ALEX: Alabama Learning Exchange

ALEX (Alabama Learning Exchange) is a FREE one-stop resource for educators.  Developed by the Alabama Department of Education, this site provides exceptional resources for educators all over the world.  Although the site was developed by the state of Alabama, please be aware that it is to be used by all teachers regardless of their location.

Recently, I had to opportunity to become a certified ALEX trainer.  During my training, I was reminded of the many facets of the site.  The site includes the following areas:

1. Courses of Study-This section is state specific.  One will find the College and Career Ready Standards (Alabama added additional standards to the Common Core standards.) for language arts and math for all grade levels.  It also includes all the courses of study for each subject and grade level.  It is very easy to select and print the standards one needs.
2. Learning Assets-In this section, one will find activities to use before, during, or after a lesson.  They are not complete lessons.  These have been developed by teachers and approved by the ALEX team.  It is easy to search for specific content areas, grade levels, etc.
3. Lesson Plans-Here, one will find complete lessons developed by teachers.
4. Search-This section will search the entire site for lesson plans, learning assets, and podcasts that meet a specific topic and grade level.  It also searches Thinkfinity lessons.
5. Personal Workspace-Sign up for a free account to create your Personal Workspace.  This area of the site will allow one to bookmark lessons, submit resources and plans, and create teacher webpages.
6. Professional Learning-Find links to grants and trainings and Alabama Department of Education programs.  There is a section devoted to technology tools where one will be provided step-by-step handouts created by teachers and schools of basic programs.  Also, find download links to needed plug ins.  
7. Podcast Treasury-A wide variety of podcasts created by teachers and students to use in your classroom.  There also also free podcasts developed by content partners.
8. Alexville-This section is divided into various ALEX communities.  It is a great place to connect with other educators.

As educators, we are all looking for FREE resources, lesson plans, and ideas to use to enhance our students' curriculum.  It is great to have everything needed in one place.  Please take time to browse ALEX, and let me know what you think.

~Cara