ALEX

ALEX is an acronym for Alabama Learning Exchange. The ALEX website is really a database for teachers in the state of Alabama that allows them to share useful tips with each other. The ALEX website has links that allow teachers to view the courses of study and lesson plans, search the web for helpful websites and websites that can aid professional development, and provides links to ACCESS learning as well as other helpful tools for teachers.
Everything on the ALEX website is broken down very well and makes it easy to search for exactly what is needed. The courses of study and the lesson plans are divided by grade level and by subject. There is also an ALEX search engine to search the ALEX site and it also allows you to set limits on what is needed to make searches more efficient. The ALEX website is a great resource for any teacher to have since it puts all necessary information right at the push of a button.
I see ALEX to be very useful in a classroom since it has the potential to answer any question that may arise in the teaching field. Everyone needs an example at some point in time and I think that the sample lesson plans are a wonderful item. I tend to do most work later in the evening and if I were to have a question, I would not be able to contact an individual because of the late hour. With ALEX, I can look up the answer to my question and continue working without having to bother anyone.

My Presentation!

Okay, I feel like I have been talking about myself way too much already and now I have to write about my presentation which is, again, about me. I really hope that Google doesn't decide to crash during presentations like it did last night during class.
I've been thinking about some topics for my presentation and since we have to have at least 12 slides, I think I may need to come up with at least 12 different topics. I think I may do a slide for each member of my family and then my hobbies. Then my presentation will be about the things I love and the things I love make me who I am! So, the 12 things I love are :

1. My parents
2. My Mimi
3. My Mamaw
4. My boyfriend, Grey Davis
5. My puppy, Remington Beauregard
6. My guinea pig, Victoria Rose
7. My other (and older) puppy, Maymie Virginia
8. My sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta
9. The Blue Angels
10. Football
11. Dance
12. Singing

I can't wait to get started on this presentation. It is common knowledge that people love to talk about themselves so just remember that as I tend to get long-winded when I talk about the things I love!

Keller

Hey y'all! I'm Keller. I've never done a blog before so we'll see how this goes. I've never realized how hard it is to write about myself until this very moment. I'm an elementary education major. My mother is an elementary special needs teacher, both of my first cousins are elementary teachers, my aunt is a teacher, and most of my distant cousins are teachers. I guess some things are just inherited. I'm an only child and my parents and I are extremely close. I grew up in Grove Hill, Alabama. I love being in Mobile for school but Grove Hill is home. I chose South originally because I was a biomedical sciences major with plans of going to medical school. I did well in my biomedical sciences classes and had several years of volunteer experience at a local hospital. When it came down to it though, my heart really wasn't in it. I liked the idea of having a great title and making lots of money but I did not like the idea of being away from my future family so much. After some thinking, I realized what I was meant to do so now I'm an elementary education major. My family, my boyfriend, and my sorority sisters have been there for me through all of this deliberation and I am forever grateful for the many times they all have heard me sheepishly say, "So...I've been thinking and...".
Speaking of my sorority, I'm an Alpha Gamma Delta and I absolutely love it! My sisters are my heart. I can not stand being away from them and I truly do not know what I will do when I have to leave them. If any of you ladies are interested in sorority life, feel free to talk to me about it. I was not Greek for an entire year of college and going Greek was one of the best decisions I made. There is a popular quote in sorority life that says, "From the outside looking in, you can never understand it. From the inside looking out, you can never explain it." Sororities are so much more than a bunch of giggling, half-grown girls acting silly. Alpha Gamma Delta raises money for the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation. The Foundation, in turn, provides leadership opportunities, scholarships, and SIS grants to the sisters. The Foundation also devotes a huge portion of its time and funding to diabetes research and education, especially in the area of juvenile diabetes.
Okay, this is enough about me. I have to leave some surprises for my presentation!