Blog Post #3

Part 1






Peer Editing

What is Peer Editing? is a brief, but clear and helpful guide to what can be a tricky task, peer editing. So what is peer editing? It means working with someone your own age to help improve, revise, and edit his or writing. Sounds easy, right? Well, I find peer editing to be difficult because I don't want to be rude or hurt his or her feelings. However, if you follow the tips given in What is Peer Editing? you are sure to provide your classmate with helpful advice.

There are 3 things to remember when peer editing. The first step is complimenting. You should always start your peer edit with compliments and remember to stay positive. The second step is to make suggestions. You should give the writer specific ideas about how to make their writing better. These suggestions should include ideas about word choice, details, organization, sentences, and the topic. Your final step is making corrections. You should make corrections on punctuation, grammar, sentences, and spelling. If all of this is done correctly, you will have successfully peer edited a classmates work. For more information on peer editing you should check out the Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial. This is wonderful slideshow with great tools and advice for peer editing.

Another great and quite funny video to watch is Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes. This video describes common mistakes and behaviors when peer editing. You should watch it to ensure that you don't accidentally fall into any of these categories. For a plus, it will give you good laugh as well. Finally, remember not be a Picky Paula, Whatever William, Social Sammy, Jean the Generalizer, Mean Margaret, Loud Larry, Pushy Paula, Off-task Oliver, Speedy Sandy, or Defensive Dave!

Part 2

Technology in Special Education

Wow! What an amazing video by Lacy Cook! Her Technology in Special Education video proves just how important technology is in classrooms, especially those of special needs children. It is truly heart breaking knowing that there are children all over the world that are not provided with the resources they need to receive a proper education. In Mrs. Cook's classroom, laptops gave students without a voice a way to speak. That is a gift in itself. These laptops also help children with difficulty writing. It is easier for them to type their assignments than to write them. This helps them complete their assignments more efficiently.

With help from other technology like smart boards and ipods, it is easier to keep the attention of students. I have never seen technology make such an impact on someone's life. It is truly a facilitator of student participation. Mrs. Cook says that with technology her students are interested and eager to work. One of her students, Sean, has trouble reading small print. His laptop has a program called Zoom Text that enlarges the text so he can easily read it. Simple things like that make life and learning easier for these students. One day, I hope that I can bring technology into my classroom and make it as useful for my students as it is for Mrs. Cook's class.

How the iPad Works with Academics for Autism

How the iPad Works with Academic for Autism is a very inspiring video. Inspired by what I saw in this video I searched for an app that I could use in my classroom one day for a special needs child. I found the app Read&Write: Letters, Sounds, and Combinations. This app can be used to help students with their recognition and pronunciation of letters. When touched, each letter has an illustration that makes the sound of the letter. This can help students with a speech problem. Also, this app allows you to practice tracing the letter to increase memory retention and develop fine motor skills.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Amazing is all I have I have to say about this video by Vicki Davis. Before I go any further, everyone needs to take a moment and watch Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts. As I watched this video and others on technology in the classroom, I find myself getting gittery and excited. Mrs. Davis is truly an innovative teacher. I agree with her theory that every child can learn when given other options than just pencil and paper. She challenges her students everyday to learn something new. When using a new term most teachers would just automatically tell the definition or what it means/how to do it, instead Mrs. Davis simply uses the new term and her students research on their own the definition. I believe this encourages self confidence and makes children eager to learn.

Mrs. Davis is teaching her students to become self sufficient thinkers. She lets her students figure things out for themselves and teach it to her and their classmates. This is empowering to students. Seeing teachers like this really motivates to become the best teacher I can be. I hope that one day I work in a school with the equipment and technology that will allow to run a classroom like this. I want to use to technology to encourage my students the way Mrs. Davis. Like I said earlier, I was honestly getting excited when I watched this video. I can not wait for my day!