Blog Assignment #3

After Reading Paige Ellis' Blog Assignment #12
As Paige suggested, I watched this video on peer editing and came away learning a few important details when it comes to editing my fellow classmates' work. The narrator in the video pointed out three steps to peer editing.

1. Compliments- There is one important rule of peer editing and that is to stay positive. You can do this easily by starting your edit using compliments. Always make sure to tell the writer what he/she did well.
2. Suggestions- This means to give writers specific ideas on how to improve their writing. Whether you suggest different word choice, the use of more details, for the writing to have better organization, for the writer to have varying sentence length, or that the writer needs to stay on topic better. And just like compliments, always stay positive when making suggestions.
3. Corrections- When making corrections make sure to check for: punctuation, grammar, sentences, and spelling. 

When peer editing, make sure to follow these three steps, be positive, and be specific.

Also, another nice article to view on peer editing is this one. This slide show covered the three main points that were pointed out in the first video I discussed. However, it went into much more detail such as:

1. Compliments- Use sentences such as: I really liked your topic, I think you used a lot of good details, This was really fun to read because..., etc. These suggested sentences are easy ways to give good compliments
2. Suggestions- The overall theme of peer editing is to stay positive. So, instead of saying "It doesn't make sense,"  try saying, "If you add more details after this sentence, it would be more clear." The point of peer editing is to help the writer, so try not to use words that have a negative connotation.
3. Corrections- This is probably the only slide in the whole slide show that is essentially the same as the video from above. 

I highly recommend this slide show because it goes into further detail on how to give better compliments, suggestions, and corrections. It also gives you an example of writing that needs editing and walks you step-by-step on how to edit it properly.

Another video to watch is titled Writing Peer Review TOP 10 Mistakes. This humorous video is done by 4th and 5th graders showing you how to not peer edit. They use terms such as Picky Patty, Jean the Generalizer, Speedy Sandy, and seven others. The video shows Picky Patty as a girl who just "nit-picks" at a students paper by pointing out small things that are not that important. She points out things like a period that looks like a comma, a half a centimeter of the title is not underlined, and many small things like that. Jean the Generalizer shows a student who when critiquing her peers paper just generalizes the mistakes and never points out any specific examples. The video shows Speedy Sandy as a girl who points out her peers' mistakes but is only focused on finishing the assignment and not genuinely editing the work for her fellow classmate.

All three of these links that I discussed were very helpful and I recommend watching/reading them. Make sure when peer editing to always stay positive, be specific, and use the three steps. No one likes a Picky Patty or Speedy Sandy so make sure to avoid those examples. When peer editing, remember you're trying to help the writer become a better writer and the best way to do that is by lifting them up.

Issues Related to Adaptive Technologies
Technology in Special Education is a video made by a special needs teacher that shows the success of using technology in the classroom. Many students, who were shown in the video, had trouble learning and communicating before bringing laptops into the classroom. The technology used by the students kept them engaged in the lesson and also gave them a sense of independence.
The use of technology was not just limited to using laptops. The teacher showed one of her students, Corbin, who had trouble reading and, before technology, required someone to assist him in reading. Now though, Corbin no longer requires a teacher to assist him. He uses an iPod Touch to listen to an audio-book while reading along with it and is no longer required to go outside during silent reading time in the classroom. The next student shown in the video is Kris. Kris has trouble communicating, so the teachers rely on the laptop that Kris uses in order to communicate with him. Before he was using a laptop, Kris would have to use a communication board in order to complete his classwork.

Communication Board

Now, however, Kris uses a laptop to communicate and complete his classwork. Having Kris use a laptop allows him to have a sense of independence and I'm sure makes Kris proud he does not need special attention from the teacher in order to communicate.

With the use of technology, the special needs student is no longer at a huge disadvantage in the classroom. Any student, special needs or not, can benefit from using technology in the classroom. Whether using an iPod Touch, a laptop, or by using slideshows during a presentation, a teacher can now keep a child's attention and help those that are willing to learn.

After searching through the Apps Store in iTunes I would definitely use the app Proloquo2Go. Proloquo2Go is a full-featured augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) solution for people who have difficulty speaking. One of the most important things for a classroom is communication, without it teachers would never know if the information they are teaching is being learned. I would use this app in order to help communicate with a special needs child. I would also use it to help teach them that they can be an independent individual. Many kids/adults want to be independent in life, and this app would meet that want for a special needs individual.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
Make sure to watch this video because it shows how teaching is changing with technology. Vicki shows how, in her classroom, not only does she teach her students, but they also teach her as well. The video shows her students not just teaching each other, but connecting with others around the world. The use of technology in the classroom encourages students to share information with each other and offers a new way for students to learn new material.

We, as students, should look at ourselves not only as just a student, but also as life-long learners. Being a life-long learner means that you are never satisfied with the knowledge that you have and are willing to continue learning new things everyday. With the rate that technology is improving, it is necessary that we are open to learn about these technologies and how they can be used to teach students effectively.

Project #2 Wordle

Blog Assignment #2

Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version
After watching Dr. John Strange's video titled Did You Know? 3.0 - A John Strange 2012 Version, it really opened my eyes to truly how much the world advances by leaps and bounds almost by the second. We (the U.S.) must be careful and stay "on top of our game" before we get left in the dust by other countries (in terms of education and the use of technology). Also, the video shows the explosive use of technology in the world today through the use of such sites as YouTube and Google. I highly recommend to watch this video before reading the rest of this post because it also hits on other points that I do find very interesting.
One of the first points brought up in the video is that 25% of the population in India with the highest IQ outnumbers the entire population of the U.S. Man is that scary, and should really inspire everyone to really step their level up and push harder to be a better student and/or worker. The U.S. is supposedly the most dominant country in the world, but if we do not progress we will soon lose that title and be stuck here wondering what happened.
In the time that it's taken you to read this, there has been over one million YouTube videos watched and over 48 hours of video has been uploaded to YouTube. So that cool new video you watched the other day is going to be forgotten before you realize it. Yes, some videos are just dumb and not worth watching, but there are some videos out there (like the one I am discussing here) that contain great information and can really make a difference.
Google has also seemed to have taken over the world. I know many times when I don't know an answer to a question that someone has asked me and I've just responded with, "I'm not sure, let me Google that." We all have, and what is insane is that over 1.3 million people Google something every minute.

Mr. Winkle Wakes
This video titled Mr. Winkle Wakes was originally made by a professor to use as a conversation starter to discuss the use of educational technology. It begins by showing Mr. Winkle (Rip Van Winkle) waking from a hundred year slumber and discovering a new world and his first day in the "new world."
The first place Mr. Winkle goes to is work. He is amazed how people can print off pictures onto a sheet of paper and how people can communicate with each other half way across the world by just using a computer screen. It weirds Mr. Winkle out so he decides to go to the hospital since he is not feeling good. There he sees many different machines that are keeping people alive and realizes then that even the hospital has advanced so much that it makes him feel uncomfortable. Mr. Winkle decides to leave from the hospital hoping to find somewhere that is familiar. After walking for a little while he stumbles across a school. The sights he saw were very familiar: the students desk in lines, the teacher lecturing, the students taking notes. After spending the day in the classroom, he did notice one of those machines that he saw at work and the beginning of the day and also at the hospital, but he wasn't worried about it because it was in the back of the room and had dust all over it.
This video was made to start a discussion about the use of educational technology. In my opinion, I think this video is already out of date. It was made in 2008 and since then there have been multiple schools go to more technology based education. I am not currently in any class where it is not required for me to have a computer, and I'm sure it is that way for many college students. The use of technology in education doesn't stop at the college level, however, it is also starting to take hold in grades K-12. Education is constantly evolving, but the problem is that it just seems to be evolving too slow.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity
Sir Ken Robinson is a very entertaining and insightful speaker. After watching Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity I have a different view of the education system as a whole. Sir Robinson brings up the point that educators today are teaching students with the idea that the students would one day become professors. This thinking, Sir Robinson says, takes away from a student's creativity.
I definitely agree with Sir Robinson in this video. He says that all education systems are the same way with  arithmetic and language being the most important thing we study and arts are on the bottom of everyone's list. An education system made that way does limit a person's ability to be creative. The reason that the education system was created this way was because the point of education was for students to have a job once they graduate. Well, now and days there are many different types of jobs offered. This world is no longer limited to desk jobs and their is no need to teach like it is.

A Day Made of Glass 2
All I can say about this video is wow. The future of education and medicine is certainly a very bright one. Please take time out of your day and watch this: A Day Made of Glass 2 made by Corning. The days of just lecturing students and them taking notes will soon be a thing of the past. Like I said earlier, classes are moving towards using technology more in the classroom. This video not only uses technology in the classroom, but it pushes towards interactive technology in the classroom. Students do not just see a color grid and how colors mix to make other colors, but they can physically mix the colors together using an interactive table. A doctor in this future can communicate halfway across the world by just standing in a room with a glass wall.
In all these videos that I've watched today their has definitely been a theme. That theme is technology can and will be shaping education in a positive way and we as future educator's need to embrace it. Dr. Strange's video touched on the fact that technology is absolutely booming and is available for many different people. Mr. Winkle Wakes showed the fact that many classrooms, as of 2008, were an "old school" type of setting and how education needs to embrace technology. Sir Robinson's video made sure to point out the fact that the way we have viewed education in the past needs to be changed, many jobs require creativity these days and we should encourage students to pursue that creativity. Lastly, the video A Day Made Of Glass 2 was certainly mind blowing in terms of technology but also shows that there is a future for technology like that in the classroom.

Blog Assignment #1

About Me
I've grown up my entire life in the tiny community of Grand Bay, Alabama. It's located just south of Mobile and is a town where everyone knows everyone. I have two older brothers who are huge sports fans and a younger sister who is just now starting at USA. After graduating from high school in 2008 I attended Auburn University with plans to major in Mechanical Engineering. However, I did a little more "extra curriculur" activities outside of class than I did making it to class. After that short stint at Auburn I came back home and got a full time job. I worked for a year and a half flippig burgers before I decided to get my life straight. I then applied at Faulkner State Community College where I attended for two semesters. I managed to find another job in the meantime and am currently employed at Springhill Medical Center working full time in the purchasing department as a stock clerk.
Growing up with two older brothers really molded me as a child. I had, and still have, a huge passion for sports. Actually, in the process of typing this I have three seperate tabs of sports blogs and sites that I read on a daily basis. I also have a younger sister who I think is a very bright and beautiful girl, but don't get any ideas fellas' because I am the typical over-proctective older brother. Lastly, I have an absolutely wonderful girlfriend of two years, Bailey Wilson, who is my rock whenever times get tough.

Randy Pausch On Time Management
One of the first points that Dr. Paush brings up in this video is the point that not many people are good at managing time. The American culture, as a whole, is very good at managing money, but seem to forget to manage their time. The first thing you need to think when managing your time is "why am I doing this?" If you are not able to answer that question then you need to take a step back and maybe re-evaluate even doing said action. Also, before starting a task you need to ask yourself "what if I don't do this right?" You need to realize the repercussions of your actions. Like Dr. Pausch says "Don't focus on doing things right, but rather focus on doing the right things adequately." Another part of managing your time effectively is by planning. Plan at multiple levels, such as what your plans are for today, next week, the rest of the semester, and so on. Never worry about changing your plans because at least you have a plan to change! When starting a to do list make sure to break things down into small steps. Another important thing to do is to always start with the ugliest thing first. Dr. Paush makes an analogy and says "If you have to eat 3 frogs, don't start with the smallest one first." Although no one, hopefully, is going to have to eat a frog at any time in their life this is a great rule of thumb to go by.