Blog Post #4

Hi guys!

In this post I'll be discussing my previous interactions with Twitter. I'd like to think that I grew up in the prime age of Twitter, when it was really starting to become popular. My first twitter account was filled with followers that went to my school and I primarily followed my friends and celebrity accounts. I would rarely tweet and just repost funny things I saw. Now I use Twitter in class and I find it a lot more helpful than when I was younger. I like interacting with my classmates and my instructor in this way. It makes things fun, but educational. I think later in life I can use Twitter as a platform to help and inform students as well as other potential teachers. I also want to pursue writing in my career so I feel that Twitter will help get my book out.

The digital divide describes the gap between peoples' use of technology. I believe the digital divide affects students success in schools because I believe that it makes it seem as though the students' with more technology have a greater chance for success, but not everyone has the easy ability to pick up technological concepts. Some people for example grow up to be so good with technology, while some people(like me) don't really catch on quickly. Additionally not every student is fortunate enough to have the same access to technology. Some causes of the digital dive are age. For example I can say that I have seen one of my teachers struggle to maximize a Youtube video, even though we kept telling her where to click. I think almost every student can attest to a period of time when they tried helping their teacher with technology in the classroom. It makes sense it is in no way the teachers' fault. Another divide, sadly, is a families financial situation.They didn't grow up like we did with technology everywhere. I think in my classroom I might experience students from different areas and different financial spectrums I think this might affect my teaching strategy because I may be extra careful when stressing that in now way are those students with easy access to technology at a greater educational level. I think the chances of success depend on the student.

When I graduate I hope to teach High School level English Literature. I think the types of educational tools I would use would be fun grammar games that the students could really get into. As an English Education major I am not ashamed to admit that grammar can be tedious and difficult at times. I thin putting this into a game of sorts will have the kids learning with enthusiasm. I don't think I'll use any tools like Excel because I don't see how that would pertain to a Literature class. Hopefully I would frame my classroom in a way that we would have technology days and reading days. So half the time we'll be dissecting literature and doing grammar work and the other half would be spent with technology, trying to show the students how to find proper sources and how to cite things properly.

That will be all for today! Can't wait to see you guys next week.
Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!