Blog Journal 5

 For this class, I had to create a Twitter account. So far on that Twitter account, I have followed a bunch of educational accounts, I have participated in an educational Twitter chat, and I have explored the feature Twitter had to offer. Out of all of my experiences with Twitter, I really enjoyed participating in the Twitter chat. I felt it was a great way, especially during a pandemic, to chat with new people about topics that resonate with you. I think Twitter will be way more beneficial then I originally thought for my career as a teacher. I can even do Twitter chats with parents, once a month to allow them to all interact with each other, without having to come into the classroom!

After learning about the digital divide in class and the statistics that go along with it, I realized that the digital divide is way bigger than I originally thought. After learning that it effects 30% of students, I thought about how much it must impact the students' performance in class. They are not only cut off from doing work that requires technology as soon as they get home, but they also don't have the vast resources that the internet provides for assignments that may not require internet connection. Some causes of the digital divide are access, or lack thereof for students who are living in low income areas and do not have the funds provided to access technology. As a teacher I may have some students that are not able to access technology due to personal reasons and some ways I want to try to work around that is to give those students alternative assignments that they can complete. I don't think it will affect my teaching strategies a lot, but I think it will push me to think outside the box for those alternative options. 

In my future classroom, I would love to implement Class Dojo and Kahoot. Class Dojo is a software tool that connects students, teachers, and parents on a platform where teachers can share videos and photos of what the students are doing for the day. It is kind of like an Instagram for the specific class. I have personally worked in a classroom, where the teacher kept in touch with the parents of her students through Class Dojo and I really enjoyed the way the software was set up. Kahoot is a game based learning platform that allows teacher to quiz their students and award a first place, second place, and last place once all points are tallied. I have also used Kahoot/made Kahoots for projects and I appreciate the fun, competitive element that it brings to the classroom.