Blog Post #11 Ms. Cassidy the Technology Queen

For this post Dr. Strange had us watch a skype talk with Ms. Cassidy, a first grade teacher in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan, Canada, who uses technology quite a bit in her class. We also had the privilege of watching a video she produced showing her students engrossed in using technology. Ms. Cassidy has her 1st grade students blogging, making movies and pod-casts as well as a myriad of other applications of technology. I am totally blown away by what I have seen and heard! I teach 6th grade and was hesitantly considering ways I could use technology in my classroom until I saw this. Now I feel a bit sheepish about my hesitation since watching 1st graders blogging and making movies. I teach Science and what I am thinking about doing, once I return to my classroom, is to start by creating a class blog. I think I will tailor the blog to help my students get a head start on the material in my class. I will do this by posting a syllabus, the Power Points for each chapter, any test reviews, and any quiz and test dates. I will also have an announcements area that will hold any pertinent information my students might need quickly. I will also take class time to show my students how to access the class blog. Once I get the class blog up an running I am going to work with our IT guys and get them to help me put together a time when I can use the computer lab and teach my students how to blog on their own. Once they are comfortable blogging then I will let them gain experience by personalizing the class blog with pictures, student work etc... and also give them opportunities at least once a week to update their own blogs. I am also going to try to get the school to install a Smart Board in my classroom so that I can take advantage of the resources available to me on the internet. With the help of the Smart Board we can do virtual dissections, watch up to date videos on just about any subject area, and travel to other parts of the world to see first hand what we are studying. Since my school is located in Nairobi, Kenya I would like, if possible, to also set up an online relationship between my school and one here in the States. I think both schools would benefit tremendously from this! The greatest challenge I am going to face will not be my fellow teachers or my administrators but rather the unreliability of the local internet and electrical grid. We lose our internet at the drop of a hat and even though our computers all have battery backups sometimes the electricity is off longer than they can last. Why bother you might ask? Well I think that by getting these programs started in my class I will see a huge boost in my classes appreciation and interest in Science. I think these strategies will go a long way towards getting them to engage at a much higher level than I have previously been able to! I look forward to the days when my students are excited about Science and look forward to being in my class not because of my personality but because they are eager to learn!
Links:
First Graders in Ms. Cassidy's Class
Skype Interview With Ms. Cassidy