Blog Post #3

Peer Editing

I offered a a few suggestions on my C4C's blog post. I was just really confused by some of the things she was talking about. If there were any embarrassing mistakes I would have emailed her and told her about them. I don't like to point out things like that in public. There were a few positives. I liked how she told the story of her being in school and the teacher trying to get her on ADHD medicine. I know that's terrible, but it kept her post interesting. Otherwise, it would have put me to sleep.

I learned that there is a good way to critic someone's writing and a bad way. It's always good to stay positive and not negative. I am an optimistic person so staying positive is easy for me. I hate it when someone is very vague with me so I try to stay specific. I learned that is a good way to be.

The top 10 mistakes video was too cute! It's good to have some of the qualities each of those students had. I'm not picky but I am social. I've been in those situations before where I didn't really care what my friend was telling me. I learned the hard way to pay attention to what my peers tell me.

The Mountbatten

I learned that this resource would be very useful in a classroom for the blind and deaf students. It's a great tool to keep the students included on a daily basis. I didn't realize teachers were using this sort of technology already. When I was in school, the special children had their own classroom and we never saw them except during lunch. They didn't have any classes with us and they didn't each lunch with us either. I'm glad to see that this technology is helping them be part of a normal classroom because that's all children want to do these days. They just want to fit in. I also learned that it can transfer and save files. I am just amazed at how a simple machine can do so many things. If I had a student with a disability such as being blind or being deaf, I would use this resource everyday. I would make sure they knew how to use it and were comfortable with it. If it's possible then they would do their schoolwork on it. I might even suggest other students use it as a way to learn braille. It would benefit them in the long run.

Assistive Technologies

After watching these videos, I've come to realize that the school systems are actually improving. People really do want to help children feel more included and normal. I don't think the problem is solved 100% yet, but it's getting there. There will always be children with disabilities. We'll always need some way to teach them the things we teach the children without disabilities. Professor Art Karshmer said teaching math was one of the hardest things to do. It certainly looks like it to me. His way of teaching easy to complex math is just the start of other ways to teach students. It's going to take a lot of experiments and trials to figure out the best way to teach them.

If a student has a learning disability in my classroom, I will make sure he or she is learning at their level. I won't take away from the students without a disability, but I will make sure I'm doing all I can to help that student. I don't want the students without a disability to feel like they are dumb and I'm trying to teach down to them. It will be a learning process for me as well as for the students. I'll definitely have to learn as I go and maybe watch other teachers do it, as well. I am open to any ideas for how to teach students with a disability in the same classroom as students that don't have one.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smart

This video completely opened my eyes to a whole new way of teaching. I realize now that I don't really have a choice about whether or not I want to incorporate technology into my classroom. The decision has already been made. Ms. Davis has probably changed many students' lives just by being the kind of teacher she is. She's helping them teach themselves and learn from themselves. By asking the students to teach the class something, it's helping the students be more confidents with public speaking. I wish more teachers were like her. It's also keeping students from being lazy and not paying attention in class. It's keeping learning interesting.

I like the idea of the flat classroom and the other teaching tools she uses. I like how she makes almost everything interactive. I think the Flat Classroom Conference that the students attended helped open the students' to so much more. Things like that will make students more well-rounded and open to new things in the future. Ms. Davis is ultimately preparing these students for the future and they will be better prepared for the technological advances.