Blog Post #10

This week we watched a three-part conversation between Dr. Strange and Kathy Cassidy discussing the benefits of using technology in the classroom and what techniques Mrs. Cassidy finds successful in her classroom. Mrs. Cassidy is a firm believer in teachers being technologically literate. She believes that "technology is here to stay" and that as teachers, we would be doing a disservice to our students by not using technology to collaborate on ideas, problems, and solve real world issues. One technique of Mrs. Cassidys that I would love to use in my future classroom is orchestrating a class blog. She believes that a class blog gives students the opportunity to broadcast their work. When students post any work online, it is made available to parents, peers, and other audiences for viewing. This not only increases the pride in the student's work, but also inspires the student to be able to see and know that there are other people reading what they have written or created. The student then becomes empowered to learn and find the right answers, rather than feeling limited by a teachers red grading pen. What I love about this technique is the fact that student's parents can go online at any time and view their child's progress. Instead of waiting for a meeting or a classroom visit to see their children's work, parents can take just a few seconds out of their day to go online, even at work, and see the amazing things that are happening in the classroom. Mrs. Cassidy even went so far as to send home a form that parents must sign giving consent for the students to post their work online, also including different ways that their child's identity will be protected. I feel like this is a great way to engage parents and students with technology, and now that I have been very dedicated to my class blog in EDM310, I can lead my future class blog with confidence. Not every teacher has the confidence to use technology in the classroom. Mrs. Cassidy believes that best way to feel confident about using technology and beginning to incorporate using it regularly is to find something that you are interested in and plug into it. Whether you are into taking pictures, watching videos, writing, reading or any other medium, there is an opportunity to get involved technologically. I think that many educators feel that technology is only useful for certain subjects such as social studies and science. I think it is our challenge to incorporate using technology in all subjects, even math and physical education. Mrs. Cassidy is a great example of teachers who indulge in using technology in an effective way in the classroom.  We need many more teachers like Mrs. Cassidy who can rise to the occasion of teaching and engaging our students through technology.