Blog Post #3

The videos that were assigned to us to watch about peer editing, has helped me evaluate myself in the way that I go about editing my peers work. I think I have been a combination, at times, of the different kind of editors identified in the video: Writing Peer Review TOP 10 Mistakes. As a teacher I want to be able to encourage my students to do their best. I will make sure that I give plenty of positive feedback, but not to the point where they will not take my corrections. A balance of both encouragement and corrections are needed for students to do well. As for public and private corrections, I think it just depends on the errors and the person/student receiving the critique.


Technology in Special Education was a very enlightening video, on how technology can assist students with special needs. Many students learn different ways whether it be hands on activities, visual learning, or a mixture of both, and students with special needs are no different. They also need to find a way that helps them learn effectively. I feel that this video gives a little insight on how to help those students with special needs. This video shows that it can help students who have problems communicating, communicate better, along with helping others read better or even become excited about learning!
I really enjoyed seeing the excitement in the students in this video. Though others may see them as different because they learn differently, or need help with learning they are still people. And the technology that we are using today only helps them to accomplish things on their own, that people 10 years ago may not have been able to accomplish without the help of an aid. The excitement that I saw in their eyes really has inspired me to try and incorporate whatever I may need into my classroom in the future to help my students learn.

How the iPad works with Academics for Autism was a very encouraging video! It showed how the iPad can help a child with Autism be excited about learning, along with actually being engaged in the process. The parents of this child showed full support and encouragement as the child began counting, and reading the words, and writing. They made sure to give positive feedback to their son. I feel that the iPad can be a positive tool to use in the classrooms of special needs students.

In searching the education apps at Apple Store I found an app that I feel would help students with learning new words. The game is called Futaba (which is Japanese for “seedling”). It is a four player game in which the students sit around the iPad, and a picture is shown on the screen, the first student to match the picture to the correct word scores a point. I feel that this game will help allow students to interact with one another as well as learn to put words with a picture.


Gary Hayes Social Media Count was very interesting. It astonished me to see just how many people actually use social media. I knew that many people used it, but to see just how much society has grown to rely on it was shocking. We now use social media for everything, from texting, to email, to looking up information we need for a research paper. I know that I am a Google user; my friends call me the “Google Queen”. When I do not know something, I simply pull out my phone and “google it” like most people would. Technology has developed so much that we now have the internet at our fingertips, literally. It is almost accessible on just about every phone on the market, not to mention iPads, iPods, and laptops, all which are portable devices. We stay connected where ever we go.

I know I am guilty of constantly staying connected, whether through texting or using Facebook on my phone. I no longer have to write a letter and send it in the mail and have to wait for days for a response, I can just email someone and it reaches their computer in less than a minute. I no longer have to stay at home to wait on an important phone call because I cannot miss it, I can go about my day and have my phone with me at all times. Social media has become an important part of our lives as we know it, whether we realize it or not, and Gary Hayes chart shows just how much we use it.

As a student I can relate to this video: A Vision of Students Today. I know I have spent hundreds of dollars on books that I never even opened, to then sell back and not even get half of what I paid for it. I have also been guilty of texting on my phone, or looking at Facebook during a lecture. Going to a lecture class 3 days a week gets pretty boring after a while. Especially when there is over a hundred students in one classroom, and there is no personal interaction with the teacher or your peers. I like being able to interact with my teachers and them actually know my name.

I am not a fan of full blown classes being online, but I have found that I enjoy hybrid classes. I like being able to go to class and listen to a lecture and making sure I am on the right page, then going home and working at my own pace to get my work done. It takes a lot of stress off me when I am able to work at my own pace.