Blog Post #5

     I first started utilizing Twitter early in my high school years, however, I never knew how to properly utilize this platform in terms of school. My use of Twitter back then was limited to daily news updates and memes that were floating around the internet. Currently, with this new Twitter account for EME2040 I have been able to see the educational purposes of Twitter. For instance, when we had to take part in a live discussion, I found the question that was being asked was very thought provoking. Although I only introduced myself and did not participate in the discussion, the individuals who were a part of the discussion were very welcoming and encouraged me to participate. These individuals ranged from educators to parents, which I thought was very interesting. I feel like this interaction is very beneficial as it allows you to gain different perspectives from individuals who are a part of the education system and those who are affected by it in some manner. Twitter might be helpful in my future career by giving me the opportunity to learn information that is relevant to my topic and also be able to discuss with other individuals in my career. 

    The term digital divide helps define the gap between students who have access to technology at home versus those who do not have access to technology at home. It is argued that students who have greater access to technology at home are at a greater academic success advantage than their counterparts who do not have access. I believe this to be true as the students who do not have access to computers at home are unable to gain further assistance on a topic if needed like their counterparts. Thus, these students have the possibility of falling behind in their academic if they are unable to gain further information at home about what they are learning. Some causes of the digital divide include not having access to technology resources such as computers due to the high cost of high performing computers. As a future educator, I am aware that this may be an issue for some of my students. Thus, I will assign work homework that can be accomplished successfully without the aid of technology. Not only that, but I can also incorporate the use of technology within my lessons in order to help students gain the confidence in their technological skills. As a future educator, it is important to take into consideration different circumstances that students are facing and adjust my lessons accordingly in order to make sure every student has equal opportunities to further their skills. 

    Academic softwares allows teachers to help students further their skills, whether it be their technological skills or their reading/writing skills. The two softwares I would like to implement in my future classroom would be ClassDojo and and ThingLink. With ClassDojo, I will be able to connect not only with my students, but with their parents as well in order to create a well, communicated community between myself and the students and parents. Not only is it way to stay connected, but it allows me as a future educator to provide my students with a platform where they can be heard, whether it is by posting photos or videos to their profiles. With ThingLink, I would be able to create virtual learning experiences for students. This could be beneficial when reading as ThingLink allows teachers to incorporate an audio visual learning material as an integrated reading tool. These two softwares allows me as a future educator to incorporate technology within the classroom and help students build their confidence in their technological skills.