Blog Post #9

What can we learn from Ms. Cassidy? Well, I don't know about you, but I was surprised at the amount of things that her first graders are doing in her classroom. In the video, First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class, I got to see all of the things that she has her students do in her classroom. I really loved how the students told how the technology benefited them. They stated that they use blogs to show their progress in writing. A student even said that their writing gets better every time that they post. They use wiki's to ask questions, and people from around the world can give their answers. They leave videos on their blogs, so that it can act as a portfolio, and their progress can visually be seen. They use Skype to talk to other classes around the world- I bet the students really enjoy this. The last thing that I thought was really cool, was the use of Nintendo DS's. I have never seen them used in the classroom before. Students said that the DS's help them with sharing and problem solving skills. It's fun and beneficial!

In the Skype videos of Ms. Cassidy, there were several things that stuck out to me. She mentioned that technology is never going away. I do agree with her, but there are a lot of schools that need to upgrade their technology resources. That is really the main impediment I could foresee happening in my area. The school I observe at has Smart Boards, but not iPads for each room, and things of that nature. To fix these problems in my own classroom, I could apply for grants to get more resources. I could even write letters to the school board about my concerns. Another thing that stuck out to me, was when she said that college is the best time to learn technology. She is right, we need to learn as many things as we can in college. College is the best time for learning and growing in our future careers, and we need to take advantage of that. As for Ms. Cassidy's approaches, she has definitely went all the way. She uses technology in what seems to be all of her courses. I could picture myself using the blogs for my classroom. I think it would truly be a great way for students to improve their writing. Plus, students can get comments on their blog, and that always makes them feel so special. If you would like to view Ms. Cassidy's blog, it can be found here.