Blog Post #11

Ms. Cassidy's Class

It is absolutely amazing how technology has opened up the possibilities for learning. When I was a student in high school, in the 1990s, computer hard drives were categorized by MB, and now TB is standard. Everyday in this class I learn more and more about the way learning is changing, and its changing to suit the needs of a new generation. I will be teaching this generation within a couple of years. Ms. Cassidy embraces technology that the kids understand and want to use, and it empowers them. Anything that is fun is retained much faster than in other methods. My kids can learn lyrics to whole songs because it is something they are interested in and want to know. However, if you put a study guide for an exam in front of them, they tend to stumble and jumble the information.

I have three sons and a two year old daughter. My sons always have their iphone, ipod, or tablet connected to their body in some way. If they are not listening to music they are playing a game or searching for the next thing they want to order from Amazon with their chore money. My daughter is absorbing everything that they do, and tries very hard to replicate their actions. I have heard that Mobile County Public Schools are trying very hard to move towards using technology in similar ways to Ms. Cassidy's class. The students will be allowed to bring their own device(smartphone, tablet, or handheld gaming device) to school, in which they will interact through wireless capabilities. I attended the education summit at USA a while back and what I heard was a school district that is eager to move forward into these new avenues of learning.

Mobile County will be where I seek a teaching position following graduation. I know I will want to use every bit of technology I can to reach my students. As a history teacher I will make use of the special tool, virtual field trips, I blogged about a while back. It will be something a student can do while on the school bus ride home in the evenings or while staying at grandma's house on the weekends. Most students have internet access but for the ones who do not, I will allow class time to complete any online assignments. In class activities can revolve around an online classroom/blog for the students to access everything they will need to know as far as instructions. With this type of setup if for some reason I were to be absent from school, as the teacher, it would not hinder the learning process of my students. A substitute teacher would be able to carry on class as usual. I am sure things will have changed even more over the next couple of years so I have to be prepared to seek and use the new technologies. To see first graders in Ms. Cassidy's class effectively using the current technologies encourages me and proves that it works as long as the students are properly guided. Embrace Change!