In Kathy Cassidy's video, "Little Kids, Big Potential", her grade one students illustrate how they use the classroom webpage, blogs, Skype, and even Nintendog on Nintendo DS to learn in their classroom. They are so excited about learning! Not only are they excited but they are also proud of themselves. I can tell that they take pride in their work by watching them as they are explaining the different aspects of technology that they use, and why they use them. Her students are able to access their school work from home on the internet. They can show their parents and other family members what they are learning and what they did in school with just a click of a mouse. It's really amazing if you think about it!!
At my daughter's school, they do not have blogs, but they do have a class website. They type their journal entries every morning. They are able to choose any font or color and they post them to the website in their individual file everyday. It is shocking that last year she hated having to write in her journal every morning when she was keeping it in a composition book. Now this year, she loves it, something just as simple as letting them choose the font and color has made her look forward to writing. Interesting thought....
In Mrs. Cassidy's Skype interview with Dr. Strange, she explains how her technological journey began 10 years ago. It starts when she was given 5 computers for her classroom. This was enough for her first grade class to make a center. She created her webpage, so that she could start creating things for her students to do. Her students have been blogging for the past five years and she has incorporated videos into the learning process within the past two years.
The blogs are a portfolio of each students work. Mrs. Cassidy sends home permission slips at the beginning of school and takes precautions to protect the students identities. Unfortunately, we need to be aware that there are predators out there and we have to protect our students. A lot of people want to use this as a reason not to use technology, but that is not the answer. As teachers we just need to be educated enough to protect our students. Mrs. Cassidy never posts the students last names, she also never links a picture with a name.
Parents can use the website and blogs to stay up to date on their child's progress at their convenience.
I do agree with Mrs. Cassidy that if we are not using technology in the classroom then we are not only handicapping ourselves but also our students. I can't wait to come up with creative ways to incorporate technology in my classroom.
Your daughter's change in opinion of writing is a great example of how technology can make things interesting! Well done.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I would like to say what a well written and clear post. I would agree with Jacey too and I am curious on how technology will change our lives in the near future. Keep up the good work.
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