ALEX: Alabama Learning Exchange

Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX) provides courses of study (ACOS) for all content areas ranging from, my specialty, mathematics to physical education. It even has standards for driver's education! It lists the grade levels in which this course should be taught which is 10 - 12. I know it is a class but "standards" for it was not something I thought much about. I felt this way because there is no major for someone who desires to become a driver's education instructor. There are lesson plans available only for instruction about purchasing a vehicle, getting it registered and purchasing insurance for the vehicle. Moving right along...

There are standards for information literacy which measures a student's ability to gather and organize reliable information from sources. Character education includes, but is not limited to, courage, patriotism and kindness. There are web links and lesson plans available for these areas. Along with course of study, ALEX also has educational web links for instructors, administrators and students that are related to the courses of study. Lesson plans are also available for teachers to access and share with one another. You simply check the subject area and grade level and enter keywords to begin your search. The ALEX Thinkfinity search engine helps instructors and students access lesson plans and web links by searching its database. The personal workspace allows registered users to create a personal workspace so they are able to upload created lesson plans and search other instructors' web pages.

There is a personal learning section which provides instructors with websites to locate professional development workshops, tools for educating and news. What I find exciting is the podcast treasury. Here, you can find useful podcasts to incorporate into your classroom that pertains to Alabama unlike iTunes University which is on a universal scale.

ALEX is a wonderful resource for all instructors! I can use it in to find and use lesson plans and activities for my students. I find the podcasts to be exciting! As I stated before, it is more useful to me to have podcasts that are related closer to your home state. When I first clicked on it, the first thing I saw was the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute link. It made me think about home and, for students who are in Birmingham or from Birmingham, those students will find that particular podcast to relate more to who they are and where they come from. ALEX provides me with useful and reliable educational resources for me to share with my students and fellow educators. Since I am always looking to become a better teacher, I find it useful in the fact that it provides me with avenues for locating professional development workshops. It is a great site for new and tenured teachers alike!