ALEX

The Alabama Learning Exchange, or ALEX, is an invaluable online tool created by the Alabama Department of Education for students, teachers, and administrators alike. The purpose of the ALEX site is to compile all of the resources and data an educator or student in the state of  Alabama may need and put them in the same place. All of this information is only a mouse click away, and is user-friendly for all who would ever need it. ALEX is equipped with easily identifiable links to each area to help visitors navigate the site.

 ALEX includes pages dedicated to lesson plans. There is not only a database of submitted lesson plans on key subjects that teachers can access and print for their own use at any time, but there is also a template teachers can use to create their own lesson plans. By creating an ALEX account teachers can also submit their lesson plans so that others can  use them as a resource. Another valuable tool ALEX offers is the page dedicated to the Alabama courses of study. This page is easily searchable by subject and grade level. All Alabama teachers are required to meet these standards when educating their students, and having the courses of study readily available online keeps them from having to maintain a paper copy. The ALEX website also offers opportunities for professional development to teachers and administrators, as well as a links to valuable annotated educational websites. There is even a link to the ACCESS distance learning website which will be the topic of my next blog. 

As a teacher I have found that the Alabama Learning Exchange will be a useful tool for me professionally. By simply creating an ALEX account I can have access to all of the many resources it has to offer, and my own personal ALEX workspace where I can store and create my lesson plans and teacher web pages.