Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Blog Post #11
In this video, you see the 1st grade class of Mrs. Kathy Cassidy, an elementary teacher from Canada . Mrs. Cassidy spoke with Dr. Strange's class last year and answered some questions about how she began using the technology that you see in her video. With 1st graders, it might be hard to imagine utilizing blogging and other sorts of things because they can't really write very well, however it is obvious by watching that these kids love using technology and are actually very capable.
After listening to her talk about how she uses technology with her students, I thought it was important to note that she has been working on integrating her classroom now for over 10 years. When you teach using technology, you must be willing to modify and adapt to meet the changes that are happening in the technological world. One thing about Mrs. Cassidy is that she doesn't seem to see the age of her students as a barrier to anything. We can find ways to incorporate technology in any setting if we want to do it. She has such a great outlook for her students and seems to have found a good balance of traditional and technological learning.
Some students posed questions regarding the safety of the students and willingness of parents and administrators to cooperate. I think these are issues we will all have to address at some point or another. Mrs. Cassidy takes a very straight forward approach to the children's safety. Parents are informed of her intent to place the children's work online and no last names are used, especially not with pictures. As for cooperation with staff and administrators, it is important to take everyone's views into perspective and try to be accommodating and respectful to everyone. I think that in most cases, the introduction of new teaching methods and incorporation of technology will be embraced and encouraged.
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Kristen,
ReplyDeleteI think Mrs. Cassidy does an excellent job incorporating technology into her classroom. I love that she uses both traditional and technological ways of learning. I love how hard she worked to get the classroom she wanted. To be able to use technology, we are going to encounter problems; however, we must find solutions and find ways to adapt. I think having a desire and working hard will get us to the places we want to go. I believe Mrs. Cassidy approaches every problem with a good attitude and focuses on the ways she can overcome these problems to benefit her students.
I think you are completely right when you say that we will all have to one day face the same issues with privacy and internet safety in our classroom that Mrs. Cassidy does. I like how you actually put thought into your post. Sometimes when I read someone's post it seems as though they simply reiterate things they've already said a million times before. I think that incorporating technology into a learning environment this early on can be a good thing if treated with the correct amount of caution and done the right way. We don't want our children to get into danger while on the internet but I completely agree it would be simpler to begin teaching the technology at an early age rather than wait till middle or high school.
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