Blog # 10

In the first video we watched it was done in the kids perspective of how blogging had helped them. The students said that blogging had improved their writing skills, as well as spelling skills. One student said that every time they create a blog post that they feel their writing skills are improving with every entry. One student said they liked blogging because it allowed them to put their work in the public for others to see and comment on. He continued on to say that he liked getting the comments because it helped boost his confidence. Other students said they got comments from other classes, and from their family members. The fact that students are enjoying having technology in the classroom is great, its expanding their learning abilities and taking learning from the book to note learning to the technology learning.

In the second video which is part 1 of a 3 part video question session with Kathy Cassidy. The first part she is talking about how she got started with incorporating technology into her classroom. She said it started with receiving computers in her classroom that had internet but did not have the options to download programs, she then turned to finding ways to bring the computers and the internet into the classroom by starting blogs, and creating videos that the students could watch and or participate in. She talks about how she starts working with her students from the beginning of the school year that starts in September and working with their blogging skills until they leave her classroom. She states that she has had mixed views about her bringing in technology into the classroom. Some teachers feel as if technology is not needed because the old way of teaching still works and is not flawed. Kathy Cassidy talks about ways she keeps the kids safe, some of the ways are only allowing them to post their first names, and not allowing pictures that can be matched with the students first name. These are great ways of keeping the kids safe when dealing with the internet, and I honestly had not put much thought into how i myself would keep my students safe when it came to their blogging. She ends this video by saying that all teachers should be technology literate and that it should go beyond being able to work a spreadsheet, she states that teachers should start developing online networks, such as twitter, twitter will allow them to reach out to other people who have the same interests as them.

In part two she was asked what media would be best for teachers just starting out in the technology world. She said that she really had no answer to that but said to go with what you the person who would be doing this was interested in. It its writing then start a blog, if its photography then create a flicker. She makes it clear that we should play off of it by what we are interested in. Cassidy also goes on to say that Twitter is a good resource because it can help create friendships between people who have the same thoughts and interests.

In the final part of the video, actual EDM 310 students were allowed to ask her questions. One question that was asked, was how often did she let her students blog in a week? She replied with usually once a week, but that it varied year to year with the size of the class she had and the number of helpers she had in her class too. With less helpers then the students would get to blog or have computer time more often. Another question that was asked was, can Facebook be used as a means of education? Cassidy answers that she believes that it can be used for education, but that she would suggest that the students create a Facebook strictly dedicated to school. That way the teacher could post on the news-feed and that would allow for the students to easily find or see any announcements that the teacher might have posted. These are the two questions that really stuck out to me because one I myself was unsure of how much a child should be in the technology world when in a classroom. I say this only because the class is not a computer course so there would have to be an even balance of computer time as well as other classroom times. The second question stood out because I had never thought of Facebook being and educational tool, which now I know that I can be if taken the right way.

I could see myself using technology in my classes, I could require them to create a weekly blog post about what time period in history we had go over that week, my requirements would deal with important facts, and dates that I made sure to stress in class lecture. This would be more so of a reflection on what the students had learned during the week. When it came around to test time they could refer back to past blog post to receive answers for the questions on the study guide I have provided them with, as well as look upon other students blog to get information they the writer might have missed when creating their blog. This is how I feel I could incorporate technology into my history classes.