What Can We Learn From Kathy Cassidy?

Kathy Cassidy is a first grade teacher that Dr. Strange and other students had the oppertunity to interview over Skype. In this three part interview Mrs. Cassidy explained how she began using technology in her first grade class room. Mrs. Cassidy has her first graders post blogs to their class blog once sometimes twice a week. Some times these blogs are videos that the students make about what they are learning in class. Mrs. Cassidy is very open to using different types of technology in her class room. She began using technology when her class was assigned three computers to use in the classroom. At one point in the interview Dr. Strange talked about some of his students views on technology in the classroom and learning how to use technology in the classroom. Some of Dr. Strange's students where asking why they had to learn how to use technology when the schools in this area where not implementing it into the curriculum. Mrs. Cassidy responded to that by expressing her views about technology in the classroom. She stated that in her classroom the kids are learning better with technology and that education was going to have to change. Mrs. Cassidy states that as teachers we cannot continue to teach the same way teachers have taught for the last twenty, ten, or five years. I agree that education needs to adapt to an ever changing world around it and embrace technology as a tool for the future and not a distraction.

One of the ways Mrs. Cassidy uses technology in her classroom is through blogging. She has her students post blogs to their class blog and read other blogs from other students across the nation. This is something that i would like to implement in my classroom. I also like how she gives the parents the ability to log on to the class blog and see the work that their children are doing. This can help not only keep the students engaged but also keep the parents involved in their child's education which i believe is a very important tool in educated children.

Although technology is a great tool to use in the classroom there many doubts and worries that people have about allowing students full access to these tools. Some might be afraid that their child's safety might be in jeopardy or that they might come across something on the web that is not suitable for their age. Like Mrs. Cassidy states you have to teach your students to be good online citizens. This means be respectful when you are viewing or commenting on some one else blog or video. Also as teachers we must teach our students what is acceptable learning material and what is not. A good tool to use to filter out un wanted material is I Curio . This will allow your students to search the web for information that is relavent to their age and the material they are looking for.
br /> Their are many benefits for the students in using technology in the classroom. One major benefit for using tools such as Bloger is that they can collaborate with other students in the classroom and with classrooms around the globe. Another great benefit is that you can get the parents involved by allowing them to comment on the blog of their child. This allows the parents to play essential roles in the education of their children and monitor how their child is doing compared to the rest of the class. The interviews with Mrs. Cassidy and Dr. Strange where very insightful and can teach us a lot about how technology can benefit not only us as teachers but our students as well. You can find these interviews at Kathy Cassidy Interview on You Tube. There are three parts so be sure to check out all three.