C4T#4 Summary Post

In this C4T assignment I was assigned to comment on the blog, Primary Preoccupation, by Mrs. Cassidy. Mrs. Cassidy is a first grade teacher in Moose Jaw, SK, Canada.

The first post I commented on was Making Video Without a Face. In this post Mrs. Cassidy explains an assignment she had her students do in which they were to tell a story by making a video, but in order to protect their image she did not allow their faces to be in the video. I, as well as some of the other students in EDM310 that commented on this post, stated that we thought this was a great way to get the students focused on the assignment as opposed to the camera. I imagine that if the students were looking at the camera they would be more nervous and have trouble conveying the story the way they planned in because they would have a little stage fright. I know that I personally don't like to be on camera because of stage fright. She asked at the end of her post if we had any ideas for this project, and I suggested making cartoons. When I was a child I loved to draw and would have enjoyed telling a story with my own art. Mrs. Cassidy commented that she thought that was a great idea, but that none of her students had expressed any interest in trying it. Hopefully in the future one of them would like to try it. I would like to see what they come up with.

The second post I commented on was On Being Learners and Being Teachers. In this post Mrs. Cassidy explains of how her students Skyped with teachers in Colorado and taught them how to use Skype. Mrs. Cassidy commented on how her students reversed there usual role to become the teachers. She was blown away by the answers she received to the question, "Why we use Skype?" Her students came up with four answers on their own:
1)Because we learn.
2)Because we get to meet new people.
3)Because we help other people to learn.
4)Because we don’t have to go to their town to talk to people.
How awesome is it that first graders were able to come up with these answers without provocation? I thought that this would be a great assignment for high school level students. When I get in the classroom I may have my students Skype with an elementary class and teach them a lesson about history.

In closing I cannot express how much I have learned from the teachers that I have been assigned to comment on this semester. Thank you Dr. Strange for coming up with these assignments. I know that what I have experienced through this assignment will help me in the future.