Blog Post 3

Peer Editing:
Before I started watching these videos I thought I had a good idea of peer editing. All I had to do was look for grammatical errors, spelling errors, and punctuation errors. I was wrong, in the video What is Peer Editing I realized that you do have to correct the errors, but there are some guidelines. A lot of people do not like to be called out publicly about their mistakes. It could embarrass them and make you look like a bully, even if you are only trying to help. I see benefits for both; saying suggestions through a comment and through an email, but if I had to go with my gut I would put it in an email. Through a comment other students could see the mistakes, and make sure they didn't make any of their own. Towards an individual it could make them feel embarrassed, humiliated, and picked on. This is especially if the corrections are coming from someone your own age. I feel if you write an email it will seem less harsh, and more suggestive and caring.

In the video Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes I learned that not only do students make these mistakes, but so do adults. For instance Picky Patty, no one is going to have a perfect paper! The reason for this is because we are human. Ergo nothing we do is going to be perfect. As peer editors, or even as teachers, we can’t mark off or make a big fuss for small mistakes, such as there being to much space between a word and a comma. All in all there is good and bad ways to do a peer review and being negative and harsh is a bad way to review. Give a lot of compliments and suggestions, if the student decides he/she does not want to change their paper it is up to them. Do not be a Pushy Paula!

Technology for Special Needs
If it wasn’t for my laptop, tablet, and my IPhone I probably wouldn’t be able to function properly. I am on Google every 5 minutes, on Facebook every hour, and on my Gmail every 2-3 hours. So before I watched the video Technology in Special Education, I already thought technology was important.

I know that teachers need technology for every type of class, especially the special education classrooms. Most of the students have a hard time writing, speaking, or hearing. Having technology in the classroom would better help them get

their work done faster and more efficiently by letting them see, type, and hear better. Technology can help make the lesson more interactive and enjoyable. When students can look up the material and see pictures and animations, rather than a PowerPoint it makes them more engaged in the lesson.

Not only does it help the students, but it helps the teachers as well. When a student in special education, or not, has illegible handwriting it is difficult for teachers to be able to read and grade appropriately. It makes it easier for teachers and students to communicate to each other. Altogether technology just makes learning more fun.

How the IPad works with academics for Autism
I found the video How the IPad works with academics for Autism , inspirational and outstandingly brilliant. So when I was looking up an App I was very picky on what I would use. Then I found an app called the “First Word App”.

What it does is it calls out a letter for the child to pick and put in the right spot. The app spells out an animal, vehicle, or any type of word. After the word is put together it will spell the word out one more time and then says it aloud.

I would definitely use this in my classroom because this promotes reading and spelling. This app helps the children learn their ABC’s and helps them learn different objects. Plus I don’t know about anyone else, but when I see new exciting things, get to play on a computer, or work on a tablet I have more fun and am more willing to learn in the process. This is an app that I approve! In my opinion it will help the students have a fun way to learn.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students Digital Smarts:
Vicki Davis, on Harness Your Students Digital Smarts , has it all figured out in my opinion. She believes that we shouldn’t have to always be the teachers. That the students can show us, the teachers, a thing or two if we let them. Ms. Davis believes that using pen and paper is old school, and if those are the only tools we use only a select few students will succeed. She thinks that the students will succeed better if we start introducing technology to our students.

I agree with Ms. Davis I want to be able to teach a little to give the students a little push, and afterwards letting them teach me. I do not want to have

to always tell them what something is. I want them to go and research and look things up, and be able to find ways to search subjects. It is, in my opinion, more affective if we use the Internet. This is due to it being faster and more efficient researching a topic on three different sites within a couple hours. Instead of having to go to the library and look up in encyclopedias, which will take a couple days. I believe that if we give the students the “wheel” so to speak we will be amazed where they can take us.