K-12 Teachers Using Blogs in Other Countries

I found a blog that is made up of pictures and notes about what is going on in Mrs. Toa's First Grade Classroom in Shanghai, China. It is a great way to see what students are experiencing and studying in other countries. The cultures are different and that does seem to affect the curriculum some, but overall they have the same subject areas as the United States. Mrs. Toa's blog not only shares pictures and ideas, but also has links to many other blogs and websites that are interesting and helpful. I loved looking at all of the pictures and reading about what students are learning in other places. Also, she picks student authors for the week and they get to add to the blog. I think that this is great to include technology in learning and I'm sure the students and parents love seeing their pictures and work on the blog. Mrs. Toa also uses this blog as a way to communicate with the parents. Another thing that I enjoyed was the Flag Counter that shows how many times people visit her site and from what country they are in. This makes you aware of how many people are interested in what she is doing. I really enjoyed this blog and will probably continue to revisit the site for updates.













I found another great example of a teacher using blogs in his classroom. Gary Coyle's Grade 8 Humanities Class provides a great blog being used in New Delhi, India. He uses the blog to keep students informed about lessons currently being discussed in the classroom and special projects with their due dates. He gives reviews of the lessons that he has already taught and links to more information about each topic. He also provides a link to student blogs. Each student has their own blog and I was impressed by the ones that I looked at. They give their views on the topics and also insert pictures. I think that blogs are a great teaching tool and this example shows how useful they can be.

K-12 Teachers Using Blogs in the US

I found some great blogs and websites created by teachers in the U.S. They were prepared for the students in the class to keep up with their classwork/homework and some allowed the students to actually post their ideas and comments. One nicely laid out site was Mr. Langhorst's 8th Grade American History Class. This is a class at South Valley Junior High in Liberty, Missouri. This site was informational and easy to use. It had great pictures of the students using laptops and other electronic equipment to learn about American History. It also had a link to the teacher's blogs and podcasts. He used this as a way to share his lessons and ideas for other teachers. He shows pictures of his classroom and suggests things for other teachers to try.










Another example of blogs being used in the classroom was a Fourth Grade class at O'Neal Elementary School in Missouri. Mrs. Lowe's Fourth Grade Class is a great example of how blogs and websites can be used in an Elementary classroom. Mrs. Lowe provides activities for all subject areas that can be used by the students or other teachers. It lets the students and parents know what is covered in the units or on certain topics. There is also a Students link that allows you to see student blogs. The students read books and then the teacher and students post blogs about the books that they read. I think that this is a great way to get students talking about what they are reading and include technology. Although I am sure that this takes extra time and work, I think that this is a great thing for teachers to have. It can be very helpful to students and parents and is a great way to communicate what they are learning in the classroom.

Did You Know?

It is very interesting to see how our world is rapidly changing in the Did You Know?" video on the Fischbowl blog. It was a short movie that was created for a group of teachers in Colorado for the staff of about 150, but it has reached so many more. It is amazing and mind-boggling to see how fast the population, power, economics, technology, and other things in our world have changed and will change over the years. This video makes it very clear that we need to prepare ourselves and our students for a world that will be quickly changing. It shows that computers and technology will be a very big part of this.

I think that this video was a great way to clearly show that our world is changing and progressing with or without us. There are countries (including the U.S.) that have realized what they need to do in order to have success and are preparing their students for what is to come. We as teachers and parents need to make sure that our children and students are taught what is necessary for a successful future in our quickly changing world. I really enjoyed this video and think that all parents and teachers should watch it to remind them of what is to come. There is so much information in this short movie that really makes you think about our future.

ACCESS

The Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS) program has a very informational and helpful website. It has a great deal of information about the Plan and Implementation of the program. It also is very informative about how the current sites are successful and the plans for expansion that should eventually include all high schools in the state of AL. The Courses link allows parents and students to see what classes are available and there is also a link that allows them to register for those classes with approval. There are links for educators and parents to read or download more information about the program and ways to contact people if they have questions. The resources link provides forms, presentations, brochures, and reports for people that are interested. They even have documents that provide information about the success rate of the Access sites that are already using this program in the External evaluation reports. The ACCESS PowerPoint presentation breaks down the concept and plans for this program. It explains the problems that students are facing and how ACCESS will give rural and low-income schools the same opportunities that other schools have. It explains that current teachers will be trained to use the web-based and Interactive Video Courses (IVC)and how this will take place. It gives details about what is expected from these "E-teachers" and some of the plans for Phase I and Phase II.

This site was very interesting to me. It gives a great deal of information about ACCESS and explains the expectations and successes of the program. It is setup in a great format for parents, students, and teachers to find information and has great documents for those interested in learning more about it. I think this is a wonderful program and it is going to provide many more opportunities to students that need them.

ALEX

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange) is a website that allows teachers to find lesson plans and links to other resources that provide information that is useful when developing lesson plans and teaching. It has tabs to browse through lesson plans or you can find specific lessons by doing a search. They have it broken down even more specifically by the AL Course of Study. You can look for only what you need or do a general search. The site also provides links to other educational sites. You can do this by searching for a specific area of study or just browse through the sites. There is a link for professional learning that provides information for all kinds of educators. It has information for media specialists, special education, professional organizations, and much more. You may create an account that will allow you to provide your own lesson plans or store the ones you are interested in. ALEX also gives a link to ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classroom, Educators and Students Statewide). It is going to provide an opportunity for students to participate in distance learning to get the education that they need and deserve. Students may take web-based classes that use multimedia content and interactive video-conferencing. This will increase the opportunities for students to take courses that are not provided at their high school and open many new doors for these students.

I think that this site will be very helpful to me when I begin teaching again. I love the user friendly layout and how I will be able to search for specific lessons or concepts. I know that the Course of Study link will be very helpful when trying to complete lesson plans for the grade level that I am teaching. I love that this information will be available to me at work and home when trying to do lesson plans without taking extra books and binders to and from the school. I do not think that I will personally use the ACCESS link because I plan to teach Lower Elementary school, but I think that it is a great thing to have for those that do need it. This will provide many students with opportunities that they did not have before. I think this is a great addition to our schools. The site is very informational and helpful for many reasons and I think that all teachers should use it as a tool for teaching and professional development. I am very happy to have learned about this site before returning to the classroom.

My Favorite Web Site

One of my favorite web sites is You Tube. I know that I can always visit this site if I need to laugh. It really shocks and amazes me to watch the crazy and stupid things that people will do.

All About Me

My name is Keesha Ann Miles. I have been married to Chris Miles for 8 years on February 24, 2009. I have a five year old son named Logan and a two year old daughter named Emily. Our families live in Mississippi and we travel there often to visit.

I am currently working part-time as a Teacher at Christ United Methodist Church in the Mother's Day Out Program. My daughter attends one of the other classes there with me three mornings each week. My son is currently in Kindergarten at St. Luke's Episcopal School.

I graduated from the University of South Alabama in 2001 and taught in the MCPSS for two years. During my second year at Maryvale Elementary I had Logan and took time off to stay at home with him. I have now been out of the school system for over 5 years and my teaching certificate has expired. I am trying to take the courses and tests that I need to take so that I may begin teaching when my daughter begins Pre-K 3 next year.

I hope to pursue a career as a lower school teacher at a school that I will be happy for my children to attend. I think that it will be great to be at their school for the convenience and knowledge of what is going on around them.

I don't have many hobbies, but I love to be outside and I love being around children. Especially when they are fun-loving and care-free. I also enjoy shopping when I can find a babysitter.