Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy's approach on technology

In the video First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class we visit Ms. Cassidy's class in Moose Jaw, Canada. This group of first graders are introduced to many different technologies at the beginning of the school year and they use them throughout the year. I noticed she used a Smartboard and computers. She lets her kids have a blog and they also used Skype to talk with teachers and all different people in their specific work fields to discuss what subject they were learning about. I loved how the kids were so excited about talking about their blogs and wanting to share what they are learning. I think that that children should be exposed to different types of technology and be able to use them. She uses blogs to let the children write about what they were learning and then they could share the blogs with people around the world. I really wish that we could have done a C4K this summer just so we could have had the chance to look and comment on these kids blogs.

The technique I would use in my classroom would have to be blogging. I seen the kids in the video and how happy they were to have something to show for their hard work. This would give parents a chance to see how their child has improved throughout the year. To be honest I would have never thought of using a blog in a first grade class, but when I seen how much of an advantage these children have I think it is a great tool to use. The obstacles that could arise would be that we would not have enough computers in the classroom for all the kids. In a Skype interview between Dr. Strange and Ms. Cassidy she said that she did not have the funds for all of the technology that she wanted to use so she got help from the government. Getting financial help could be a way to resolve that problem. A second obstacle would be that a parent would not let their child have their pictures or names posted on the web. Ms.Cassidy tells us that she only posts the students first name and never puts the children in a picture with their names on it. Another obstacle could be when the children use the internet they don't wonder off the site and go play games. I think the only way we can get the kids to actually stay on the site would be to set boundaries at the beginning of the year and make a set of rules of what to do when using the internet. She refers to her sites and links as "safe spots" and that is the only places that the kids are allowed to go online.

There are many benefits when it comes to using Ms. Cassidy's approach to learning. I think that kids need to be technology literate as well as adults. I thought it was interesting that she was the only first grade teacher willing to take her time and teach six year olds how to use all the things she has in her classroom. She mentioned that one other teacher was going to try and start blogging but other than that she was the only one. I liked that she used blogging as a center in her class and even let the kids blog from home. I think it would be great to use a blog even to let the parents know what's going on in the classroom and what they could help their child with. I learned many valuable tips that I can use in my future classroom.