Kindergarten Diva Blog

 Last year I was fortunate enough to take a professional development session with Devon Caldwell and I have been following her blog Kindergarten Diva ever since. Devon has been teaching kindergarten in Oak Lake since 2008, and a combined JK and SK class for four years. Devon is an accomplished educator; she is a Microsoft Expert Educator, has received the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence, a ManACE award, and the FLBSD Early Years Teaching Excellence Award. Her work with technology in the classroom is plentiful, engaging and exciting. Devon's students are very lucky.

Devon's most recent post (February 19, 2014) is one of my favourites. It provides readers with insight into who Devon is as a person and as an educator.  She participated in an interview with a Brandon University student and really explains how she uses technology in a classroom, while linking it to curricula. As a new teacher, I really enjoy that Devon was also a struggling technology user at the beginning of her career. It gives me hope that I too can use many of the tools she is. I am happy to say I have learned a lot about using technology in the classroom and different ways to incorporate a variety of medias into my teaching style. That being said, I know there is still a plethora of information I need to know.

The question I responded to most was "is there any advice you would give to someone who is new to using technology or is unsure about using it?" Devon starts off by saying that we don't need to know everything, we just need to know enough. Basically she states that if we can turn it on, we can use it. Like attempting to succeed at a sport or a task, we need to practice with technology. For students in today's schools, that is not the case, they don't know a world without it. As educators, we need to be willing to learn with our students; we need to take risks and fail in order to grow. Using technology in classrooms is not an option. It is a disservice to our students if we are not providing them ample opportunities to use different medias, as they will be required in their futures.


Below is a link to Devon's blog Kindergarten Diva. I encourage you to check it out, she really does have wonderful ideas for using technology in a classroom.
http://kinderdiva.blogspot.ca/