Blog Post 11

Little Kids… Big Potential
Kathy Cassidy is a teacher i first grade in Moose Jaws, Canada. In her video, “Little Kids… Big Potential”, Cassidy allows her students to demonstrate their technological skills. The group of first graders invites the world into their classroom. In the video, the students explain how they enhance their skills, create projects, and collaborate with others by using technology. Each student has their own blog. “The kids love blogging” (Cassidy). Blogging serves a great purpose for students. It allows them to sharpen their writing skills, collaborate with others, and stay connected outside the classroom. The tools that Cassidy uses with her students are:
~Blogging
~Wiki
~Skype
~Video/Audio
~Nintendo DS
With blogging, the students get an opportunity to have an audience other than their teacher. They can share their work from class with others. Cassidy explains how she tries to set up each blog post as portfolios. In addition, blogging gives students the opportunity to receive feedback on their work from others. A lot of parents like blogging because they are able to see their child’s progression and leave comments on their work. Cassidy also has a class webpage that is available for students. It serves as a hub for them. The class webpage has links and other educational material that students use for learning. In addition, students can have access to the classroom from home. Moreover, they have access to any tools that will help them learn.
Another useful tool for educational purposes the students mentioned is wiki. Wiki allows students to get information that is shared by others. In the video, the students explain how they post questions on traditions and rituals. They received information from different people about their family traditions and rituals. Wiki is a great tool because it promotes collaborative learning. Moreover, the Nintendo DS has its benefits in the classroom as well. The DS challenges students to think critically. It helps them with decision making and sharing. Even though it is just a game to some, the Nintendo DS is an interesting tool for learning.

Cassidy’s Interview Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3

Dr. Strange and a group of students conducted an interview with Kathy Cassidy. In the interview, she explains how technology is important for the new learning era. Cassidy got involved with technology ten years prior to when the video was recorded. Each class was given five sets of computers. The computers had all their available parts and internet access; but they didn’t allow uploads and downloads. Cassidy explains how her technological journey began with her interest in webpages. She mentions that teachers’ technological journeys should be sparked from their interests. They should use some form of technology that they are interested in and network to find other educators that share the same interest. Teachers must understand that “Technology is not going away, it is here to stay” (Cassidy). Cassidy explains that the tools from twenty years ago can no longer be taught to students today. Even the tools from five years ago are now becoming irrelevant. “We have to change because the world has changed” (Cassidy). There are many opportunities available online for teachers to collaborate and learn from other educators. Teachers must realize if they don’t take advantage of technology as a tool in the classroom they are only handicapping themselves and their students. Furthermore, teachers should be technologically literate. They need to know how to use technology to access, manage, integrate, evaluate, create, and communicate (montgomeryschoolsmd.org). Processor and Spreadsheet is no longer considered technology. They must keep up with what’s happening in our evolving world.
Kathy Cassidy gave some helpful tips and great advice on technology in the classroom. From her video with her students, it shows that students are not too young for anything. As teachers, we need to stop underestimating our students’ abilities. We must expect the unexpected. Some of the tools and projects they were doing I didn’t do until I got to college. Therefore, using blogging, wiki, etc. will prepare them in college readiness. In addition, Cassidy's explanations from the video gave me a different insight on why technology is essential. Reading and worksheets don’t work with today’s generation of students. They have a more advanced perspective on how things work. For example, if you put a cell phone or an iPad in front of a two year old, they can more likely navigate and find things better than you. Therefore, teachers need to get out of the “my class my rules” phase and open up new possibilities for their classroom. All in all, Mrs. Cassidy’s first grade class made me realize that technology is a must-use tool for teaching such an energetic group of students.