Blog Post #10

As I began watching the first section of the interview with Ms. Cassidy, I was a little surprised when she said that she started having a web page about 10 years ago. I was in third grade then and we were only using laptops very rarely. I had an idea how to use it, but it wasn't a central part of the classroom. Her class room was and is very different, as mine will be from the classroom I was a part of in elementary school. I love that she uses her students' blogs as an online portfolio in a way. I think that it is a great idea so that the students can see how far they have improved over the year as well as allow the parents to see their child's work as well. By incorporating technology in the classroom, the teacher is just incorporating part of the child's world into the classroom. It is not strange or foreign to them; it just is. The teacher is just expanding the students' knowledge of how to use technology. I think it is interesting that she said that teachers are actually handicapping their students and themselves by not incorporating technology. I really like how she said that her students use Skype to talk to other students after they comment on each others' blog posts to talk about corrections they can make to make it better. I think it is a smart idea. I was thinking about her comment on how technological literacy has changed over the years. She said that 20 years ago it was word processing and using a data sheet. I was thinking that that is basically what we used in high school even, which was 3-7 years ago. We mostly used word processing, data sheets and presentations. Now that I am taking this class, I can see that being technologically literate is so much more. To start off with technology, use it in a way that interests them the most. If you enjoy photography, then use Flicker. If you enjoy writing then keep up a blog. Ms. Cassidy explained that having a PLN is a very important tool. This tool exposes us to resources that we would not normally discover. Collaborative learning has been, is, and will continue to be a very important way of learning for students. With access to the internet, it is easier to do and creates collaborative skill that they will need later in life.

My opinion has definitely been altered about technology in the classroom. I think it will be a valuable tool that will help my students in the future to succeed later in their lives.

If you would like to watch the whole interview, here are links to the three videos: Interview with Ms. Cassidy Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.