Blog Post 11

Little Kids...Big Potential

     Today I watched a wonderful video by the students in Ms. Cassidy's 1st grade class. We see in the video how technology has not only been introduced but how it is helping to educate these remarkable students. They use tools like blogs and wikis to learn from people around the world. They get the opportunity to communicate with children and adults alike to help understand this new medium.

     Ms. Cassidy is a very remarkable educator. She began a class webpage and later a class blog to utilize 5 computers that were donated to her classroom. With the support of her school system, she has utilized the tools that she was given with amazing results. In a Skype interview with Dr. Strange, Cassidy, Kathy Cassidy talks about why and how she has implemented these methods into her classroom.

     Ms. Cassidy says that it important to understand technology is not going to go away. We as future educators must figure out how to use these tools in a positive and constructive ways. We have to allow ourselves to embrace what feels foreign to us. Sure, we never had these opportunities in school, but why should we keep other from learning. That goes against what we are trying to achieve.

     Technology is changing everyday. We must learn how to adapt to this ever changing environment. It is scary to think that we could deny our children the opportunity to get ahead in life. Using computers to do school work helps develop the skills to be able to be creative and use problem solving skills in the work place. It is true that no matter what someone does for a living, computers will be a part of it. Let's do our best to give our charges all the tools they need to succeed.