C4T Rotating

C4T Wk# 1
Blogging through the Fourth Dimension by Pernille Ripp

In her post "Is there room for slow readers in your class?", Ms. Ripp writes on the different reading paces of children. In her classroom, she sets a goal for her students of reading 40 books. Well, some students achieve that goal and some do not. Some of the students that do not reach their goal get upset because they are slow readers. She has changed her thoughts on this goal and just reminds the children that as long as they read more than last year, then they are doing great.

I was not able to comment on her blog, but this is what I would have said. I think it is great that she is looking at the children individually instead of just focusing on reading 40 books. I'm not the fastest reader because I like to thoroughly understand what I am reading. But, because I am goal-oriented, I would have been a student that sped through the books to achieve the goal without benefiting from the reading. Also, praising the students for increasing their speed of reading is good because it allows them to continue to enjoy reading while they are improving their reading abilities.

C4T Wk #2
Teacher Tom's Blog

Tom is the sole teacher at a preschool in Seattle. In his post "This Is Child Abuse", he writes about the subject of standardized testing to kindergarteners. With NCLB and Common Core, students as young as kindergarten are taking standardized tests. The kindergarteners take them on a computer and often with a parent guiding them. One comment that was posted reminded parents that they can have their children opt out of taking these standardized tests.

I commented that this is all news to me. I was not aware that students are being tested so early. Also, as I have preschoolers that will be entering kindergarten in a few years, I was glad to know that parents can have their children opt out of the testing.


C4t Wk #3
Kindergarten Life

Tweets, Tweeting via Twitter @vermontkkids123
Sharon Davis teaches kindergarten and in this post, she writes about using Twitter in her classroom. She uses Twitter to help them learn about community and how to properly converse with others. She also uses it to give them a global perspective.

I commented that I am encouraged by her blog. I found that it’s great that kindergarteners can learn so much from Twitter. (They probably know more about it than I do, as I just signed on a few weeks ago.) I also commented that I’m going into secondary education but her post has encouraged me to try to use Twitter with my own young children.


C4t Wk #4
Kindergarten Life

The Value of Conversations
Sharon writes about her experience on a panel at the Dynamic Landscape Conference at Champlian College in Burlington, Vermont. Here is a video of the panel discussion. Through this experience she learned about the value of conversations with her students, and writes about how she is using technology to spark conversations. She is using Twitter, Skype, Google Hangout, and blogging in her class.

I commented that I watched one of the panel videos, and I liked her open-minded attitude toward change and how change can give us more tools for learning. I think it is great that she is incorporating so much technology in a kindergarten class. I told her that I especially like that parents are tweeting questions to the class. I commented that it's great when the parents are involved in their child's learning, and I thanked her for her encouraging blog.