Saturday, April 6, 2013

Blog Post #11


Mrs. Cassidy's First Grade Class-Little Kids...Big Potential

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvPZtTej0jQ&feature=player_embeddedMrs. Cassidy is an awesome teacher. She is incorporating the use of technology in her 1st grade classroom. Her students told why they liked to blog. They like for people to comment and brag on them. The teacher has explained to them how to use good etiquette while blogging. She is teaching them how to be safe on the internet. They know they can trust sites on the class web page.
The class page is used as a learning tool. This would be great for posting homework and things parents need to know. It would help parents become more connected with what is going on at school. Parents like to ask, "What did you do at school today?" That is a tough question to answer, but they could log on to the blog and show their parents. This would be good collaboration for the students and parents.
I think what Mrs. Cassidy is going to really help her students. They don't even realize they are learning such valuable tools. The students find it entertaining and isn't that how society is today. I know from sitting in lectures, it is boring. If is something of interest it makes it easier, but really collaboration is so much better. I've heard people say how could you teach a first grader to blog? Well, they have learned to sit in a chair and do worksheets. Anything would be better than sitting in a desk doing worksheets.

Kathy Cassidy's Skype with EDM310

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh10JK9L0FNp-VGfXTyZ31A6sVVtQIPgrIf5JUVXbZJyYkWaqHIpPgMQ-_BUxxwNE7SuH-GV6aF5pkMsJazt-V1YStHBfv2d3-HuAZCqR9zmmd-DYQ2laPprxfzW3JaprYpG9ddltFPDtIC/s320/Screen+shot+2010-03-04+at+6.40.15+PM.png
Dr. Strange and Mrs. Cassidy had a 30 minute skype discussing technology. She began her journey exploring technology 10 years ago. Her classroom received 5 computers and she wanted to put them to good use. She decided to give it a try. She did most of the discovering on her own, but collaborated with technology department at the school. Not all the teachers are using technology, but she feels you are handicapping yourself and your students by not using technology. I agree with Mrs. Cassidy, I don't want to handicap my students. You can't even apply for a job anymore without the use of a computer.

She talked about students blogging and the benefits. One benefit is they have an audience. The whole world can see the blog and that is powerful. The children can look at the cluster map and see where the visitors are from. Now, that is even cool for an adult. In the process of blogging they are using valuable tools such as, writing, video, and audio.

Next, what is technically literate? That is a good question, because most people think they know, but they don't. Ten years ago, if you knew how to use a spreadsheet, microsoft office, or something like that you were technologically literate. Today, it is about online networking and collaborating with people around the world. She talked about twitter being a good network of people with like interests. Last week, I was working on a paper and wasn't understanding phonemics. I was on twitter and a teacher had posted a link. I clicked on the link and it was exactly what I needed. It was awesome and I began to see the benefits Dr. Strange was talking about.

2 comments:

  1. " Anything would be better than sitting in a desk doing worksheets." You are right about that!

    "...and I began to see the benefits Dr. Strange was talking about." Learning never ends! Great!

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  2. Kim,

    I could not agree more with you about parents being able to see the progress of their children online. I know that I was always annoyed whenever my mom began to play 20 questions about my day. I am sure this will never change because children will go through the same emotional stages as we have experienced once they reach a certain age. I didn't think about your point that way. It's definitely beneficial and could keep annoyed arguments to a minimum! Then everyone wins! On a more serious note though, Mrs. Cassidy is providing her students with very important skills and knowledge of technology and being safe using it. She certainly gives her students a well rounded education from every aspect. Great post!

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