Blog Post # 3

Paige Ellis' Blog Assignment # 12

     I thought the short video on Peer Editing was useful. The video identified what a peer is and what editing means. Peer editing is working with someone your own age to help them improve, revise or edit their writing. There are three steps that you should follow when you are editing a writing assignment. The steps are: compliments, suggestions and corrections. The slideshow, "Peer Edit With Perfection Tutorial," further explains these three steps to use when editing. You need to begin the editing process with positive compliments and tell the writer what needs to be improved. Suggestions need to be specific and positive. They need to tell the writer different ways to improve the writing product; for example: word choice, details, organization, sentence structure, and staying on topic. Corrections should focus on punctuation and grammar mistakes, as well as spelling and sentence structure.
     The short video, "Writing Peer Review Top 10 Mistakes," held in the fourth and fifth grade classrooms was perfect. It gave peer editing situations to avoid. I liked the creative use of names, such as Pushy Paula, Off-Task Oliver and Mean Margaret to get the point across.
     I think these would be useful tools to introduce a lesson on peer editing to students before the writing process begins. Hopefully, students would be able to use the information and the helpful hints to become successful editors.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

     Kelly Hines believes that technology is important, although she does not feel that technology is the first thing to change to lead our schools into the 21st century. Ms. Hines believes that the first change that needs to be made is for the education community to alter the overall approach to teaching and learning. She outlines four things that, in her opinion, every teacher must recognize in order to effectively and positively impact students in the new generation of learning. These factors are: (1) teachers must be learners, (2) learning and teaching are not the same, (3) technology is useless without good teaching, and (4) be a 21st century teacher without the technology.
     The points that Ms. Hines outlined in her post are definitely noteworthy. I agree that educators need to be self-motivated. Teachers need to be innovative, and bring that element to classroom instruction. Sometimes, educators will have to work with a lack of curriculum-related and sufficient professional development, but that is simply not an excuse for inadequate teaching. Teachers need to strive to customize learning experiences and actively involve students in critical thinking and problem solving. I believe that as long as teachers are motivated and willing to put forth effort, learning will happen regardless of the amount of technological tools utilized. At the end of each school day, a successful day is one where all students learned new information. I believe that, as a teacher, it is my responsibility and obligation to stay motivated to provide the best classroom instruction no matter what technology is available.

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

     Karl Fisch's post was the 2007 Edublog Award winner for the most influential post that year. Mr. Fisch discussed the need for an establishment of a technological skill standard for educators. He believes that all educators must achieve a basic level of technological capability, and principals should be held accountable if the staff is technologically illiterate. Mr. Fisch goes on to say that universities and teacher training courses that do not produce technologically literate students should have their funding or license questioned. He believes that technologically illiterate teachers are potentially jeopardizing student chances at long-term success in their chosen career path. He is of the opinion that society should stop making excuses for not becoming more technologically advanced. After all, in Mr. Fisch's line of thinking, technology is and indispensable tool that we can use to teach, learn and grow. He feels that it is getting more difficult to be successful without some degree of technological knowledge. He thinks that teachers need to explore and experience the advances in technology along their students.
     I agree somewhat with Mr. Fisch's post. Computers and other forms of technology have become a large component of the educational climate. I work in a school that has SMART boards in every classroom, rolling laptop labs, ELMOs, test-taking remote control programs (e.g., Quizno), and much more. If a teacher does not know how to effectively operate these tools, it would put their students at a disadvantage. Fortunately, the school system in which I am employed does offer various professional development classes on educating teachers on how to use these tools to enhance classroom instruction. Ultimately, I do believe these tools are useful in contributing to the educational success of the schools and students because the knowledge and skills that the students acquire will serve them in their continuing education and eventually in their career path.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

     I was truly amazed when I clicked onto the Gary Hayes Social Media Count. The startling rate that social networking tools were changing was unbelievable. Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, Skype, blog posts and other mediums were constantly adding hits. I clicked on the 2012 tab and the results were even more astounding. I really never thought about the number of people that use these tools. The sheer numbers were quite interesting.
     As a teacher, this information can be quite useful. It is a positive reinforcement for the use of technological tools in our schools. These statistics clearly demonstrate the growing importance of social media and we, as teachers, need to put our students in position to utilize them effectively. As educators, we must provide our students with the opportunity to use as many technological resources as possible and the instruction to incorporate these tools in their educational and vocational endeavors. After all, we are preparing our students for jobs that do not even exist yet!

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

     Mr. Wesch's video begins in a classroom similar to what I remember as a traditional college classroom. In fact, it looks much like my college psychology class that I took many years ago. The classroom had stadium-style seating with rows and rows of seats all facing the chalkboard at the center of the room. As I remember, it was quite boring. There was a large number of students, many of whom did not even pay attention to the professor as he lectured in front of the class and made notes on his chalkboard. Mr. Wesch's video points out that some college classrooms are still the same today - they are neither motivating nor stimulating. The average class size is over 100 students, and most teachers do not even know the names of their students. Students spend a large amount of money on textbooks they never use. On average, students read only eight books, 26% of which are relevant to their classwork, and they write a mere average of 42 pages worth of assignments. Some students choose not to even attend class.
     Mr. Wesch painted a picture of today's modern student. That student, on average, reads approximately 2,300 web pages and 1,281 Facebook profiles. That student also reads over 500 pages of emails, and spends an average 3.5 hours online every day.
     Mr. Wesch is sending a strong message to the educational establishment that today's student has changed. The student that a teacher will see in the classroom today is a multi-tasker that believes technology is a tool for future success. Students are preparing for jobs and vocational opportunities that do not currently exist. Mr. Wesch wants us to know that Scan Trons are not going to help today's students, but that proper use and instruction of technological tools can provide students with critical knowledge that will pay long-term dividends.
     I am fortunate to have taught in the past, and now that I am in the process of entering the teaching profession again, I clearly see how important the instruction and usage of technological tools has become. When I began my teaching career in 1994, I did not have a single computer in my classroom. Today, as a paraprofessional working in a middle school, we have multiple computers and other technological tools in each classroom. I believe that we need to allow students time to learn and explore all aspects of the technological fields because that element of their educational experience has become such an important part of their continued development.