Cassie’s Laws

I can’t believe that in 5 weeks my first year as a teacher will be over. It’s been full of ups and downs and sometimes I’ve wondered what on earth I’m doing but I’ve loved every minute. 

I’m pretty gutted that so far I have no job next year but looking forward to the experiences in store.

I was asked at my interview what I wished to develop next year and I said that I would like to develop ICT further. They questioned me asking why as they felt this was already a strength but to be honest I feel as though I have barely scratched the surface. I explained that I started out this year pretty naive to the impact of ICT and if I had the opportunioty to work with a class again I would start from a totally different point with a different perspective.

I have six girls in my class (the boys aren’t overly interested) with their own blogs and they really love it. Rachel, Rebecca, Emma, Jaimey, Memoona and Nicole are really loving their own online spaces. Since giving them their own wikis and blogs I have noticed a massive difference in their desire to write. Although they don’t always type every story onto their wiki/blog I think just knowing that they can share their great work with the world is enough to motivate them. 

In Carronshore we are now making up writing folios for the children instead of the old national test format. For these girls I have used stories off of their blogs and wikis rather than their class work as they tend to be much better. The girls are all very articulate and good at language but when they have written totally off their own back the difference in the content of their work is unreal. 

I really hope that the confidence that ICT and having an audience and a voice has given them stays with them throughout school even when they do not have the same opportunities to develop this.