Blog Post #11

First Graders In Mrs. Cassidy's Class

When I watched the video that Mrs. Cassidy created with her students and saw what her students do on a daily basis, I was blown away! I absolutely loved her classroom and what she was exposing her students to such as, blogging, Wiki, videos, Skype, and even Nintendo DS. Mrs. Cassidy's students were interacting with one another and engaged in everything that was going on. This is what I have always pictured my ideal classroom to look like and be! When watching the video, one of her students invites you into the room, and it was like opening your mind into a wonderland of learning. As the video went on the kids one by one explained how much they enjoyed blogging. They enjoyed blogging because they were able to share their work with the world. The students also loved how their family and friends were able to read and leave comments on their thoughts and experiences throughout the day.

Blogging is something that I will definitely create and use with my future students! I think that it is absolutely important for students to be exposed to what technology has to offer because kids and technology go hand in hand. One of the great benefits that Mrs. Cassidy points out about blogging is that the parents are able to stop by and look at the classroom blog whenever they want, to see what their child has been learning in school. Another reason that she pointed out why blogging is so important to teach students is, it improves their writing skills and creativity. When students know that they have the world as their audience it encourages them to put forth their best effort. Even if there are mistakes in a child's work, that is fine because it gives that student an opportunity to learn! Also, blogging improves creativity by branching off other student's ideas and helping that students go above and beyond to what they never thought was possible.

Another very important point that Mrs. Cassidy expresses in the interview with Dr. Strange and his students, was that she had a support system behind her when got started with bringing technology into the classroom. Her support system was the technology coordinator at their school in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada. She was very fortunate to have someone to support her through the process of bringing technology in the classroom, because he was the one who took care of talking with the administrators for her! This is extremely important because unfortunately there are still administrators who believe that technology should not be introduced in the classroom. However as time goes by technology will prove itself that it is here to stay and will weave its way into every school across the world!

The last thing that caught my attention was Mrs. Cassidy kept expressing how important it is to change, because the world is constantly changing! It is important to always keep educating yourself and put forth an effort to become lifelong learners, not only for yourself but for your students!