Blog Post 3- How Can You Provide Meaningful Feedback to Your Peers?

In order to ameliorate one's work, students need to understand the procedures of peer editing, along with what not to do while reviewing others' work. Peer editing simply means revising and improving the work of students of similar age. In order to positively review another students work, one must first compliment what the student did correctly, before giving suggestions as to what the student can improve on. When giving suggestions, students need to focus on the author's word choice, attention to detail, organization, and how well the assigned topic is covered.  After complimenting the work's positives and suggesting how to improve the imperfections, the peer editor can make corrections to the author's work. This includes correcting spelling and grammar mistakes, along with correcting missing punctuation and incorrect sentence structure. In order to peer edit effectively, students must first compliment the work, then suggest any improvements that should be made, and finally correct any mistakes that should be made.

In order to do a quality peer review, even when suggesting how to improve a peer's work, the peer editor must stay positive. Rather than being picky when peer editing, students need to accept that others have different writing styles and instead spend time on the paper and give specific examples of how to improve the major issues. Not every piece of advice will be taken, so reviewers should not get upset if his or hers input is not followed. Likewise, the student who is being given advice, should not take any criticism personally. Students simply need to stay on task and spend a significant amount of time while peer editing and revising work. For a peer review to be effective, students need to learn how to give and take advice.

Blog Post 2- What Will Teaching Be Like in the 21st Century

Mr. Dancealot

     As time progresses, scientist are studying more in depth of how the human brain works, and with these new discoveries, the ways of teaching are quickly progressing. The key to learning anything is doing, which is exactly what Professor Dancealot teaches. Mr. Dancealot lectures to his class for the entire semester, but he does not allow the students to actually dance. Instead, they must sit and listen while taking note of what Mr. Dancealot lectures. When the time comes for the students to take a final exam, which is actually dancing, the students have no idea what to do. This scenario proves that one must actually practice a skill in order to master it. At the University of South Alabama, some classes are beginning to perform team-based activities in order to enhance the ability to learn by practicing the skill. Practice really does make perfect, and without practice, no skill will be fully mastered.

Teaching in the 21st Century

     So what does it mean to teach in the 21st Century? According to Kevin Roberts in his video Teaching in the 21st Century, teachers must fully understand this question in order to be successful in teaching our students. Roberts informs viewers that students can find information virtually anywhere and at anytime, meaning teachers are no longer the main source of information, rather the source that shows them how to use the resources. Questioning whether we need to focus on facts or skills, Roberts understands that we, as teachers, need to "rethink the tools we use and the types of problems we ask students to solve". For instance, students not only use the internet to collect and discuss data and publish and evaluate work via facebook, blogs, twitter, and more, students now can publish artwork in e-portfolios to reflect on progress made.

     Roberts asks the critical question of how teachers manage cell phones and other electronics, and his answer is simple- just like pencils, notebook paper, and other classroom supplies. Electronics are just another resource, and they "provide temptation, but are not the source of negative behavior". He goes on to say that students need to be engaged rather than entertained. Whereas entertainment is passive, for enjoyment, and not relevant, Roberts explains that engagement in active, for learning, and meaningful and applicable. Furthermore, entertainment allows individuals to escape problems by using the creativity of others, engagement teaches individuals to solve problems by using one's own creativity.

     Roberts ingeniously informs teachers and future teachers of the ways in which the methods of teaching need to change. Technology is taking other the world and it is important, as teachers, to teach students how to use these resources at their full potentials. Roberts's statement "students do not need to be entertained, they need to be engaged" could not be more applicable to teaching students in the 21st century. We, as educators, need to learn how to engage our students in order to teach them skills that our needed in today's society.

The Networked Student

      Wendy Drexler provides another example of how teachers play a role in the 21st Century in The Networked Student, where the narrator states that connectivism is taking over to world of learning. Connectivism is "a theory in which learning is a part of a social network of diverse connections", which simply means that others strengthen the learning process. Drexler suggests that first, students must learn how to validate information and use Google Scholar to find websites in which they want to keep on bookmarking sites. Blogs are a source in which one can comment on others viewpoints after learning about the topic, then the student can create a new blog with the information he or she has learned. Drexler informs viewers of the convenient tool of video podcast, such as iTunes U. The internet provides useful tools to learn from others, so why do students need a teacher? Drexler says that teachers show students how to use these resources, provide guidance on how to differentiate between positive and negative articles and how to get organize, and most importantly, help to develop a student's passion for learning.

     Although connectivism is taking over the world of learning, teachers still need to teach students information. Online learning can have many positive effects, but overall, reading material then having a teacher review the information in his or her own terms allows information to be better retained in the brain. As a teacher, I will teach my students in the classroom and provide the resources if some students desire to further learn.

Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

     Adding to the world of technology in the classroom in the Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts, Vicki Davis believes that if students only have a pen and a sheet of paper then only certain students will succeed. She instead believes in turning school upside-down and customizing her lesson plans to fit individual classes, emphasizing that a teacher must teach how to learn. For instance, Davis uses new terminology hoping that her students will use resources to determine what she is talking about. Davis has taught rural children how to connect with the entire world, which assists in teaching students to use knowledge in a social setting. Vicki Davis has found a perfect balance of teaching and using technology, because she teaches what she knows but allows the students to learn individually as well.

Flipping a Classroom

     Dr. Lodge, a professor at NC State, has developed a new innovative way of learning called Flipping A Classroom, which allows direct instruction to occur at home while homework is completed at school. The students watch a pre-recorded instructional video at home, where they practice problems and prepare questions for the following school day, which allows for a higher level of learning in classrooms. As elementary students begin learning more advanced material and the parents can not assist with homework help, I believe that this method would help parents interact with children after school if desired, but if the parents do not have time to spend with the children, which is an unfortunate reality, the child can do this independently.  For more information on this innovative system of learning, please contact visit the website that Dr. Lodge has created to further explain this innovation learning technique or email the teacher currently teaching math with this method.

Blog Post 1- What is EDM310?

Simply put- WORK. I have been told by many people to be prepared to do a lot of work. But unlike most people, I am ready and excited to learn and I am not afraid of working, which brings me to my next point-

Many people have fears that the class will be "too difficult", but not me. A class is what you make it. You get out of a class whatever you put in. I am ready to work hard and get as much out of this class as possible.

Unlike most classes, I will have to try extremely hard in this class. When it comes to studying material and repeating it back on a test, I have no problem. EDM 310 will definitely test my knowledge but I am ready to put in the effort.

I have never been exceptionally talented with technology, unlike most college students. I like keeping things simple, but it is always exciting to learn new ways of doing work.

Practice makes perfect. I will work hard and do the best that I can. That is how I am going to overcome my lack of technology skills.

I am open to anything in this class. I am expecting to have to work hard and I will do just that. I am keeping my mind open to everything which this class requires.

Practice Blog Post- Introduction to Megan Long

Growing up in a military family may sound horrible to some people, but I can not imagine my childhood any other way. My name is Megan Long and welcome to my blog. I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, after which I lived in Georgia, Virginia, Florida, and Alabama. Growing up like this allowed me to experience life in a way that many people do not get to. For instance, I have seen a variety of cultures, and met a variety of people. Although I moved many times and had to leave friends behind, I have lifelong friends who are all very different. Because of this lifestyle, I have become very close with my family and I have always relied on the strength of God's love to keep me going through the difficult times.

Being close to my family has always been important to me, which is why I decided to attend the University of South Alabama. After moving to Mobile from Spanish Fort, which is where my family lived, my father was promoted to a government position in Washington D.C. Although my sister still lives in Mobile, my parents live 15 hours away. I have always had to say "goodbye", but this time was very difficult, but it was allowed me to grow into a stronger, more independent woman. While being in Mobile I have found a love for serving those with disabilities and special needs. By doing this, I feel as though I have become a more selfless person. A year later and two years into my college career and I could not be more happy with my decision to attend the University of South Alabama.

As aforementioned, I moved frequently while growing up, but I always seemed to love school because my teachers welcomed me with open arms and open hearts. When someone wonders why I want to be a teacher, my answer is always the same. I am going to change the lives of children; I am going to change the world. Teaching has always been something that I have been passionate about, beginning at an early age while playing school with stuffed animal students. I have taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, bible studies, and many other varieties of teaching. Now that I am involved in education courses, I am even more excited than I ever have been about becoming a teacher. I am going to change the lives of children and I am going to change the world.

"I have this hope as an anchor for the soul" -Hebrews 6:19

No matter where life takes me, I will always be thankful for what being a "Navy Brat" has taught me and I will always stay true to myself and God.

I love life. I love God. I love. If you know that about me, you know me.