Blog Post 3

On Writing a Peer Review
I chose to send my peer review via email.  In my opinion some information is meant to be private.  In a comment on someones blog, I think it is important to always be positive and sort of add ideas here and there.  However, in a peer review, while it is important to be nice, I think I would be doing someone an injustice if I weren't also firm and honest.  Let's face it, some people are just not very good writers, and it may be embarrassing for them to be critiqued in the public eye.  I know I would not want to be.


I watched Lacey Cook's video on Technology in Special Education and I was floored at the progress she was able to make with those students.  I have worked in special education before and there was a big difference in my classroom as compared to their classroom.  I've been that para out in the hall with the student having to read the text while the student follows along.  One thing I found out quickly was that many of these students are embarrassed when the instructor has to sit and read with them.  They don't want that any more than a grown man wants to be in a situation where he can't take care of himself.  The implementation of iPods with audio books not only frees up the instructor, but it allows that student to be an independent learner.  There is a certain amount of dignity we all require to feel human.  The prospect of building a students dignity and confidence through technology is a wonderful thing.

I have also worked with special needs kids who suffer from extreme disabilities.  It was truly a sad situation in the classroom I was in.  The only real technology available was cable television.  In many cases the only thing some students did all day was watch Animal Network.  There was no real engagement with anything other than the television.  I'm not saying that computers would help all these students, but in many cases I think it could be tremendously productive.  I my opinion, what Lacey Cook has done for her students, is allow them to live a meaningful life.  Is that not what we are all looking for?

Today is honestly the first time I have ever been to the Apple Education Apps website.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  I have always been a big watcher of educational television like the Discovery Channel.  Just the thought of being able to pull up an app and journeying through a volcano or to the center of the Earth is  amazing.  Where were these things 10 years ago when I was in high school?

I'm a history buff, and looking back on my world history courses in high school, I remember myself always longing for more pictures in the text.  I have always been a visual learner, and with pictures or video I was able to categorize events in history in my brain as well as understand them better.  It's hard to imagine what I would have been able to retain and understand if I had a virtual reality tour through the streets of Ancient Rome or some other place.  In all the apps I saw on the website, the 3D tour stood out to me the most.  Instead of just talking about the Coliseum or the Circus Maximus, I will be able to actually show it to my students in a fun and exiting tour.  I know there are grade school students out there today that are just like I was.  Eager to learn, but just not able to fully grasp what the words alone have to offer.  To me, this is truly awesome stuff.

Social media today is obviously moving at a breakneck pace.  I've never considered myself to be the most social person ever.  Although, EDM 310 has opened my eyes to the many platforms available for social uses.  After I saw Gary's Social Media Counts, I came to realize that there is no way to get caught up on everything available in terms of social technology.  Everything is adapting and changing so fast that it would almost be impossible to try.

I think at the end of the day, all we can do is attempt to try and harness this awesome technology to make our lives easier and more social in our own way.  When I become an educator, I will do my best to implement the globalized social media into my classroom for the befit of my students.  Finally, we should all aspire to be as Dr. Strange puts it, "Life long learners."

A Vision Of Students Today is a great little video.  There must be some students out there that feel as swamped this semester as I do.  I took an exam today and made a "D" after I had studied for hours.  I had attended every class, taken notes on the lectures, and read all the text.  I don't know what else I could have done.  The professor said I shouldn't try and memorize definitions, but that I should try and understand the concepts.  (I feel like I do understand the concepts.)  If that is true, why couldn't I use the definitions on the exam?  I may have done a lot better.  I've never been to a job where you couldn't use a reference if needed.

Yesterday, I worked on EDM 310 from nine in the morning to ten at night.  Believe it!  Don't get me wrong, I love this course.  I'm learning things here I never thought I would be able to grasp. I wish I could have taken this course when I had a smaller course load.  However, I have found that I can't do all the things I would like to do without neglecting my other courses.  This is just an unfortunate reality of college; I guess.  I'm going to give it all I have and hope for the best.