Blog Assignment 11

Little Kids...Big Potential 

Mrs. Cassidy’s video, Little Kids...Big Potential is inspiring. She takes her first grade class and gives them the use of many different technological tools in order to learn. She has created an environment that her students enjoy being in. Mrs. Cassidy has been using technology in her classroom for about ten years and she is always improving its uses.
I learned many different ways to use technology in the classroom from her video. Some of the tools I already planned to use but Mrs. Cassidy gave me ideas on other uses for them. I know that blogs are a good tool to use inside your class. Blogging can allow my special education students to freely express themselves without the worries of what they look like or what their disability is. They can also receive encouragement from others, besides just teachers and parents. I also think that a class web page is a very important tool. It allows parents to stay updated on what their child is learning and their progress. It also allows students the ability to obtain the assignments and lectures that they have missed. I had never thought to use a class web page to do center time, until I saw Mrs. Cassidy’s video. Placing educational sites on the web page for students to use was a brilliant idea. The sites have already been seen by the teacher and have been checked for whether they are appropriate. Students now have a fun learning experience inside the classroom. Students also have access to these sites wherever there is a computer.
Mrs. Cassidy seems to have a good strong support system. This is very important when it comes to using technology in the classroom. The feelings of technology in the classroom is still in limbo; some teachers think it is great and others still can not get past paper and pencil being the main tools in a class. I think it was very wise for Mrs. Cassidy to go straight to those in her district that would have the most  authority on her using technology. In doing so she cut out the middleman. As educators we will always face obstacles. The best thing for us to do is try to face them head on and not make any more  obstacles for ourselves.
I really learned a lot from Mrs. Cassidy and her first graders. If first graders can use technology as well as these students; then there is no reason other students can not use technology. We as teachers should give them these opportunities.