Blog Assignment 11

So cute! Mrs. Cassidy's kids are awesome. I loved the video and see it as an extremely valuable tool to show parents, principals, and educators how technology can be used in the classroom. The kids were very polite and gave us some smart tips when it comes to technology. One great tip is to be nice when leaving a comment; don't be mean. Another key aspect that I love about the video is that the kids are telling you why using technology is great and what they are doing with it. When I become a teacher, I am going to post videos similar to this to show the progress the kids are making.
Something that blows my mind is that fist graders are doing this! Their reading and writing ability must be improving at a much faster rate because of blogging. I don't know if this is the case, but I don't see why it wouldn't be. I also think that the kids are more inspired to perform at their best because they have an audience. They are not just writing for their teacher; they are posting stories that is being viewed by people everywhere in the world. If that's not an incentive then what is?

This picture reminds me of Ms. Cassidy's  back yard!

"We have to keep learning." Yes Ms. Cassidy, you are absolutely right. As educators, we must keep learning for the sake of our kids. Just because we graduate from college with a B.S. or even a PhD we never stop learning and we should never want to stop. I really appreciate Ms. Cassidy's answer towards an EDM 310 student's cheating question. He asked "Will students be able to cheat on assignments easier by looking on past blogs?" Ms. Cassidy said that teachers should become more creative with assignments and that research and other works are becoming more collaborative.  

One of the impediments that I foresaw using technology in the classroom was the parents and the other teachers and principals. My cousin Ginger, said nearly the same thing as Ms. Cassidy. The parents are actually really excited about being able to keep up with what their kids are doing online. This makes me happy and more comfortable with talking to parents and students about accessing the internet. Maybe I should host a parents' night that teaches parents internet safety and how they can talk to their kids about technology as well? Sounds like a good idea to me!