Blog #5

I have not been using Twitter too much outside of the requirements for this class. I did not have a Twitter account prior to the one I made to use for class and am very unfamiliar with the platform. I do use other forms of social media, but I have never been drawn to Twitter. I feel like the majority of Twitter's purpose is to follow celebrities, companies, or others with a big online presence and read their interactions. I use the forms of social media I have to keep up with friends an people I've interacted with in real life, I don't follow any celebrities. Because of this, Twitter has never been a platform I have been drawn to. I don't see myself using this in my career in education. While I recognize it as a useful tool, I feel like there are other resources I can employ that will do the same jobs.

The digital divide is becoming an increasingly larger issue as technology implemented into school. Students do not have equal access to technology at home, and that causes division in who can become successful. Those who can afford to keep up with the latest technologies and quality internet have a better opportunity to be successful. Students who cannot afford these luxuries-turned-necessities automatically are less likely to be successful purely based on circumstances beyond their control. Teachers could see a clear difference between students coming from more affluent areas and students from less fortunate areas if they primarily assign online work, or communicate with parents and students primarily through the internet. As a teacher I would make sure the work we did online was mostly done in class. If some was to be done at home, I would offer days that I would stay later during the day so students could access school computers to do their work, or I would provide a paper take-home version of the assignment for them to complete. I would also make sure that whatever announcements I sent over online platforms, I sent as a paper take-home as well for the students to give to their parents. That way, no matter the level of access to technology, all parents and students have access to the information I want to give them.

Some software items that I would want my students to use are Dance Mat Typing and SumDog. These are two websites that I used in elementary school and I think would be beneficial to my students. Both are fun websites that draw the student in with interactive games and entertaining visuals. Dance Mat Typing helps students learn how to properly type on a keyboard. The difficulty and amount of letters used increases as one moves through the levels. Each level has a different animal instructor, song and fun theme to keep students engaged and help them complete the level. SumDog is a math website that encompasses material K-8. There is a variety of fun games that help the student with different math concepts. It allows the teacher to track student progress and create fun challenges for their students. I really enjoyed using these sites as student as did my peers, and I think they'd be fun, helpful tools to employ in my classroom.

I have never used educational badges before. I have heard of different resources like Classroom Dojo that use badges, but I have never used them myself. Because I have never used classroom badges, I have never had the chance to share one. I think that they could be a valuable classroom tool, and I am interested in learning more about them and how to use them.