Connected from the Start: Global Learning in the Primary Grades
Kathy Cassidy discusses her book on how K-3 teachers can use blogs, Twitter and Skype to connect young students with the wider world.
Author and educator Kathy Cassidy discusses her new book and how primary teachers can integrate technology into the classroom. “Connected from the Start: Global Learning in the Primary Grades”, makes a compelling case for connecting our youngest students to the world, using the transformative power of Internet tools and technologies. Cassidy presents both the rationale for connecting students “from the start” and the how-to details and examples teachers need to involve children in grades K-3 in using blogs,
Author and educator Kathy Cassidy discusses her new book and how primary teachers can integrate technology into the classroom. “Connected from the Start: Global Learning in the Primary Grades”, makes a compelling case for connecting our youngest students to the world, using the transformative power of Internet tools and technologies. Cassidy presents both the rationale for connecting students “from the start” and the how-to details and examples teachers need to involve children in grades K-3 in using blogs, Twitter, Skype and other social media to become true global learners.
Those interested in connecting with Cassidy should check out “Connected from the Start” book club for Connected Educator Month in the #ce15 community. Join her there to read, learn and think together on connecting primary students from the start!
Grade one teacher Kathy Cassidy began using social media with her students long before she wrote a book about it. In 2015, Cassidy described how blogging gave her youngest students an authentic audience, how she teaches digital citizenship from the start, and how primary teachers can explain connected learning to parents.
An authentic audience
“When I first began using social media in my grade one classroom, I had no idea where it would take me,” Cassidy said. “I didn’t know that there was anything missing from my classroom. I was simply looking for a way to use the technology that we had in a meaningful way beyond the digital worksheet type of games that were then available on the web.” Blogging gave her students a way to create. “Once we began posting online, I realized the tremendous potential that blogs and other web tools had to give my students an authentic audience, to help them understand and begin to practice the importance of digital citizenship and to give my students a perspective of life and learning beyond our classroom and community.”
Digital citizenship from grade one
“My first concern is always what is best for my students now,” she said. As she saw social media “being used unwisely by some older students,” she began to see that her work could shape how her students use these tools later. “We talk a lot about how we want others to see us in our online spaces and use our mistakes as learning moments,” she said. “Tools and social networks change quickly and I can’t possibly predict what media my students will be using in high school, but I hope what we are doing will have an impact on how they use whatever online spaces they are part of later in life.”
Creativity and confidence
After more than ten years of connecting her classroom, Cassidy said, “it’s honestly hard to remember what it was like in the classroom without these tools.” Technology “allows my students to be creative in sharing their learning in a way that was formerly impossible.” At her school, students lead their own conferences, choosing photos, screencasts and videos from their blogs to showcase. “The pride that shines in their eyes (and those of their parents) as they show these artifacts is a wonderful thing to see. They are not just creating on paper; they are creating digital artifacts that are viewable by the world. They see themselves as part of an online conversation about learning.”
Talking with parents
“When schools began to use ink and paper instead of slates and chalk, people protested that there was nothing wrong with the way things had always been,” Cassidy said. “But society had changed, and schools needed to change as well.” The best way to show parents what is possible, she said, “is to show what other classes are doing,” such as classes with Twitter accounts and blogs. “At the same time, teachers should have a solid plan for protecting the students’ identity to go along with those possibilities. This plan will vary depending on the culture of the community and the school district. I share my particular plan in Connected From the Start.”
Interviewee
Kathy Cassidy is a primary school teacher, author and class blogger who has won several awards, including the Canadian Innovative Teacher Award from Microsoft, the Canadian Regional Award for Reading and Technology from the International Reading Association and the Kay L. Bitter Award from ISTE. Cassidy is also an Apple Distinguished Educator.
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