Ms. Cassidy uses this video to show the children's perspective on the use of technology. They use computers, headsets, and a projector screen throughout the classroom in order to complete various assignments. The students enjoy using blogs to produce their writing because they are proud to post their work and they feel it pushes them to become better writers. They also anticipate the comments left on their blog posts. Ms. Cassidy uses a webpage as a guided search engine for her students during center time. They also use Wiki to research needed information. Skype is used, in the class, to talk with other classrooms and various teachers. To help with problem solving and sharing, Ms. Cassidy has her students play the Nintendo DS.
Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1
Ms. Cassidy uses technology to enhance the education of her students. She protects the students' identity by using first names only and posting pictures but not matching the pictures with the names. She uses blogs as an online portfolio for the students' work. Ms. Cassidy admires blogs because blogs have an audience. She uses a specific blog site that records the amount of times the page has been visited. I think this is an interesting additive because it can be a positive and negative thing for young students. Young students are competitive, so what happens when one page gets more views than another? What are the children's reactions to this? Ms. Cassidy emphasizes the importance in keeping up with technology and allowing the students to develop their own online network.
Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 2
Ms. Cassidy explained that the best place to start is where your interests lay. For example, if you enjoy pictures and videos then start with a media that requires the use of pictures and videos. Flicker is a resource that can be used to network photography, whereas Blogger can be used to network writing. Dr. Strange and Ms. Cassidy then further explained the advantages of Twitter. Twitter can be very useful in building a PLN, especially for future educators.
Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 3
The amount of time dedicated to blogging can be flexible. It is based on the amount of students in the class, the number of adults assisting the class, and the allotted time given to each subject matter. Ms. Cassidy suggests that the best way to eliminate cheating is to reconstruct the assignments in a way that makes it difficult for a student to copy a previous assignment. The reconstruction can be similar enough that collaboration with a previous assignment is involved, but different enough that copying verbatim is not possible. One way Ms. Cassidy protects her students is by using her curated webpage. This allows the students to go to a single site and follow specific links to material relevant to them. She also educates her students on the importance of staying within her given links and the dangers of wandering.
After watching all the videos, I believe my favorite of Ms. Cassidy's approaches is the use of Skype. I believe incorporating the one-on-one interaction and involving other teachers and classrooms can be very beneficial for the students. There is so much information that other people can give and different questions they can challenge the students with. It is also an opportunity for the students to hear another voice besides their main teacher. It is a challenging tool because the face to face aspect requires the students to engage in what is being said. I think it is important to develop a strong PLN in order to make the use of Skype truly successful.
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