Blog Post #10

Several years ago, Mrs. Cassidy was presented with five computers to use in her classroom. Since she received these computers, her teaching has evolved to include technology. After watching  Interview with Kathy Cassidy Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 I have learned a lot about how she uses technology in the classroom and ways that I can in the future.

Mrs. Cassidy uses Twitter to connect with people from around the world, and it is very useful for her. She and Dr. Strange discussed how they both thought it was useless and a waste of time when they first heard about it, but now it is a tool that they use regularly. I do not have a Twitter besides the one that I use for EDM 310, and before I got that I agreed that is was useless. However, when used correctly, it can be very useful.

Mrs. Cassidy also uses blogs in her classroom. She explained that students are more motivated to write when it's not just her seeing it, but people from around the world. She has several tools on their blogs that show them how many views they have, and also where the people are from. When students know hundreds of people are seeing their work, they want to do the best they can. People also leave comments on her student's blog post, which encourages them even more.

Along with Twitter and blogging, her class also uses Wiki. They can ask questions and people from around the world can answer. For example, they asked about rituals and got answers from many people. They also got videos and pictures from a school here in Alabama about letters. Along with Wiki, they communicate with other students through Skype.

She teaches her students to say nice things in their comments, just like we learn in EDM 310. She also teaches them to be safe while using the internet. Prior to watching these videos, I worried that using the internet in my classroom would be unsafe. However, Mrs. Cassidy said that she had never had a problem with anything.

Mrs. Cassidy's students are very tech literate, and they use many different forms of technology in the classroom. In my future classroom, I plan on teaching my students how to use the internet safely, like Mrs. Cassidy does. I also plan on using Blogger to motivate my students to write well. I hope to use many of the tools that she does in her classroom, and thought the videos were very informative.