Blog Post # 3

Peer Edit

For this assignment, I was told to watch some very informative links about peer editing. One very good link I have posted under My Links in the sidebar. Stephanie Hogue is my classmate that I was assigned to review. Her blog post number two was very informative. I really did not notice any errors, except for one. She wrote about Mr. Wrinkle Wakes, and in her beginning paragraph she did not capitalize Winkle. Other that that, she has good summaries and clarity. Everything she commented on flowed together smoothly. I liked the fact that I could relate to her post in certain areas. For example, when she wrote about her grandmother, I could relate to that and gave her some pointers on how to get her involved with technology. She also has some good ideas on creativity. I loved the fact that she let her daughter be creative with the banana picture. Overall, I believe that Stephanie's post was good and I didn't get bored with it either; which is a good quality.




Technology in Special Education

Lacey Cooke uses this video to tell the world about how important technology is in the classroom. She teaches a special education class, and uses technology very effectively. Her students are mostly verbally impaired and they use the computers to communicate. I was very effected by this short video, because I am interested in special education. I never realized how technology could be used in ways that the SPE children could maximize their learning.
One boy, Kris, can not speak and if he tries it is very hard for anyone to understand him. He uses the computer to type whatever he wants to say. Kris seemed excited that he had a way to communicate. The audio books on computers, phones, i pods is a very effective way when the children are doing silent reading, I could use that idea in my classroom. Instead of teachers and assistants reading aloud to the students; they could feel active and empowered by listening to the books on their own. Empowerment of students is one thing I hope to accomplish in my classroom. The zoom applications on the computers help the visual impaired and I would use these applications to do the smart board for my lessons. I believe it would grab their attention more effectively.

Pattern Recognition for I Pad

This would be an app that I would use in my classroom. It has a variety of patterns and shapes to use for matching or patterns. The user (teacher or parent) can pick the settings to the level of difficulty. This app would be used to help the children mastered the skill of patterns and placing the missing thing in a pattern.
Some special needs children have difficulty understanding what is missing in patterns or organizing things. This would be a fun and exciting way to help them accomplish that skill. The child would have control over the game and it would help build logical thinking in a way that does not make the children feel like they are actually learning. Sometimes children perform better if they think they are just playing a game, but in reality they are learning a very important skill.
Each puzzle/pattern is different and the children can help customize the categories, which would make them feel as if they are contributing to the lesson. This app would improve the matching skills of the children. Instead of a paper/pencil assessment, teachers could use this to determine the mastery skill of students. They would be participating actively in an entertaining way. This would also improve their learning experience because it would be fun. Children learn more effective when they are interested in the activity they are participating in. I think this would be a valuable asset in the classroom for special needs children.


Social Count Media

The social media counts was very surprising. I could not believe the many hits that were going on every second. As for my career as a teacher, I believe that technology will be used more and more as time passes. I also think that soon all children will have so much knowledge of computers, and use it for basically everything. How could we live without the technology that we require today? It is important to include these technological devices in schools. As a educator I plan to include them in everyday use and as much as possible. I believe it will be more exciting for students and I think they will be more eager to learn.


A Vision of Students Today

Children today are more interested in many things other than school work. Micheal Wesch clearly proves that in his video. Most students do in fact sit in class and play on their phones and many other things. Teachers could use these devices to their advantage. Instead of writing on a chalk board, teachers could incorporate power points and the students could upload them to follow the lesson. Most teachers already use the smart board to teach their lessons.
Smaller class size could cut down the amount of distractions in the classroom. In small classes the students are more active and have more one on one contact with the instructor. That is a major contributor to effective learning. I personally prefer small classes. When a teacher knows my name, I feel more at ease because it makes me at ease. The participation rate is also higher in small classes. Students, as well as teachers, learn more about the other people in the class.
Students create most of the problems with their learning experience, because they do chose to sit in class and do other things rather than paying attention. I will say that teachers could help with that problem. They could have more active lessons and encourage the students to participate. Participation is a great factor to have in the classroom. It creates situations where the students can interact. This movie put things in perspective for me, I never realized how many students just did not even read the textbooks or just focused on other things. It is going to be a challenge as a teacher to gain control over these distractions in the classroom; but I hope to have student-centered activities that grab their attention and keep it.