EDM 310 Blog Post 10

     Once again after watching these videos about Ms. Cassidy's class I learned a multitude of new things.  It seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout EDM 310 that students of all ages have the ability to not only use technology in the classroom, but are able to use it effectively.  First of all this is a major thing that we have to learn as teachers.  We can't doubt a students ability to learn and apply themselves.  Now I will get into the questions for this blog post.

Which of her tehcniques might you use in your classroom?

     In the first video I watched, First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class, which was a compilation of the technological use throughout her classroom, I saw the usage of blog posts by the students.  This is not the first place that I have seen students using blogs.  Throughout the course we have had to comment on various students blog posts across the country.  This would definitely be a tool I would use in my classroom.  By using a blog post I believe that it will give each of my students the ability to put their work out in the open.  They can have fellow classmates read what they think and comment back to them.  This gives students who may not have as loud a voice in the classroom a chance to be heard and let me as a teacher read what they think.  Another reason this is a good tool is that it allows for students to voice their own opinions about a specific subject.  Giving a student a voice and power engages them more, and I've learned throughout this course and others that engagement is key.

What impediments would you encounter and how would you address them?

     Obviously there are a variety of challenges that this would bring up.  For one parents and the school board may have a problem with young students being on the internet and having the risks that go along with that.  There is often a fear when students are using technology and them being online, which is easily understandable.  In her interview with Dr. Strange, Ms. Cassidy commented that this was an issue for her when she first started out using this method, with her students names and pictures being online for people to see.  The way that she prevented any real danger from happening was by sending home a slip of paper home on the first day that they would "en devour to protect student identity".  She did this by posting first name but not last name, and not coupling students names with their pictures.  I think that this is a great method for preventing any sort of dangers for her students and allowing them to use technology effectively in the classroom.

What is the benefit from this approach?

     There are great benefits not only for students by using this method, but also for parents.  Ms. Cassidy comment to Dr. Strange that by doing this parents are able to "see there child's progress through the year and see it when it is convenient for them".    This will be wonderful because parents are now becoming more involved with their child's learning than they may have been if technology was not present.  Of course students are going to love the usage of technology in the classroom.  They are able to develop technological skills at an early age, which will help them down the road.  More importantly it will bring an element of excitement into the classroom that students may otherwise be missing out on.  Giving students technology will more actively engage them in their learning and ultimately create more excited learners.