Blog Assignment 11

The video by first graders in Mrs. Cassidy's class, Little Kids... Big Potential, is a joy to see. The children in her class really seem to enjoy what they are doing. I feel that Mrs. Cassidy is probably going to be a teacher that these kids will remember as their favorite for years to come. I am interested in using blogs in much the same way these children use theirs. I want to have my students post their papers on their blogs as opposed to hand it in to me so that their friends and families can see what they have accomplished. I also like how the children described the class wiki. With the links Mrs. Casssidy put on the wiki the children were able to find the learning games without having to use a search engine. In my opinion this method makes the use of technology in the class safe. The kids also discussed how they should only be nice in their comments to their fellow students. I do think this would be tough to overcome in a high school classroom. The only possible solution to keep comments positive will be for me to make sure that I have to approve all comments before they show up on the blog.

Mrs. Cassidy's skype interview with Dr. Strange was also very informative. This is the second time this semester I have realized how important it is for us to comment on kids blogs in our C4K assignments. She described how happy the kids get when people just view what they have posted. When we comment on the students blogs all over the world it makes them feel famous. I wish when I was in school people would have done this for my work. I am sure it makes the children want to write. I was also happy to hear about how her PLN helps her. In the short time I have used twitter I have been thoroughly surprised about how much I have learned from it. I suggest to anyone reading this post to find a hash tag to follow (ie. #sschat, #edchat, #historyteacher, etc.) that pertains to your future subject. I have found many great links to sites and lesson plans that I can use when I finally get into a classroom.