Blog Assignment #11

For this assignment Dr. Strange had us watch the videos Little Kids...Bit Potential and Skype Interview with Ms. Cassidy. The first video was put together by Ms. Cassidy using her first grade students and what they have learned in her class. This class seems very similar to what we are doing in EDM 310. She is teaching her students how to blog and use the internet for sources for the classroom. The students in the video tell how blogging has taught them to be more careful with their writing skills. They like blogging more than writing in notebooks because people from all over the world can see them and comment on them. One of the students said that you never ever say mean stuff in comments because you might hurt someones feelings. Always say nice things. They know how to get to games where they learn about subjects or the alphabet. They can even access their blogs at home. They also learned how to make videos about learning and Skype to talk to other classes and teachers. They also use Nintendo DS to play games for learning.
The second video is a Skype interview with Ms. Cassidy by Dr. Strange. She started using technology in her classroom 10 years ago because she was given 5 computers in her classroom. She learned how to make webpages and blogs to help the students study on the computers. She's had a classroom blog for 5 years. She said the parents like to be able to see their child's work easily. She uses the blogs as an online portfolio for the students that is easier to see than having to set up an appointment with the teacher. The parents can just go online whenever they have an opportunity to see their child's progress. Ms. Cassidy says the world would go on without blogging, but the one thing the students get when blogging that they don't get with a pencil and paper is an audience. The students get writing, video, and media training all in one in her class. They are learning to communicate with students around the world rather than just the students they see in the classroom. Ms. Cassidy's answer to "do you think every teacher needs to be technology literate?" she said absolutely! She said just knowing word processors isn't technology literate. That's not enough to know for teaching students how to use technology in the classroom. I like how she said that getting information off other people's blogs isn't cheating, it's collaborating.

I would use the blogging in my classroom as a substitute for writing papers. That would give the students some time using technology, but not so much that technology is taking over the classroom. I still think they need to have some work sheets because writing by hand is really important too. I think the only downfall to students using the internet at school is trying to get them focused on what they are supposed to be working on. I know when I took computer classes I would pull up games and play them while the teacher wasn't looking instead of doing my work. I have a feeling students now know how to use a computer for games before they even get into a classroom.