Blog Assignment #3

                In Whatis Peer Editing and Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial, I discovered there were three steps to peer editing- compliments, suggestions, and corrections- and respectively done in this order. I learned that you must stay positive throughout the entire process. Being specific and careful are extremely important in editing ones work. We first start off with compliments. Always make sure to tell the student what he or she did well. Suggestions follow compliments; suggestions on word choice and the overall flow of the paper are always good things to harp on. It is good to always be specific on the suggestion part.  And lastly, we have corrections. Corrections are the most important part of the process. When editing, certain signs should be used to correct different things. Like three lines under a certain letter mean that letter needs to be capitalized. I think it is cool that there is a whole different language for making corrections.

                I also learned that peer editing can be fun. Helping a peer-someone your age- with his or her work can be rewarding. And you must always think about how you would feel if someone was to edit your work. A big part of the correction part is checking for grammar mistakes. Things like capital letters, misspelled words and missing punctuation are some common mistakes made. I have definitely had some Jean the Generalizers and Picky Pattys as peer editors. I try to be just in the middle of both of them. To be an effective peer editor, students must pay close attention to detail and be attentive when reading someone’s work.

                                                          
                In my own words, peer editing is something very important. Peer editing is where students around the same age can interact with other students. And this interaction becomes very productive because students are talking about their work. The best way to approach peer editing is positively. When critiquing someone's work, I always try to stay positive because different things are sensitive to different people. In EDM 310, I will peer edit my classmates blogs by using the three steps talked about in the above paragraphs. I think the importance of peer editing is the interaction between students and allowing the students to see what their peers have to say about their work, instead of just the teacher. When someone my age tells me something, it tends to resonate better with me. 

Blog Assignment #2

1)      Mr. Dancealot

What a video!? The central message for this video is teachers must be active in their instruction and students should be allowed to interact in the classroom. Mr. Dancealot only wanted to use power points to teach. He only demonstrated closed position with his body, but he expected everyone to know what to do. When he was teaching about foot placement, no one could tell what he was doing because the counter was covering his feet. The students never got the chance to interact with the dances; they all sat there either taking notes or almost falling asleep. The author’s conclusion is made extremely well. He depicts this with the very end of the video. The students are lost at the final exam because they were never really introduced to actually dancing a fox trot or the rumba. Sure they have notes on it, but they were not given the chance to do anything hands on.

2)      Teaching in the 21stCentury 

I.                    Students can find anything, anywhere, anytime.

a.      Ex) Blogs, Google, Wikipedia

b.      Ex) Facebook and Twitter

c.       Ex) Cell Phones, Computer, IPads

II.                  How do we teach students to handle these resources?

a.      Validate, Synthesize, Leverage

b.      Communicate, Collaborate, Problem Solve

III.                Ask your students to ….

a.      Understand, Remember, Apply

b.      Analyze, Evaluate, Create

IV.                Creating means….

a.      Blog posting, pod cashing, animating

b.      Planning, recoding, designing, programming

V.                  Tech Skills needed to be taught to students

a.      Paraphrasing, Attributing, Subscribing

b.      Editing, twittering, experimenting

c.       Etc.

VI.                Who will teach students?

a.      Responsibility, Reliability, Integrity

b.      Professionalism

i.                    Pirating, Plagiarism, Slander, Copyright, Crowdsourcing, Confidentiality

VII.              Classrooms should be focused on…

a.      Discussing data via different types of media

b.      Using reliable resources

c.       Evaluating work using different ways

d.      Collaborating with skype or other

e.      How struggling students will benefit

f.        E portfolios

VIII.            Engaging versus Entertaining

a.      Active vs. Passive

b.      Learning vs. Enjoyment

c.       Long term vs. Short lived

d.      Meaningful vs. No relevance

e.      Solving problems vs. Escaping problems

           I feel like Robert hit the nail on the hammer about teaching changing. Students can so easily look up anything on the internet with their computers or even their phones. So what are teachers supposed to do? We are here to guide students. We are here to teach students those things that cannot be found on the internet. We are here to teach students how to use new technology. Hopefully, all of the things described in the video will be used in my classroom one day. Teaching in the 21^st century will be a challenge for not only the students but also the educators. As an educator, I will have to be able to keep up with the new ways of doing things. Things seem to always be changing.

3)      The Networked Student

            The Networked Student is a very different type of video. I have never heard of Connectivism until I watched the video. It is an interesting concept. I think networking and creating a database with lots of knowledge, being able to communicate with others, and knowing how to use the internet properly for school is extremely important. But when they started talking about why the teacher is there, they completely lost me. Teachers are there for several different reasons. In my opinion, teachers are supposed to be the ones teaching the course material AND all of those other things. I feel like with this approach, there is way too much lead way for the students. Students will need structure, they will need someone to tell them when things are due and what happens to be a good source. If not, student will either not do the work or study wrong material.

4)      Harness Your Students’ Digital Smarts

            Vicki Davis’s video totally screams “Teaching in the 21^st Century” at you. She says pen and paper are not the only way to learn. Some students will naturally learn differently. She has integrated so many different types of programs into her classroom. I like that she is incorporating world travels into her class. Davis’s students are able to contact students from all over the world. I love her concepts of almost everything digital. I think she brings a new learning style to the forefront. I thought it was interesting when she said you don’t have to know everything about a subject to teach it. Vicki Davis’s video was the first time I had ever seen “digital everything” done positively.

5)      Who’s Ahead in the Learning Race?

            It clearly seems like all of the students at Gulf Shores Elementary are ahead of either undergraduates of graduate students at the University of South Alabama. I think it is great that all students are exposed to technology at a young age. And that technology not being a single computer in the room, but their very own IPad or MacBook. I understand the students in elementary school are ahead in the race because they are exposed at such a young age. Students retain more at a young age because so many other things are not distracting them. Like Dr. Strange said, one of his graduate students was having problems using her MacBook. Integrating technology this early is what teaching in the 21^st century is all about. Paper, pencils and textbooks are not the only way to neither teach nor learn anymore.

6)      Flipping the Classroom

            Flipping is a completely new thing to me. I think it is a fun and different way of teaching/learning. I think the flipping approach will be useful to me because I like to try new things. I am a firm believer in all students do things differently.  I like how there will be more time for discussion in the classrooms. Teachers are definitely facilitators; we should be guiding discussions and walking around the classroom as the students are learning and possibly teaching other students. I’m glad that there is something out there that allows the teacher to do less lecturing during classroom hours and more of seeing what her students can do. I think flipping could be incorporated in all grades because it’ll give a sense of responsibility to students. Students must watch the videos to be prepared for class the next day.

7)      Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom

            When reading Bringing the Locker Room into the Classroom, the words “problem solving” kept jumping out at me. Problem solving is very important in either the classroom or in the locker room. It is a lifelong skill that needs to be taught at a young age. When I become an educator, I’d like to use discussion in my class. I don’t really want my students to always look at me for the answers. I think working with their peers will be beneficial in developing proper problem solving skills.

Test 2

Test 2

Test

Test

Blog Assignment #1

                When going into something new, and not being the first to ever experience it, I always get different opinions. Some of the things I have heard about EDM 310 are horrible. I have heard that Dr. Strange is mean, EDM 310 is super time consuming but the work is not generally hard, The nine hours things is very true  and EDM 310 is going to test your time management skills. My fears for EDM 310 are I will not get an A because I am not Macintosh savvy and my group for group projects is going to fall apart. EDM 310 is very different from any course I have every taken before. No other course has every actually said I will need nine hours out of my week to complete the assignments. I have never had a course that used Blogger. And I have never used my computer so much in a class.

                The most difficult thing for me in EDM 310 will be time management. I will struggle to find nine hours out of my week to complete the assignments. I work two jobs and am taking a full load. I hope to find my groove with the class though. To address this problem, I plan on living in the EDM 310 lab and becoming best friends with my planner. I think writing to do list daily and marking off the things I have done will help tremendously.

                Some questions I still have about EDM 310 are more about the assignments that will come later, like the book trailer and IMovie stuff. I do have a couple of questions that are just kind of generic. Why is EDM 310 required? Why do so many people repeat the course? How will EDM 310 separate the elementary school teachers from the secondary school teachers? And, how do you become a lab assistant. To get the answers for these questions, I will simply ask. I have a ton of people I could ask- Mr. Tashbin, Mr. Lomax, the lab assistants, and other students who have taken the course.

                Overall, I think EDM 310 will be a learning experience. I am excited but definitely nervous

to get the course started. 

Practice Blog

Practice Post Outline

I.                    All About Me

A.      Location- Bayou La Batre and Mobile

B.      Interests- Volleyball and Shopping

C.      Why USA? Wanted to be close to parents and LOVE Mobile

II.                  Personal Info

A.      Brother- Tommy

B.      Boyfriend- Jason

III.                Why Education?

A.      Helping people

B.      Not my first choice

C.      Children

IV.                21^st Century Teachers

A.      Technology

B.      Filling a void

C.      Communicators

D.      Adapting

E.   Picture of Interest- Volleyball Championship

V.                  Anything else?

My name is Tiffany Le and I am twenty years old. I have lived in only two places in my life. Both were in Alabama. One place called Bayou La Batre and the other, of course, Mobile. Some of my major interest, when I have time, are playing volleyball and shopping bargains. I really love a good sale, on anything! My reasons for coming to USA are simple. I wanted to be close to my parents and little brother. And I love Mobile; I like the fact that I know all of its little secrets.

 Like I said previously, I have a little brother who is soon to be 20. He is my only sibling and we are super close. We always go fishing together. Tommy and I love the flea market; we try to go at least once a month. Since moving to Mobile, I have met my awesome boyfriend. His name is Jason. Almost every weekend, you can catch us at the movie theatres. Jason and I are obsessed with new movies coming out. My life seems pretty simple, but there is definitely something different happening every day.

I entered the field of education because I have a true passion for helping people. Education wasn’t always my first choice. I, at first, wanted to be a doctor. There is just something so rewarding about being able to help people every day of your life. I also love children. When I was going to be a doctor, I wanted to be a pediatrician. But now as an educator, I can help shape young minds and prepare them for their future lives and not have to deal with sick children every day. I feel very confident in my choice.

Teachers, now days, are extra ordinary human beings. Being an educator on the 21^st century entails a lot. With the technology alone, teachers will always be learning. When students bring their new tablets or nooks into class, teacher will have to know what to do with those. Even technology used in your classroom has received an upgrade now. Almost all classrooms in Mobile County have smart boards.  Staying on top of the latest things and going to professional development is best. Unlike years ago, students today are experiencing far more different family life styles. If your student is not getting the proper love and care at home, he or she may need you to fill that void at school. Teaching in the 21^st century also entails being a great communicator and being able to adapt to anything quickly. I always say “you never know what might happen today”, where it’s good to always have a plan, we must also know what to if those plans get changed.

There is a lot more to know about me. But I prefer to get to know people in person. Some of the basic things about me- I am a junior here at South Alabama. I will be a fifth year senior graduating in 2016. I am of mixed races. My parents do not speak any English. My brother and I are the only English speakers in our family. And I could probably talk to a wall. Some say, I talk too much. But I love to interact with people.