The first graders in Mrs. Cassidy's class may be small, but they are full of potential. In the video Little Kids... Big Potential, we see just a bit of what these first graders are capable of. These young students are using blogs to learn how to write better and wikis to learn about traditions and rituals. They can watch videos online about the alphabet and Skype with other classrooms or even experts. They know how to access their class website to study math, reading, or other subjects. These kids may be small, but do not underestimate them.
Skype Interview with Mrs. Cassidy
In the Skype interview with Mrs. Cassidy, Dr. Strange and the students of EDM310 address some important issues with Mrs. Cassidy. Mrs. Cassidy is a first grade teacher in Canada that definitely believes in using technology in the classroom. Mrs. Cassidy believes that we cannot teach with the same tools that worked twenty, ten, or even five years ago because the world has changed. Technology has so many incredible tools to offer our students. She states that, "you are handicapping your students by not taking advantage of the tools." Mrs. Cassidy believes that technology is not going away and that these days "kids and technology go hand in hand."
Mrs. Cassidy has great ideas of ways to use technology in the classroom. One thing that I really enjoyed was her classroom website. On this website the students can find many useful links. From this website they can go to different learning pages, they can play educational games, they can watch videos the teacher posted, and they can even find links to their blogs. I really like the idea of a classroom website because it can act as a guide for the kids. I also would like for my students to be able to blog as well. I think it is a great opportunity for them to see their progress throughout the year.
Although the administration at Mrs. Cassidy's school has never been super encouraging of her using technology, they have never been discouraging either. She does have great support from the technology coordinator though. One thing that I worry may be hindrance for teachers trying to incorporate technology in the classroom is the administration. Some can be really supportive, but it seems some administration is not quite on board yet. It may be a tough battle to get technology into some classrooms, but it is well worth the fight.
Hi Courtney, it is me again and as usual I have really enjoyed your blog post. You always do such a great job at explaining in detail the videos we are to watch and I love the illustrations you have included!
ReplyDeleteIs it not just absolutely amazing to witness such young students learning through technology? Ms. Cassidy has done an outstanding job incorporating the use of technology in her teaching strategies. I was inspired by the various methods she was able to teach with such as wiki, skype, and even the website she created for the students to view their work. There are so many educators who are so against teaching with technology because they do not believe students will learn accurate information from the sources. If you ask my opinion, Ms. Cassidy is correct in saying the technology in our world is not going to fade out but rather grow rapidly and in return we as educators must prepare our future leaders for what the world holds. Thanks for being so thorough and thoughtful in your post about Ms. Cassidy's class. Keep up the good work!