Blog Post 11

         This week we watched three parts of Cassidy 13, part one, two, and three. Ms. Cassidy is a first grade teacher, who uses technology in her classroom to benefit not only the students, but also the parents and herself. I was amazed after watching Little Kids...Big Potential. It showed Ms. Cassidy’s first grade students blogging, working on the internet, and even warning people to be careful of what you say on the internet. These kids have knowledge beyond their years, and that is all because Ms. Cassidy gave them the opportunities to expand their learning beyond the classroom walls.

         Ms. Cassidy said that by allowing her students to blog, it has opened doors and has given the students the chance to meet people all over the world, it has allowed parents to keep track of their child’s writing progress, and gives the students the ability to keep up in the technology driven world. Ms. Cassidy has several techniques she uses in her classroom, but she said it changes from year to year. One of the ideas I could see using in my special education class, would be to use blogging as a rotation in guided reading. She said that she had blogging, spelling activities, and students reading to her all in rotations, and this idea would definitely be one I could implement in my classroom. My students might not all be able to blog themselves, but I would find different accommodations that would allow my students to experience blogging. I would want them to see all the visitors in all the different countries that visit their blog, just like Ms. Cassidy’s class.

         I also really liked the way Ms. Cassidy talked about protecting her students on the internet. I would make sure my students only used their first names, but instead of just telling them not to click on different links to games and such, I would have my students use iCurio. Overall, Ms. Cassidy said it best when she said technology is here to stay and we must keep learning. She also made an excellent statement when saying that teachers handicap the students and yourself when not using technology tools available to you. I have taken several ideas from Ms. Cassidy that I plan to use in the future.