Blog Post #11

Mrs. Cassidy's First Graders

In Mrs. Cassidy's first grade classroom they use many methods to technology. Some of them are blogging, websites, Wiki, Skype, smart board, and etc. Mrs. Cassidy set up blogs for her students and this allows them to work on their writing skills. Her and the students for the most part like this because it is not just their teacher reading their work but it is everyone! The students write usually about a sentence or two a day and get feedback from lots of viewers and also they can view how many people view their blog. That is really neat to me because not only does it help the students with their writing skills but it also makes them more motivated I feel because they are getting all this feedback and they are seeing all these people view their blog. If I could have had that in my classroom when I was younger I can promise you I would have been more interested in writing. It also allows them to be more concentrated on what they are writing. Another advantage of using technology in the classroom is that the parents are allowed to see their children’s development. The students do not get to post everything online, but most of their writing is online and their parents have access to see it. The children have been taught by their teacher that safety is very important while using the internet. They only go by their first names and no last names are shown and if their picture is up, their name is not directly beside it for privacy concerns. Before the students can use technology in the classroom, papers are sent home to the parents explaining what their children will be doing. Another item the students use are Wikis and this helps them ask questions to others about topics. I think technology in the classroom is a wonderful idea and will help children with their future.



In the Skype video Mrs. Cassidy tells us how she got involved with technology. She got involved with technology because she was given five computers and she thought if you have five of something then you can create a center and she did! She understands that there are some teachers who still like the old fashion way of teaching, but as she said, the students love it and that’s what you want. I think there are many advantages to having technology in the classroom. By allowing students to have their own blog, access to a class blog, or learn how to work a website is useful to them. I had never blogged before this class and now I love blogging I think it is so neat and will continue blogging. The students would have to be taught what is right and wrong when it comes to browsing the internet because we know there are many unnecessary things on the internet. Ms. Cassidy also talks about how long she used technology in her classroom, how she got her ideas and how the parents responded to their children using technology in school. It excites me to know that when I have my own classroom in the future how much technology will be available for the students to use. If our students understand why they are learning specific skills in school they will better know how to use those skills and carry them with them! Technology is what modern children know, they are programmed to understand it from birth, and if we learn to apply that technology, then our students can better grow.