Blog Post #10

What can we learn from Ms. Cassidy? 

Ms. Cassidy is an elementary school teacher from Canada. Students in her classroom use many different types of technology, such as blogs, wikis, Skype, and Nintendo DS. This is shown in Little Kids.. Big Potential.

Ms. Cassidy started using technology in her classroom a little over ten years ago. She discusses technology and its role in her teaching strategies in these videos: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Her students are required to write blog posts about once a week. They follow many of the same blog rules I follow in EDM 310, from writing quality posts to making positive comments on other students' blogs. They use wikis to learn about different subjects they are not familiar with. They use Skype to talk to professionals when they are not able to come speak to the students in person. They have Nintendo DS's which they are required to share with other students. Using these teaches them how to solve problems.

I think that I would enjoy using all of these in my classroom. They all seem like great tools that allow students to really expand their knowledge on subjects that may not be easily found in a textbook. Our world is so dependent on technology now that it would really benefit students to begin working on becoming technologically literate at a young age.

Technology also has some problems, and I am sure that I would encounter some in my classroom. It is easy to get off topic when you have the Internet available, as there is so much to do on it. Students must be instructed to stay on topic and focus on the task they have to do. There is also the fear of plagiarism, which is common when using the Internet. But according to Ms. Cassidy, when instructors make the work challenging enough to require students to generate their own, creative response, plagiarism and copying is nearly impossible.

Ms. Cassidy seems like an awesome teacher! I didn't realize that students as young as hers could be so advanced in technology, but she has taught them well.