Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Mrs. Cassidy?

In Little Kids, Big Potential, we get an overview of what is going on in Mrs. Cassidy's first grade classroom. Even being in the first grade, working with technology doesn't stop her students. No project is too big for them. Mrs. Cassidy has her students writing blogs, using an online portfolio, also using the classroom webpage to find things on the internet, using wikis, making videos, using Skype, and playing on Nintendo DS. All of these things incorporate technology effectively in her classroom. She is not the only one, but she is one of the few teachers in her school that realize how important incorporating technology in the classroom is for students. Even at a young age and even just browsing the surface of some programs, gives them a head start in their education.

In all 3 interview videos with Dr. Strange and Mrs. Cassidy, we see the importance of technology in the classroom. In Interview Part 1 with Kathy Cassidy, Dr. Strange asked how Mrs. Cassidy got involved with technology and when it all started. Mrs. Cassidy explained she started getting involved ten years prior when the school provided her with five computers. The computers had nothing but internet. So she had to do research on how she could incorporate technology and teach students things without programs. That's when she first started her webpage. A couple years later she started a class blog and then has been trying to add something new ever since. Dr. Strange then asked Mrs. Cassidy if she had done most of it by herself or did she have to have help getting started. She replied that it was mostly done by her, but she had support from her tech supporter. Whenever she had questions, or whenever he needed a guinea pig, they helped each other out. Not only that, but Dr. Strange wanted to know if she had support from administrators. It was honestly shocking to hear her answer. She didn't get a definite "yes" or support, but they didn't deny her use of technology in her teaching. Mrs. Cassidy said she sent out forms at the beginning of each school year for parents to sign, asking for their permission to let their children participate in activities on the internet. She explained parents love the idea of having their students do things online. It gives them a chance to access the page anytime and it's broadening their children's knowledge. Kids and technology go hand in hand. The kids love it! She also pointed out, like many other educators we've blogged about, technology isn't going away. There are benefits for using it in the classroom. For her first graders when they blog, they get so excited when someone comments back on their blog. It shows they have an audience and that they're not just doing it for Mrs. Cassidy's sake. Even though some teachers don't want to change, they need to. Teachers should be technologically literate. We are all learners and we should continue to learn to help others learn.

Interview Part 2 with Kathy Cassidy is a short segment. Dr. Strange asked Mrs. Cassidy about her PLN. She said we should look into technology by what we're interested in. She mentions how important twitter has opened up for her. This is where Dr. Strange found Mrs. Cassidy. She also explains that a PLN evolves over time. Whenever you start one, it doesn't happen right away. It's a continuos cycle. We always want to continuously learn from others who are in the midst of learning as well.



Lastly in Interview Part 3 with Kathy Cassidy, Dr. Strange had students ask Mrs. Cassidy questions they had themselves. One student asked her how often she has her students blog. Mrs. Cassidy said it depended on the school year. Although, the usual amount is once a week, maybe even twice a week. Another student asked if she feared cheating with her students in the classroom. She explained she never has had the fear of cheating. The work is more collaborative and if anything, you have to piggy back off of other information. Next, another student asked if Facebook could be a potential resource in the classroom. Any social media can be useful or harmful in the classroom. It's the way you present it. If it were a school account that had specific purposes, she said it could have potential. A different student then asked how Mrs. Cassidy protected her students from resources on the internet. She said it's first about protecting the students themselves and then secondly protecting what they say. She take cautions by only using first names and no pictures. She said she hasn't had a problem since she started. She ultimately picks where the children can go according to the class website and as long as they stick to that they shouldn't have any problems searching elsewhere. The only problem she has in her first grade classroom is the students wanting to venture off to websites to non-educational games. Overall, Mrs. Cassidy answered many students questions, but before she left Dr. Strange asked her a favor of seeing her backyard. Being from Canada, it was snowing at the time the video was made and all of the viewers were in awe.

A couple of techniques Mrs. Cassidy used that I would incorporate into my classroom would be the use of blogging and videos. This could help my potential students in their writing skills and also punctuation and grammar. I would use videos to help with public speaking and also using them for projects with books we would read in my classroom. Some impediments I might run into would be having trouble setting everything up, but once we get going, everyone will be learning, including myself. I think these techniques will benefit my classroom in broadening my students' use of technology and putting themselves out in the real world when they blog. These are crucial skills needed for when they get into the real world. They should already use these skills in the classroom, and I plan to help them achieve this.