Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy

I really enjoyed Ms. Cassidy's interview. I especially liked her approach with center time for blogging and using Skype to teach her class by collaborating with other children and students from afar. I think this gives kids a confidence and a way to think outside the box more so than what I did when I was in elementary school. I hate to say this, but this is very important in our region. The southeast is notorious for being behind, close minded, and stuck in the past, this kind of teaching would be most beneficial to be able to start a change for the better. This improves writing & reading skills, and at the same time gives meaningful insight to how cultures can differ in real time through Skype. That is moving! It is so much easier to teach something and learn from it, rather from a textbook, when you can see it! Just like when she showed the snow, that could have been a good example for a geography class for latitude and season changes to make kids understand where that is on the map and the climate that particular place has. The possibilities are endless! I am excited to teach and use these tools in my classroom, I want to make a difference and I think that blogging, podcasts, and Skype are going to be the ones I start off with. Depending upon my grade level, the first thing that will be taught is internet safety and where to go and not to go. Like Ms. Cassidy said, with older kids you would have to go into much more detail than with the little ones.