one little post. There's a lot to me but I think I can some up a few things in here. My name's Christy Loup. I'm from Long Beach, MS. I've lived there my whole life until I moved away to college. I went to the Univeristy of Southern Miss for a semester in Hattiesburg. After one semester I moved home then decided to move to Mobile. I've lived here a little over a year now and I absolutely love it. I know this is where I'm supposed to be.

I have one brother and one sister. Matt and Lindsay. My sister is one of my best friends. We have a very unique relationship. I'm not as close to my brother. He lives in Louisianan right now. My sister is also moving to the same part of Louisiana for a job this week. I'll be sad to have her so far away but I know we'll still be just as close.

As of right now, I don't really think I have a major. I'm sort of taking this semester off to try to figure out what I want to do. I started this semester as a Secondary Ed/ Math major but I decided I don't want to teach and I don't like math so that really didn't work out. I ended up having to drop 3 of my 5 classes. I decided to keep this class because I think it's going to be really fun and interesting. My life's been pretty crazy lately so I'm just waiting for it to calm down a little bit so I can figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

I do have a strong interest in photography. I haven't really expanded on that much since high school just because I'm afraid I'm not really any good. Now that I'm starting to really try to figure out what I want to do with my life that just keeps coming back up. It's something that I really love to do so it's something I'm going to look further into.

Well that's really not all about me but it's some. Hopefully I'll get a chance to write more later.

-Christy-