Blog Journal #5

I have always heard of twitter, but I have never actually created a twitter account until I took this course. Before taking this class, my experience with the platform consisted of viewing famous tweets from professional accounts. Currently, I have been able to interact with important teaching accounts, allowing me to learn more information about the teaching community. Twitter can be extremely beneficial in my future career, because there are so many teachers and education-related accounts that could introduce inspiration and material. 

    The digital divide is a major difference in technology access among students, something that leaves many students having unequal opportunities and resources. Many students have access to readily available technology, such as tablets and newer laptops. Many students aren't as fortunate, and don't have any technology outside of the classroom. This puts these students at a great disadvantage, and lessen the likelihood of more opportunities within technology. One of the major causes of the digital divide is COVID-19. The pandemic forced many students to complete their work virtually, and many students didn't have equal access to internet and home devices. As a classroom teacher, I may face situations in which there is a digital divide among my students due to a pandemic or different students' personal situations. I could alter my teaching strategies to work with this divide by reserving technology for the classroom only, and giving students homework that they could complete without technology. 

    Two academic software tools that I would like to implement within my future classroom are Smartboards and electronic tablets. I used both of these software tools when I was in elementary and high school, and both were extremely useful and beneficial. Smartboards allow students to see all of the class material on a large screen, and be able to use the screen as a giant tablet for interactive usage. This is extremely useful for visual learners within the classroom. Tablets are also a great tool for the classroom, because it allows students to take notes and have electronic versions of the class material. This allows the students to be able to take their work anywhere, and complete it faster.