Blog Post #3

C4C Assignment
For my C4C assignment I chose to comment publicly because my classmate had a wonderfully written blog with very few errors. Had she made a number of mistakes in her blog I would have sent her a private email outlining the errors. I believe that criticism should always be constructive and pointing out someone's mistakes publicly can be humiliating and unnecessary. A private email would alert one to the mistakes without making one feel embarrassed or even bullied.
Peer Editing
I learned a few things from the video Writing Peer Reviews Top 10 Mistakes. I am sometimes guilty of "racing towards the finish line" or being a "Jean the generalizer". However, I always try to be positive (compliments) as well as give critiques (suggestions and corrections). As I stated above I think that a peer edit is a great opportunity to help someone, not humiliate.
In the slideshow Peer Edit with Perfection I also learned different parts of a post to look at, and make suggestions about, when editing. I had never considered suggesting a peer use a different or stronger word in their post. Also, suggesting the use of more detail. Most of the time you can get a feel for what message someone is trying to send, but suggesting more detail in order to gain greater clarity is something I hadn't considered before.
Technology in Special Education
I really enjoyed this video. It was extremely interesting to see how technology is benefiting these students. In this video we see a few students who use their computers to communicate. They do not speak and so they type what they want to say. At first they give one young man a sheet of paper and it is too hard for him to communicate. They aren't clear why it is more difficult but one could assume that it is because the words are spelled out without being displayed and perhaps the message is lost some where along the way. Another student says that he used to take a long time to complete homework but now he is twice as fast! That is impressive!
I think that using computers for communication and homework for any type of student is a great tool. When you use it to better a student's life, that is amazing. I would use technology for my own special needs children to grab their attention and have them be interactive. I would also use it for communication for students who are unable to speak.
iPad in the Classroom
I liked the app called iWrite words. This app teaches children how to write and spell words while playing a fun game. The letters appear and a child can trace the letters and form the word. It also teaches children about numbers (writing them). I would use this app to help children with their writing skills and spelling skills. It would be a great tool for those who need to improve their handwriting as well as learn new words.
Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts
This video can be viewed here: Harness Your Student's Digital Smarts. In this video Vicki Davis shows us how she is using technology in her classroom. She believes that when you only have paper and pencil then only certain kinds of students will succeed. Her focus is teaching the students new software, learning how to learn, and use various online tools such as wiki and blogging. Two portals they work through are Digiteen (an online wiki) and the Flat Classroom Project (a source that connects students all over the world).
What Vicki Davis is doing is a new way of teaching. She is taking the classroom and "turning it upside down". By introducing this technology to her students she is preparing them for the future.
I think what Vicki Davis is doing is great. She is empowering her students in various ways. I agree with her that knowing everything before you teach it is not they way to think. Students feel a great sense of empowerment when they have to dig a little deeper and solve the problem on their own. Sometimes the idea of using so much technology in the classroom can be overwhelming and scary. However, taking a different look at it and thinking "I can teach this and learn new processes as well" is not only essential, but makes the realization easier to grasp.