First Grade Online

Title: First Grade Online
Author: Celeste Oakes

To begin, I was amazed at the dedication, patience and creativity of this teacher. She took it upon herself to introduce first grade students to telecommunications. I thought that there would be no way that students who could barely read and write were going to be able to compose email messages and read responses. I was wrong. The methods the teacher used in teaching these students about telecommunications enhanced their knowledge of reading and writing because instead of seeing it as a tedious task, they wanted to practice as much as they could in order to compose, read, and respond to emails from their peers, teachers, and pen pals in Alaska. It was also great to see how the internet led to enhancement in other subjects as well such as geography and science. The teacher would map out where their pen pals were from and where other emails they were getting were from. She also had students research answers to some questions they had regarding science. All in all, I give huge props to this teacher for her dedication and patience. Teaching first graders the concept of telecommunications is a huge and time consuming task but very rewarding in the end.

Q1: How would I use telecommunications in my classroom?
A1: I would use telecommunications in my classroom by hooking up with another teacher at my school. I think it would be beneficial for the students to chat with other students at their school whom they might not know very well. Maybe I could even do it with older students and they can talk to the younger ones about the different grades and subjects you learn as you grow up. I would also try and hook up with a classroom in the same grade level at a different local school. I think it would be hard to try and get a pen pal outside of your community, therefore a neighboring school would be my best bet. I just think that communication and socialization of students this age is extremely beneficial to them, let alone the fact that they are getting introduced to computers.
Q2: What subjects could my students research online instead of in the library?
A2: I think that almost all subjects can be researched online however I think only a few would work for younger students. I think that it would be great to assign an animal to each student, have them research it online, and give presentations in class based on their findings. I think this could also work with history as well. You could assign them each an important date, person, place, or event and they would have to research it and again present their findings. I think there are many aspects to researching on the internet that would work with elementary school aged children.