Blog Post #3

What Is Peer Editing?

Peer editing is when you work with someone your own age to help improve, revise, and edit his or her writing. There are three important steps to follow while peer editing, which can be found in What is Peer Editing? and Peer Edit Perfection Tutorial. Step 1 start off with a compliment. For instance, you could say I really liked how you stayed on topic or I really enjoyed your choice of words. When evaluating a peer, never start off in a hostile manner. You’re evaluating a peer, evaluate them like you would want to be evaluated. Step 2 give suggestions. By this, give your peer some ideas on how he or she can improve his or her writing. Some ideas include word choice, using detail, sentence structure, topic etc... Give your peer ways on how to improve not how poorly they did. Step 3 corrections. Check for any given mistakes in your peers writing. Look for punctuation, grammar, sentences, and most defiantly look for spelling errors. There is also a video made by a group of 4th and 5th graders on the Top 10 Mistakes Made By Peers. I found this video to be very entertaining as well as informational on how not to be a “Picky Patty.” It is defiantly a must see for students and future educators on the matter of peer editing.

I have learned a lot from the videos and tutorial on peer editing. I have learned to follow the three important steps when peer editing. These include compliment, suggestions, and corrections. I must be positive and be specific on what my peer should correct in his or her writing. I certainly do not want to come off as any of the top 10 mistakes made by peers in the short video made by the students. I highly recommend the following videos and tutorial to anyone who may not be aware of what peer editing may be.

Stephanie Tyler (Fall 2011) Adaptive Technologies

A. Technology in Special Education

In this video, Mrs. Cook, a teacher in a vocational program; informs others on how she uses the use of technology in her classroom. Mrs. Cook begins by stating each child’s aliment whether he or she is vocal or no vocal or may have physical limitations. Some students have trouble writing but once given an iPad or a computer they can write. Technology makes things a lot easier for students who have a difficulty at doing certain things. It was amazing to see how Mrs. Cook could interact with her students all by the use of technology and how happy her students were when they were able to communicate back with her. It was very touching to watch!

Technology is a great necessity for students with special needs. Students who have trouble writing or speaking can use an iPad and communicate much more with their teacher. I think technology has helped improve the way special education use to be taught in many ways. In the video, a student used to spell out words with his finger on an alphabet mat that slid all over the place. However, when he was given a computer he could spell things out a lot easier. I would love to use technology in my future classroom for students of special needs. They are just like me and you, except for the fact they may not be able to write or speak clearly. So, why not give them the great technology that we have?

B. Education Apps

There are so many great education apps to choose from in the apple store. I looked for a decent education app that was free; let’s face it who doesn’t like FREE?? One app in particular that I found that I like to use in my classroom for a student of special needs was Math Drills Lite. This app helps students with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems. You can either practice or review certain math equations. I actually downloaded this app to my iPhone to see how it worked. I must say this app was pretty cool and I enjoyed playing it. I think students who have trouble with math problems will like this app. I encourage parents, teachers, and students to download the app and give it a try.

Here is a link to the app :Math Skills Lite app

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students Digital Smarts

Vicki Davis is an educator, in Camilla, Georgia, who uses every kind of technology to connect her students to the world. She incorporates the use of technology in her classroom so students can learn, create, and connect with other students in the world. Students in Mrs. Davis’s class learn how to use new software, learn how to learn, as well as learning how to blog effectively.

I would like to use all sorts of technology in my future my classroom as Mrs. Davis did in hers. I like to use blogging and any other type of source that can be educational for my students. I believe students would want to learn more if technology were in the classroom. Plus, technology can help students who are of special needs connect with their teacher more as well as their classmates.

You can find more about Mrs. Davis on her blog:Blogspot:coolcatteacher and watch her video : Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students Digital Smarts.