Blog Assignment 3

Peer Editing
After viewing and reading the information provided by Paige Ellis I learned that peer editing is an effective way to help improve students' writing. In the powerpoint presentation Peer Edit With Perfection as well as the What is Peer Editing? video, being positive is really stressed. I think that it is very important for peers to be positive while editing each other's papers. Carrying this activity into the classroom can also be very helpful, but it is even more important that the students remain positive. As adults we usually do not get too embarrassed about mistakes we make while writing, so it isn't an issue when one of our peers makes suggestions. Children are a little harder on themselves and want to do their best and sometimes get embarrassed about mistakes they make while writing. Staying positive is the easiest way to help someone with their writing while critiquing it. I feel that someone will be more willing to listen if the editor is positive while pointing out problem issues in their peers' writing.
I loved the Top 10 Mistakes video. The children in this video were great! It was a very humorous way to show younger students what not to do during peer editing. It also is a simple way to show older students. I've always felt like a "Picky Patty." I just really hope that I don't come across that way! All three of the sources were very helpful in peer editing for my C4C assignment.
For my C4C assignment I made public suggestions instead of private ones. The student I was assigned to really didn't include his/her opinion much in their blog posts. They also didn't really summarize anything from the sources given. I chose to publicly make suggestions because I did not feel that what I had to say would be embarrassing to the writer. I simply suggested that he/she summarize the materials a little more and encouraged them to include more of their opinion in future posts.

Technology in Special Education
I feel like it is very important to include technology in teaching Special Education. Using computers to help students to speak, or using an iPod to read to students through audio books can mean a world of differences to a child with special needs. This can be seen in the video Technology in Special Education. The teacher in this video does an amazing job of incorporating technology into her classroom. She uses laptops and iPods on a regular basis to help her children do things like speak, write, and read. It was so much easier for her to gain the attention of her students when she used technology.
In the future I will definitely use technology in my classroom, especially when teaching children with special needs. I feel that it would make things so much easier for the student. Being able to get their assignments done quicker and being able to take part in normal activities with the help of a computer will make the children feel more a part of the class, which is wonderful. One of my favorite uses of technology that was used in this video was the audio books on the iPod. Using an audio book in class would be such a simple solution for children who have trouble reading.
After watching the video How the iPad Works with Academics for Autism, and looking for an app that I could use in my classroom, I chose to research the Speech With Milo app. Speech with Milo is a series of apps for the iPad and iPhone that go together in learning parts of speech. To take a close look into the application, I chose to look into the installment that focused on verbs. The apps were created by a speech pathologist and they focus on teaching language skills to children at an affordable price. Milo, the animated mouse guides the child by acting out different verbs so that the children using the app gain a better understanding of the word as well as hearing the word being spoken which helps with reading skills. In this demo, Speech With Milo, the creator of the app shows how the app works and how it is helpful for children with special needs. To learn more about the Speech With Milo app you can go to the Speech With Milo webpage.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
After watching the video Harness Your Student' Digital Smarts, it was clear to me that teacher Vicki Davis cares so much about introducing her students to new technology. She encourages her students to learn using many types of technology, and Davis herself learns with them. I like that she said in the video that she is learning with her students, because technology is ever-changing and it is nice to know that not all teachers know everything.
The Edutopia website has a lot of useful information on it about the digital generation. There is a lot of information about introducing your students to technology as well as different ways students can use digital media.