Blog Post #3

Peer Editing Videos

     In the two videos "What is Peer Editing" and "Peer Editing With Perfect Tutorial", I learned how to criticize a peer's writing in a positive way. There are three important steps. The first step is to give compliments explaining what you liked about their article. For example, telling them your favorite part or how you liked their topic. Then, make suggestions on how they could make their writing better. A couple ways to make suggestions would be to advise them on using more creative words or adding on to a sentence to make it have more clarity. The third step, is making corrections including grammar, punctuation, ect. This video gave me many different points to acknowledge when commenting on my peer's writing. It will even help me in the future for when I need to critique my students writing as well.

     The video, "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes", was adorable! All of the students did a great job of showing how not to peer edit. Meany Margaret was my favorite. There are many different ways to positively  give criticism of a writing. Suggest how to improve someone else's paper like how you would want them to suggest to you how to improve your own! Being pushy, mean, or loud is not the way to help someone fix their writing. The more positive the better; that way your peer won't get defensive towards you. 

     As for the peer editing I did for the C4C this week, I chose to do it publicly. The reason why I did it this way was because there was really no major problems with the writing except a few missing commas. If it were more severe, I probably would've positively critiqued it publicly then privately told them specifically what they needed to revise. That is the way I would want someone to do it for me.

Assistive Technology

     The Mountbatten is like a type writer for the blind. As the student brailles, the machine announces what is being brailled. It can save files and transfer files to a computer. This machine also converts the braille letters into print and displays in onto a screen. It helps to incorporate blind students into the classroom. More machines similar to this need to become invented so the blind won't feel like they are left out of the classroom. I would definitely use it in my classroom for if I have a blind student they can still interact in class discussion by typing what they want to explain.

     Professor Art Karshmer form the University of San Francisco created a very useful invention for the blind. It is a device used for math problems. There are blocks with braille and visual numbers on them. The student can put these blocks on a grid so they will be able to vertically line up mathematical problems. Before this invention, the blind student would have to position the numbers horizontally. This can dramatically improve math skills for the visually challenged. I would highly recommend my blind students to use this invention!

     I never knew how reliable an iPad can be to the blind! In the video,"iPad Usage for the Blind", it shows a blind man and how he can effectively read, search the web, and many other tasks using a voice over program. For example, he would tap once for the options available to him said aloud and twice if he wanted to choose an option. If the iPad were to ding, it means that there is no item to select on the home screen. Sliding three fingers from right to left turns to page for you. It is incredible how advanced technology has become and it has really benefited the visually challenged. If I ever had a blind student I would really recommend them buying an iPad with voice over to stay up to date with activities.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

 

     Vicki Davis is a teacher in the southern part of Georgia. She effectively incorporates technology with learning.  In her classroom,  her students create this virtual world on the computer called Open Sims. My guess is it's similar to the Sims computer game from years ago. Davis encourages her students to research on their own and she eventually found that her students were teaching her! What kid wouldn't want to create their own virtual video world?! Unique way to learn if you ask me.

     In my classroom, I personally don't think I will ever be using anything as advanced as a video game program since I will mainly be teaching 2nd graders. One the brighter side, computers may become handy! My students could learn how to use the internet and search for information needed for certain subjects such as history or reading. They can also start to learn how to type on a computer or even play educational games. Technology is becoming more popular in classroom every year.