Blog Assignment #11

Little Kids, Big Potential
The students in the video Little kids, Big potential are from Moose Jaw, Canada. These students are first grader's in Ms.Cassidy's class who are able to blog, and search the internet on their own. The student's love their blogs because they get to read the comments that people from all over leave for them. In this video, the students show that they know the rules of blogging by saying them out loud to the camera. The student's explain how they know how to use their teacher's website, and that they are able to access their blogs outside of school.Ms. Cassidy's first grade class, is a great example of a project based learning environment. These students are able to read and write on blogs, use their nintendo DS, and create WIKI's.

Skype Interview with Ms. Casssidy
Ms. Cassidy began using computers 10 years ago when her class was given five computers. These computers were only allowed internet access, she could not download any programs to them. The computers started out as a simple center time, but Ms.Cassidy wanted to use them for more. She began to look into other ways to use the computers and found blogging and web pages. Ms. Cassidy starts her students out slow, she explains that it usually takes her six year olds the whole year to fully understand the computers. The administrator at Ms. Cassidy's school is not interested in the growing use of technology, but she is able to continue because of the technology coordinator who helps Ms. Cassidy incorporate more technology into her classroom. Before her student's are able to use the internet, Ms. Cassidy sends home a permission slip. Each parent must sign the slip stating that they are allowing their children to use the internet under supervision.

Ms. Cassidy explains how as teachers we need to change with the ever changing generations. This generation has never known anything but technology, so we must adapt and enhance their education with the tools they are familiar with. She also explains how the parents get involved with their students blogging because they can read about what their students are learning. The students in her class love writing their posts because they know somebody somewhere else is going to read them. Students in EDM310 are only some of the readers of these students blogs. They are able to see how many times their pages have been viewed and where in the world they were viewed from.

I found this video very educational, it was neat to see the different ways the students were using technology in their classroom. Ms. Cassidy is doing a great job enhancing her students learning with technology. I plan to use blogging when I become a teacher because it gives the students a chance to communicate with students from all over the world. I also really like the idea of having a class blog where the parents can go and see what their students are supposed to be doing and learning. I would love to ask Ms. Cassidy what she would do if she had a parent who did not want their student to participate in the online blogging. I feel they should still be given the chance to write and use the computers but instead keep the posts private or anonymous.