Blog Post #3

What is Peer Editing?
Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial
The video, What is Peer Editing? and the slideshow Peer Edit with Perfection Tutorial both explain peer editing and talk about the three steps to peer editing. The video and slideshow both explained that a peer is someone who is your own age. They both stated that peer editing is normally done with someone who is in your class and it is done to help improve, revise, and edit his or her work. Both the video and the slideshow explain what the three steps to peer editing are. The first step is compliments. The number one rule while editing is to stay positive. When editing the work of your peers, you should always start with a compliment on what you think he or she did well on. An example of a compliment would be saying, "I really loved your topic." The second step to peer editing is suggestion. You could explain to your peer ways to make their writing better with things like word choice, detail, and organization. An example of a suggestion would be giving advice. You could suggest that instead of using the word good, maybe you can use the word exceptional. The last step to peer editing is correction. When peer editing you should always check for grammar, sentence structure, and spelling.

Writing Peer Review: Top 10 Mistakes
The second video was called Writing Peer Review: Top 10 Mistakes. I loved this video because it was funny and it also pointed out some things that I feel are important for students to learn about before peer editing. The video was of elementary students who were showing us the peer editor we don't want to be. I loved the example of being a Picky Patty. A Picky Patty peer editor would be someone who picks out pointless mistakes like having too big of a space between those two words or you have too many of the word "and" in your paper. Next was Whatever William. William had no interest in the help his peer was trying to give him. When she would point out one of his mistakes he would just say "whatever" instead of trying to fix it. Another example shown of a peer editor you don't want to be was Mean Margret. Mean Margret would use ugly words such as stupid or dumb when editing a peer's paper. She would say things like "your topic is dumb". It is not nice to put down students in that way. When peer editing you are supposed to help students and point out the good and the bad in their paper. One of my favorites while watching this video was Defense Dave. Dave would take everything personally that his peer editor was trying to help him on. Peer editing is a very helpful thing that every student should experience. When being a peer editor you don't need to be a Picky Patty, Mean Margret, pushy, speedy, or defensive. Peer editing is used so we can help our peers out and make them stronger writers with our criticism.

Blog Post #2

Mr. Dancealot
The central message for this video, Mr. Dancealot, is that students not only need visual learning but also hands on learning. In this video the professor would only let the students listen to his lectures and watch him explain how to maneuver the dances. He believed that his students could learn how to dance while sitting in their chairs. The author's theory that hands on learning is needed in the classroom was proven when the students were completely lost when they went to take their final exam. He expected his students to take the final and know exactly what to do with the given notes and no practice. This did not work out due to the fact they had never really practiced any dances, and they had only just taken notes from a PowerPoint. As someone wanting to be an elementary teacher one day, I agree with the author's conclusion that hands on learning is a must. Both children and adults need hands on practice when they are trying to learn things that they have to physically do.

Teaching in the 21st Century
In the YouTube video, Teaching in the 21st Century, the author Kevin Roberts thinks that teaching in the 21st century will be completely electronic. Roberts' main idea of teaching in the 21st century is that school will be completely online. He makes the point that teachers are no longer the main source of knowledge. Students now have Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, and blogs to turn to when they have questions. However, Roberts pointed out the good and bad that come from students having access to these sources. The good that he pointed out is that students can publish their work so they can share and collaborate with each other and also compare their work. The bad that comes from these sources is students can plagiarize and infringe on the copyrighted work of others. Some of these sources are also not reliable all the time. Websites such as Wikipedia can be accessed by anyone and changed at anytime making it false information. Websites such as Wikipedia are one of the negative effects to the way teaching is changing. I agree with Roberts' theory that teaching will become completely electronic one day. You now see children as young as the age of two walking around with iPhones and iPads. Technology is now a second nature for the young generation. If Roberts is correct that teaching will become completely electronic one day, it will effect me as an educator. Growing up I always thought teaching would involve me in a classroom teaching with pen and paper. I now realize that will not be how I will teach one day. I will have to overcome new obstacles with technology and learn new things as technology progresses.

The Networked Student
In this video, The Networked Student, it shows how students can network using technology and how they have access to multiple resources that allow them to teach themselves. Networking allows students to connect with people all over the world and share their opinions. Networking can lead students to resources such as iTunes U where they can have access to learn from some of the best professors in the world. Students can now rely on networking as a way of learning and completing work. The video then asks why does the networked student even need a teacher? The networked student needs a teacher to act as their guide and teach them how to build the network and maintain it. Teachers can also show students how to take advantage of learning opportunities. Teachers act as a guide and can teach networked students how to communicate properly to individuals and ask for help respectively from experts. My reaction to this video is that I agree with the author Wendy Drexler. Students need someone to guide them and teach them how to communicate with other peers and experts. Even the networked student needs to have someone available that they can call on if they ever have questions or need help.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts
In the video, Harness Your Students, Digital Smarts, the thesis is teaching students about technology so they can guide and teach themselves. The teacher explained how she will use words the students have never heard of so they will have to search and teach themselves what the words mean. She wants to teach the students to explore and learn about things that she may not even know about so they can teach her. I like how this teacher makes learning fun and allows the students to explore. She is pushing them and making them want to learn about new things. I believe this is a good way to make students want to be involved and it allows them to connect and share ideas through technology.

Flipping the Classroom
In this video, Flipping the Classroom, it shows an innovative approach to classroom instructions. The students are to watch a video at home about what the lesson will be on the next day in class. This is so they will come to school prepared and no class time will be wasted. Flipping the Classroom is new to me. I have never heard anything about it previous to watching this video. Depending on what grade I teach, I will decide as to if I think this technique will be useful. If I teach Kindergarten I don't see a five year old going home and doing homework and also preparing for the lesson the next day. I could maybe see an older student, like a fifth grader, doing this as a part of their homework. I think this is an interesting technique but not sure if I will use it one day.

Blog Assignment #1

I have heard multiple things about EDM 310 from previous students. I actually had a girl tell me today that even though this class is a lot of work, I will leave way more knowledgeable than I started off. I have also heard that there are a lot of projects involved in this class. I am excited that some of them will be group based so I can get to know classmates, especially since this is my first semester at South. Even though I have heard many scary things about this class, everyone ensures me that if you try hard and do the work you will come out with a good grade.

When walking into this class for the first time Wednesday night I had many fears. After being in class for two and a half hours some of my fears were calmed. My main fear in this class is that the time and effort put towards all of the work will interfere with my others classes. I know that if I manage my time I will be able to do it all. College can be overwhelming sometimes so I have another fear of forgetting or overlooking an assignment and projects. I hope to overcome these fears when I become more familiar with the class.

EDM 310 reminds me of a computer class I took at Faulkner State Community College. The class was a lot of step by step work and you had to follow directions. EDM 310 also reminds me of a difficult typing and computer class that I took my 9th grade year at Satsuma High School. I believe that my most difficult problem in this class will be keeping up with all the assignments that are due on certain dates. To address this problem I am going to go buy a calendar and write down every assignment under the date it is due.

My question for this coarse is what grades would use microcomputing systems? Would I use this in a elementary class or is this more for a high school atmosphere? I am going to do more research on using microcomputing systems outside of the classroom to learn more about what I can use as a future teacher. I am excited to learn more about microcomputing systems so I can use it and my future students can also learn from it.

Practice Post

My name is Emily Huff and I am 19 years old. I live in Saraland, AL which is right outside of Mobile. I graduated from Satsuma High School as a mid year graduate in December of 2011. I attended Faulkner State Community College for three semesters and I just transferred to South this Semester. My goal is to be accepted into candidacy for the teaching program in the fall so I can fulfill my dream of becoming a teacher.

My parents are Kim and Pete Huff and I have two older brothers. My oldest brother Matt graduated from the University of Alabama and my other brother Chase graduated from USA. Chase is the reason I chose to come to South. He enjoyed South and I have too so far. I have a black lab named Roxy that I enjoy spending time with. She loves the water so I enjoy taking her to the lake and playing fetch with her.

Ever since I was a little girl I have said that when I grow up I wanted to be a teacher. My parents have also always persuaded me to become a teacher because it is such a great job to have when you want to have a family one day. I want to become a teacher so I can help children and make an impact in their lives. I want to be a teacher that is caring and makes students want to come to class and learn. I believe that learning can be fun if the teachers allows it to be.

I have a passion for fashion. I have always love dressing up and putting outfits together. My mom owns a clothing boutique so I get to learn about fashion everyday. We go to Americas Mart every other month so we can learn about the latest styles of the season. I love dressing people up and putting together outfits that they love.

2nd Test Post

This is my second test post.

My Test Post Title

This is my first post. I clicked the HTML button which I should always do in EDM310. I am now a Blogger!