The Traill International School uses a blog to update everyone about upcoming school events. This seems to work fairly well and the students must enjoy the blog because the school has a post about joining the after school bloggers club. With an international school having many students, from many backgrounds, a blog seems to be a good way for everyone to keep in touch. This blog even has a post from a former teacher who is now teaching elsewhere. This blog is excellent!http://traillschoolblogs.com/

The Shu Ren International School blog is similar in structure to the Traill International School blog. The Shu Ren blog is also used by teachers and administrators to keep students and parents updated on events at the school. This blog has several pictures which I think are nice. This school is in California and works with students in Mandarin and English. The blog is in English though. Perhaps later, the blog can be in Mandarin and English.http://shurenschool.wordpress.com/

Grandview Library uses blogs to encourage their students to write. These blogs are mainly just students writing about themselves. Students are advised to proof their work before posting and not all students do so. The reading is still enjoyable and the best part is that the students are writing. Students are not allowed to use their real names or post any pictures for their own safety and privacy but their are still graphics on the site to make it inviting to children. I have not been able to post any of the pictures because they won't allow me to, so I can't put an example of the cute pictures. I like this idea of blogging as a way of getting children to write. http://063dblog.learnerblogs.org/
http://www.deerlake.leon.k12.fl.us/Student%20Monthly%20Blog/Student%20Blog%201%2028%2008.pdf This blog is from Deerlake Middle School. It is basically a way for students to sound-off about changes they want with their school and some helpful tips for their peers. I really like this because the best way to know what to change about your school is to ask the students and this has the students actually responding to questions. I like the health and fitness tips on the blog. Most students in middle school are self-conscious and this segment is a great way for students to learn reliable information about their health. I also like the helpful hint at the bottom of the page about procrastination because everyone has issues with procrastination. This blog doesn't have any pictures or graphics on it but with middle school students, graphics may not really be necessary.

ACCESS

ACCESS, according to the PowerPoint presentation about ACCESS on the state of Alabama website, "provides high-quality classroom courses and teachers via technology." The state of Alabama outlines the vision, mission, and goal of the ACCESS program. The vision is that "the state of Alabama will provide equal access to high quality instruction to improve student achievement through distance learning opportunities." The mission is "to provide an infrastructure that delivers high quality learning opportunities for all citizens" and the goal is "to provide additional educational offerings for all Alabama public high school students."
ACCESS works by two-way videoconferencing, meaning that students may interact with the teacher in real time, or by being a web-based class, meaning that students must go online to view the class materials. Depending on the school and the class, either method may be used. ACCESS appears to be a wonderful opportunity because it forces the student to become more self-sufficient and rely on themselves and their own ambition even more since the classroom teacher isn't in the room with them. ACCESS could possibly make students more prepared for the college environment since student would already be used to getting information for themselves. There are always some issues when technology is involved because technology doesn't always work the way it is intended to work, however; the negatives of using technology in this way are outweighed by the benefits of bringing higher levels of learning to rural or poor schools and making students better prepared for the future.