Mentorship Blogging

This semester, I chose to mentor with Mrs. Cassidy’s first grade classroom in Moose Jaw, SK.  Recently in their classroom, they have become more familiarized with Google Earth and where they would be located, along with some of their blogging buddies, on a map of the world.  They have recently been introduced to the XO,  a tiny, inexpensive, flash-based laptop computer with a Linux operating system.  They have also been busy keeping in touch with their blogging buddies from school and from their home computers as well.  These buddies are not always just from Moose Jaw or even Saskatchewan or Canada; they can be found all over the world!  When I blog with Mrs. Cassidy’s students, I tend to focus on one or two students and comment on their work and writing around twice a week.  While it can be somewhat difficult blogging with students of such a young age who are still learning the basics of reading and writing, I have enjoyed the challenge of finding ways of responding to their blogs and finding something in common with the students and what they are learning both inside and outside of the classroom.  Inside the classroom, I think that the students’ introduction to Google Earth is a great example of something our ECMP class has in common with them; in fact, many of us were introduced to Google Earth in class for the very first time only a few short weeks ago!!  Students will also write about their interests and activities outside of the classroom as well, whether it’s a few sentences about their brother’s hockey game, or what they did for Valentine’s Day.  For me, I have found blogging with such a young classroom to be extremely educational and rewarding.  Blogging with Mrs. Cassidy’s classroom has provided me with a great opportunity to keep on top of what’s happening in today’s classroom in regards to technology and various other methods of learning.  It has also allowed me to get a better idea of what the students are thinking about both inside and outside of the classroom.  While the students may not always necessarily be quick to respond if they even respond at all, we still know that they are reading about what we have to say and taking in any suggestions or constructive criticism we may have regarding their spelling, sentence structure and punctuation.  Even a quick, ordinary response to their postings lets the students know that someone out there is interested in what they have to say, and allows them to become a member of a much larger global community. For those of you unfamiliar with the XO computer and the One Laptop Per Child initiative, here is a short video which may help explain things.  Enjoy!! 

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