Blog Post #3

Peer Editing

What is Peer Editing?(a video)

Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial (a slideshow)

Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes (a video)

     I learned quite a bit from the above links on peer editing. I learned that it's always important to remain positive when peer editing. It's also key to make sure that you point out things your peer did well. Some of the things to check for are good organization, punctuation, grammar, spelling, and complete sentences. Did your peer misspell any words or use a run on sentences. Those examples are the kinds of things that it would be appropriate to correct.

     When peer editing, remember not to criticize or simply put someone down. When giving corrections it's important to stay on topic and criticize as little as possible. If you aren't very specific about your corrections, then the person that you are correcting will not know what to fix. For example, if you say "you misspelled some words," then you aren't being very helpful. You could say "I think that you misspelled arrow and bleed." The later example of corrections is the best mode to use.

Technology in Special Education

     Technology has made a huge difference in the way that Special Education is taught. It seems to be taking away some of the crutches that students have had in the past. In the video, Ms. Cook showed us what used to be used for teaching special education children. It doesn't even compare to what we have now.

    I think that I could easily use technology for special education students within my classroom. For a child with difficulty seeing, a smart-board can be used to show a book on a projector screen. For a child that has difficulty being around a great deal of noise, there is an iPad or iPod touch which allows students to listen to a book on tape. There are many possibilities.

Green Eggs and Ham  - Dr. Seuss
by  Oceanhouse Media

Apple Education Apps

    I found an app called Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss. It allows the student the option to read the book themselves, have the book read-aloud to them, or listen to some of the words. I used Green Eggs and Ham to learn how to read. One of the great benefits of having an app that reads is that I will be able to spend more time with other children and yet, that one child will still be learning how to read. Thus, the students have a new, interactive, and exciting way to learn.

Gary's Social Media Count

    Mr. Hayes Social Media Count is really astonishing. I would never have thought that so much happens within the space of a second/click. I think that the best way that we as teachers can keep up with such rapidly growing and changing technology is to remain aware and knowledgeable about the possibilities for in-classroom use.

    However, I also think that it's very important that we don't overload children with technology. It's the duty of the teacher to be aware of how much technology is too much. When so much happens every second, maybe it's important to slow down a bit in the classroom and let the children hands-on learn about the world around them.

A Vision of Students Today

    I've long thought that the way the current education system is set up is detrimental to itself. This video clearly shows that. In the video, one of the signs that bothered me the most was the one that read " 18% of my teachers know my name." I think it's terrible that we have such large class sizes that not even 1 in 5 professors know who we are! Our name is our identity. This is an issue that we have in every aspect of education.

    I'm of the opinion that we're going to have to embrace technology in order to properly educate large numbers of children. However, I think that children and the education system would be better served if there was a way for there to be small class sizes with hands-on activities that relate to the real world. We need to be real people with names, faces, and life stories.