Blog Journal 4

My experiences with Twitter have been pretty good so far! This was my first time creating a Twitter account so it took me awhile to figure out how everything works and honestly I still am but everyday I learn something new! I have been interacting with various education related Twitter accounts such as FSU Education, EdTech K-12 Magazine, FSU Distance, and many more. I also interact with fellow students and regularly read and like their tweets. My favorite Twitter account that I follow (as of now) is Discovery Education. I am always interested in what they have to say and the information they provide on Twitter that leads me to different links and articles. I know Twitter can be helpful in my future career because it is form of social media that I can turn to whenever I have the opportunity to explore other teachers accounts and acquire useful resources from various accounts like the ones I mentioned above.

According to the reading, the digital divide affects students success in school if one is on the wrong side of the divide. Meaning, the student has a lack of access to various technologies in and outside of the classroom. Due to the lack of access, these particular students will not have the same skills and experience that the students with unlimited access to technology do. Being on the wrong side of the divide puts them at a disadvantage continuing on into college and the workforce because these skills may be more difficult for them to acquire. I think that a cause of the digital divide can be lack of access due to where you live because there are many poor areas that do not have the opportunities or funds to incorporate technology in the classroom or at home. This relates to expenses and whether or not one grew up being exposed to technology or not. As a teacher, there will most definitely be times that some of my students lack access to the internet and technology in comparison to other students. I will take this into consideration while teaching and be sure to not assign any at home work that requires internet access, but instead work on technology based assignments in class or in the computer labs and be sure to help all students get a better understanding of technology while in school.

There is an unlimited amount of academic software tools teachers can implement in their classroom for their students. When I become a teacher there are two tools in particular that I am excited to implement into my future classroom! The first tool falls under the simulation category and it is Google Earth. Google Earth is a 3D representation of Earth by the use of satellite images that allows someone to view landmarks, houses, lakes, oceans, anything on Earth! I think that this tool is a great way to teach students about geography as it allows them to explore anywhere in the world. The second tool that I would love to use in my future classroom is an educational game called Kahoot! Kahoot! is an online learning tool that teachers can use to create multiple-choice games and quizzes. I would like to use this in my classroom because it gives the students an opportunity to be interactive as a class while learning and studying information for any subjects. Plus, from personal experience, Kahoot! is such a fun and exciting way of learning in class!