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.