Assignment #1, "Teddy Bears Go Blogging" response

2.   My first reaction to Teddy Bears Go Blogging, by Brenda Sherry, was that it seemed like a similar version to the idea of ‘Flat Stanley’.  From what I understand, Flat Stanley is a cut-out drawing, decorated and colored by an elementary level student, and taken home by that student to document/photograph his adventures and daily activities.  A friend of mine once mentioned her little sister had this project and was asked to mail Flat Stanley to family members/friends to do so as well.  Brenda Sherry’s idea took this concept to an even more inspired, meaningful level.  By connecting students from one country to another, in her case Canada to Australia, students are able to learn about other cultures hands-on.  I can only imagine how exciting it must be for students to instantly send and receive messages, blogs, photos, etc with other children their own age in another place.  I remember as a kid years ago in elementary school, we were each assigned a ‘pen pal’ from another country to send letters, photographs and drawings once a month or so.  I remember the thrill in having a friend in another place far away to communicate and share things with.  The idea of having instant communication online takes the old ‘pen pal’ days to another dimension.  This increases the amount and depth of communication, as well as keeping up with the excitement levels.  I like the idea Brenda Sherry had in having her students blog at home, with supervision.  In this day and age, we can never be too careful.  She states, “I receive an e-mail copy and the option to publish or reject the comment. This was a goof way for me to screen the content for appropriateness and to make sure that Internet safety was a priority.”  Teddy Bears Go Blogging is just another fabulous innovation in the world of education.