Thursday, November 29, 2012

Kitten Kapture Captures Kids!


By:  Renata Copsey, Computer Teacher


Guest Blogger for 
November, 2012
All Saints Catholic School
Broken Arrow, OK

Wanting to capture the minds of my young students on the first week of school, I decided to create a blog about the new kitten we brought home from Indiana.  

Dusty’s story was adorable and I took many photographs to document his start in life. I began my first back-to-school lesson with what I did over the summer.  Dusty’s first post about his broken tail was being projected in large view on my Promethean board.  My students were engaged as soon as they walked into the computer lab. It was a fun week using Dusty’s blog as a way to welcome the students to the lab.  

But what happened after that was the real surprise to me.  The next week, when students entered the lab, they begged to see more about Dusty.  They told me stories of how they asked their mom to find Dusty’s blog online and find his YouTube channel.  He was becoming quite famous and that wasn’t the end of the surprise.  In class when my students completed their computer assignments, I began to see Dusty’s cute little face pop up on screen after screen in the lab.  The students would be scrolling up and down reading and looking at the photos of Dusty.  

I began to post more about Dusty and compose my posts to appeal to early readers.  I began to see this as a valuable tool for the classroom.  The students couldn’t wait to read more about Dusty.  One first grader was so inspired, he asked his mom to start a blog about their kitten. Not only was Dusty our special kitten at home, but he was quickly becoming a special kitten at school, reinforcing literacy and technology skills.  All of this was possible because of a simple little blog.  

Thank you, Dusty and Blogger.

1 comment:

Lee Anne Morris said...

Renata, thanks so much for sharing Dusty's adventure along with your adventure in blogging. This is a great example of how blogs can ignite a sense of community and learning.

Lee Anne