Blog Post #11

The most impressive thing about Little Kids...Big Potential video is that Ms. Cassidy said nothing. Her students, from her first grade class, explained what they do in their class. She had given her students the tools they needed to explore and learn for themselves. I thought it was great that she allowed them to use their Nintendo DS, because it made learning fun for the children. What was surprising about that is the students knew that they were learning while playing. This is something I would try in my classroom because it makes learning fun and students can take their work home. However, some children come from financially unstable homes and may not be able to afford a DS. This would be something I would have to consider. It was exciting to hear that the children wrote in notebooks and on their blogs, but that they liked writing on their blogs more because other people can see what they do and can comment. It was great to see the excitement and enthusiasm the children had for learning. I loved how they explain how someone should comments on someone else's blog. You should never say anything mean because it might hurt their feelings. So cute and innocent, yet smart and informative.



While watching the Skype Interview with Mrs Cassidy, it was amazing to hear that Ms. Cassidy had been given five computers and then had to research how to make them useful in the classroom. I find this impressive because she took on the challenge of teaching herself new technology so that she could teach her students. It goes back to the idea of learning to you can help others learn how to learn. I feel that Ms. Cassidy did a great job on this task. Like she says "technology isn't going away", so we need to embrace it so we don't fall behind the rest of the world.