I feel that Ms. Cassidy should be commended for stepping out of her comfort zone and developing the use of technology in her classroom. It takes a brave person to step out like that and try something new. It speaks well of Ms. Cassidy that she was willing to try to help improve the quality of her students education.
I like that she is using a class blog for her students to have portfolio of their work. This allows parents to see on a weekly basis the progress that their child is making . This will usually make parents happy.
I myself would like to have a class blog where all important information for the class can be found by students and parents. I would also like for my students to use class blogs to turn in assignments. I think one of the benefits that I could anticipate in doing this is just getting to the students interested in doing the work. Of course some parents might not like this. It is sometimes hard to get people to try new things. Parents and administrators both will have concerns about what a student may be seeing or doing on a computer.
I am still thinking about ways that I can address concerns of parents and administrators. Some of what Ms. Cassisdy uses would be very beneficial. First parents would have to sign permission slips. Also I would show examples of ways the blog would be a benefit in the classroom. There would hopefully be ways that the system could be made to work. I plan to continue to look at ways to implement class blogs and ways to maintain student protection. Hopefully I will have a starting plan when I get my first class.
Ouida,
ReplyDeleteI think you are very right that it does take a brave person to step out of their comfort zone! A lot of you have done a great job of this, including yourself, in EDM310 and we are very proud to witness it! It's not so hard to be brave, go out on a limb, and try something new with technology when you know that it is for the good of your students. This is what we need if education is to move forward! Trying something new with the right attitude and motivation can only bring about positive results, as Ms Cassidy's class demonstrates. Keep looking to these exemplary teachers and your lessons learned in EDM310 to help with your "plan"! Good job!
Carly
I think it is awesome that you are thinking about ways to implement technology into your classroom and also show parents that it is effective. If you can give parents good arguments as to why their children should use technology, I think they would find that it is useful for them as well. They can watch their children progress and they can keep up with what they are doing in class.
ReplyDeleteI also think that Ms. Cassidy should be commended for her work. She has done a wonderful job incorporating technology into her classorom and using her resources effectively to help her do so. All future teachers should take notes and learn from what she has done. She has created a successful educational program that includes technology... And it works! Good Post.
Caileigh McCulloch
" I myself would like to have a class blog where all important information for the class can be found by students and parents." Do both!
ReplyDelete"I am still thinking about ways that I can address concerns of parents and administrators." Don't worry too much about that now. There will be more support when you become a teacher. And most problems are very idiosyncratic.