Encountering E-Learning Education

This literary critique is a discussion on how Kathy Cassidy’s vodcast “Telling the New Story”has impacted me in my personal learning. The focus for this evaluative commentary is on weblogs as an educational tool for primary classrooms.

Kathy Cassidy is a year 1 teacher at Westmount School and is renowned for her innovative and creative use of technology in teaching and learning. Kathy Cassidy perceives her classroom as being much bigger than the four walls her students see. This is because not only their teacher is interested in their work, but so are many others scattered across the globe. Her students don’t perceive technology as a privilege or a novelty. It is deeply embedded into their daily learning and is utilised just as frequently as traditional educational tools such as paper and pens. Technology assists Kathy’s students in making discoveries, asking questions, sharing ideas and learning through interacting with the world. Weblogs are one of the many tools which Kathy Cassidy has used to develop an innovative and profound way of teaching and learning.

Interestingly Kathy Cassidy doesn’t perceive herself as a frequent technology user at home. However, when she was provided with computers for her students she endeavoured to do something worthwhile and valuable with them. Consequently she considered how they could be used resourcefully, imaginatively, meaningfully and effectively as a learning tool. In her vodcast she stated that ultimately her day in a year one classroom is not that dissimilar from any other year one classroom. The exception is that technology frequently substitutes traditional learning tools.

This innovative use of technology is particularly evident in her use of weblogs. Kathy uses a blog as an online environment for publishing students’ work. This publishing environment has a multiplicity of benefits including a wide audience and the feedback students’ receive from blog comments.  Kathy has observed that as a result on web blogs her students feel differently about their work because they have a global audience. Students thoroughly enjoy the way parents or friends comment on their work as a celebration their learning.

Additionally Kathy has connected her students’ learning to two classrooms internationally, in Manitoba and New Zealand. Students interact with other international students through commenting on their blogs. This global online interaction has provided numerous learning opportunities. Students have observed language differences through listening to podcast from students in New Zealand. Additionally they are frequently fascinated by the geographical differences experienced by students in New Zealand such as mountainous terrain or close proximity to the ocean. These learning experiences are only possible through this online educational sphere.

Parents also perceive the weblog work that students do as intriguing and captivating. One father commented on how he and his wife would frequently look at their son’s blog page during the day to observe his daily learning. Additionally this father commented on the genuine excitement and enjoyment his son had in showing his online work to his parents each night. This parent had also observed a notable development in his son’s writing skills throughout the year due to his use of weblogs. The use of weblogs has also been invaluable for parents fostering a learning environment at home. The interaction students’ have with classrooms internationally opens fields of exploration and discovery.

In the vodcast Kathy reflected on the way frequently the nature of technology can be frustrating and complicated. However, she has also observed how students gain many rewards when using technology in the classroom. Having a wider audience reading and commenting on students’ work give a great depth and meaning to learning. Kathy suggests teachers using Blog Meiseter in their classrooms as an easily accessible and straightforward door to the online blogging environment.

This vodcast was particularly useful in generating thoughts and ideas of how blogging can be used within the classroom in a variety of learning contexts. Kathy appeared to use Blog Meister as a forum for student discussion, as a publishing site for class work and as a discovery field for further learning. Ultimately Kathy believes the fundamental benefit of blogging is the global audience accessible through online learning. Students and parents also reinforced this idea in commenting upon on how learning was not limited to the physical classroom but rather went beyond traditional educational boundaries and limitations. This has made me consider how extremely rewarding it is for students to use bloggin educationally as their learning existed within a global context.

Reference

Kath Cassidy (Producer and Presenter). (2006). Yr 1 Class Use of Social Software. Telling the New Story. Youtube. Retreived February 25, 2008, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ8VAef8QM4

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