Thursday, June 7, 2012

Blog Post #3

Kids in a classroom

Part 1
a. The video "What is Peer Editing?" was very informative. It showed me how to correct peers without being so harsh. First you start with compliments and always stay positive. Any negativity will hurt their feelings and I definitely wouldn't want anyone being negative towards me and what I write. Second, make suggestions and check to see if the word choice sounded right, if they used details, check to see if their thoughts were organized and if the sentences were correct with no fragments or run-ons. Finally, you will make corrections on grammar, punctuation, sentences and spelling. I am so sensitive and don;t like anyone telling me what I did wrong in any case so, I really felt like this video was just what I needed to hear.

b. The slideshow "Peer Edit with Perfection" was similar to the video and basically was stating how to critique in a harmless way so that the author understands what they need to improve on or fix. Nobody is a perfect author therefore I believe everyone is always going to have something to say about what they read. I personally do not like being critiqued, whether it's good or bad because I know I have my faults and weaknesses. But, I will try to stay focused and positive as to what my classmates have to say. Maybe I've just had bad experiences with others who don't know how to be sensitive or positive when providing feedback.

c. The video "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes" was hilarious. I thought in every situation it related to me or someone I knew. I can see myself being a Picky Patty because I know I pick at every little thing when I see it needs editing or revising. BUT, I will try my hardest and follow the rules in peer editing. The one that I could see myself being is Defensive Dave. I wear my heart on my sleeve most of the time and it's not hard to hurt my feelings but I will put up a wall just for this blog and try not be so defensive. I'm glad we have these videos to watch to help us understand how to approach certain situations. I will definitely show my students this video before editing another student's work.

Part 2
a. The video "Technology in Special Education" really touched my heart. I never even knew there were so many technologies that accomadated to special needs students. I absolutely love how the teacher strives to bring them more resources to use to communicate and to build their skills on. We need to expand the technologies for special needs to every state in the country. I hope to be fortuante enough to have those accomadations for my special needs students one day. I am not familiar with teaching special needs children but I do hope to learn how to and where to find resources I need in order to help them succeed. I could use the iPod touch for reading of books so the students can listen to them in a quiet area with headphones. Also the mouse that scrolls through text and can type in a word document is awesome for special needs students. The keypad that is used to spell out words to communicate with others is amazing as well. I love how each student had something different to learn with. Also, I really liked the zoom text program the boy had to magnify the text so he could see it better. All those technologies are so great to have and I can't wait to learn about more in the future.

b. After watching the video "How the iPad Works for Academics with Autisum," I just couldn't stop smiling. Braden's parents were so rewarding and motivating and he fed off of that. I can not wait to purchase an iPad soon and download these apps for students and my own children. Autistic or not I think they are wonderful. The app to download for counting is "Toddler Counting" and it helps with autism children by letting them touch while hearing and seeing the number and objects. The sight word app is "My First Words" and that helps with seeing and hearing the words as you read them. These apps are very interactive and requires your complete attention. The writing app is awesome. I will probably download that if my iPhone lets me. It is called "Kids Writing Pad" and it allows you to write a word on handwriting paper and let the child copy it. I loved that video too! An app I would download for my autism students would be "Marble Math" because it is a fun and engaging way to learn math concepts. It shows multiples, addition, subtraction and many other objectives children learn in a math classroom.

3. In the video, "Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts" I am very skeptical because these technology based classrooms are new to me. I had one computer class in highschool and that was 10 years ago so to see a classroom with students doing nothing but sitting on the computer doesn't make me believe that that is the best way to learn. I understand there is so much technology out there and the future will depend on that but what happened to science class where you experimented with things? What happened to art class where you were free to draw and create from your mind-not anyone's blog or website. Guess I'm old fashioned or just OLD but I don't think of a classroom being fun and creative by just sitting on the computer all day long. I love that she is trying to expand the technologies to the world and has done a wonderful job. I think the term "Teacher-preneur" is awesome and more teachers need to be like her. The blog "Digi Teen" and the "Flat Classroom Conference" website is a great way for the world to connect and share their thoughts and beliefs. She reminds me a lot of this class because she is similar to Dr. Strange by making us look up answers to our own questions instead of him telling us. Don't get me wrong, I do agree with that and think the more we explore all these programs and videos/blogs the more we will know and better our technology vocabulary and skills. I am glad he has outlined some assignments and give us many resources to complete them.

5 comments:

  1. Through out your blog I have realized WE think a lot alike, a few of your major points correlate with mine! I really related to how you felt about the Autism video, I have a nephew with Autism so to see how technology helped that child truly made me happy :) I also am thankful for all of the resources and assignments we have been provided with to enhance our classrooms, like you I am new to this and look forward to learning new techniques.

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  2. Hi Courtney! You are truly a writer "from the heart"! When I read your blog post, you made me feel how I perceive that you felt when writing. It concerned me that you do not like to be critiqued, but I am glad that you are going to work on not being a Defensive Dave this summer. I saw very few sentence structure errors. A lot of times I like to read over my work and think..(How can I reword this sentence so that it is clear to not only me, but my audience?)Try this.

    I loved your post about Vicki Davis! It is the same thoughts I had when we watched "Classroom Disruption". I am very skeptical as well about the idea that the classroom will or cannot be fun without a laptop near by! You are right! What did happen to free drawing and science experiments?
    This was a great blog! Take Care!

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  3. Thanks Angyl! I'm trying really hard not to be a Defensive Dave! Nice comments like yours are helping! :)

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  4. Hello Courtney,

    This was a very well-done blog post. I hope you won't run across any terribly negative comments, but I'm glad you're trying to open yourself up to growth. It's part of the whole "becoming a teacher" process. We all have to be willing to take criticism, whether positive or negative, in order to become the best we can be. I know it's hard to hear things about yourself that aren't exactly filled with sunshine, but sometimes those comments are what spur us to achieve the most. I hope you get as much as you can out of this class. :)

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  5. Thanks Bailey! I know firsthand because I've taught kindergarten for 2 years and wow those were challenging! :) i look forward to going back and using everyone's advice!

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