Little Kids... Big Potential

Little Kids... Big Potential

   In Little Kids... Big potential, Kathy Cassidy showcases the methods by which her first grade students learn through technology. They use blogs, a classroom web page, wikis, video, Skype and Nintendo DS to share, collaborate and learn in their classroom. The video features several students discussing the methods they use to learn. They practice their vocabulary and writing abilities through writing on their blog. They use the web page to collaborate with their classmates as well as organize their learning tools, of which they can access even when at home. The class created a wiki to find new information. They use Skype to collaborate with another first grade class in another town. They use their Nintendo DS to play games that helps them to work on spelling and math.
   Mrs. Cassidy is doing an amazing job of creating a great foundation for her students. She is instilling in them the skills necessary to succeed in the proverbial tomorrow. It is amazing to see students so young display such mastery of PLNs.
   As a future social studies teacher, I can see so many benefits to come out of this type instruction. By utilizing web pages and blogs, I could ask my students to write daily on their own personal blogs on topics related to the curriculum we are studying. This would give the students an opportunity to showcase the work for all to see. Not only would this give them the confidence for writing for an audience, they would have the ability to read their fellow classmates' blogs and collaborate with them accordingly. I also believe that a wiki dedicated to historically relevant information would would be a great location for students to turn to when the time comes to write a paper or report.
   The possibilities for implementing these type techniques in the classroom are endless. I could see myself using every technique featured in the video. While high school history students might not receive a lot of benefit from playing Nintendo DS games designed to improve basic vocabulary, they would most definitely benefit from organizing a personal learning network. This would enhance their education not only in relation to the class I teach, but with every class they ever take. Every student we teach, we have the opportunity to enrich our student's academic abilities that span outside of our own disciplines. By using technology in my history class, they are preparing themselves to succeed in a later class.
   The classroom featured in this video is the classroom of the future. How well we as teachers incorporate technology into our classroom directly effect what our students accomplish in the future in a technological world.