Blog Post #4

Twitter has been a pretty fun experience to have and share with my classmates in the class. Unlike all other classes sharing twitter has allowed for the class in my option to communicate unlike any other class and although it may not always be used to pass on info it is helping us share thoughts as they happen. For example when I am wondering if anybody else has done the blog post its helpful to see at least one other person say they hadn't done it either so I know I'm not necessary all that behind. I do realize that sharing memes may not always be productive but it does allow us to interact with our classmates and maybe start a conversation another time. I personally have had a thread going with Dick almost every class and it may not be productive but it is fun and stress relieving. Twitter might be helpful in the future because it may help me communicate with students quicker if I don't have access to email and may also allow me to teach basics of social media and how everything stays on the internet easier and in a more fun way.

 The digital divide effects how students can learn to use technology with the resources provided around them, an example of this would be one students having internet access at home and a new computer and using them for everything, homework, social media, and fun while a second student may have a 3 year old computer and no internet access. Student 1 will be more prepared for high ability computer skills and more prepared for a job rather than student 2 who may not know basic skills. This may be caused by the parents not being able to afford the newest tech or even basic internet, it may also just be caused by a lack of money and the schools inability to teach them inside the school. To overcome the home disadvantage I will try what my 4-5 grade teacher did and try to advocate for laptops for the school and use those 2-3 times a week to overcome the lack of technology at home and also I will try to make sure the schools computer lab or labs are open before and after school so kids can stay late or come early for more help if needed.

 After reading Chapter 8 I think that I will use the Reference software the most because for high school age kids need to learn the skill and these tools with help them even past high school and college. This software will help them research information for papers and presentations, this skill will always be useful and will only need updating as time progresses. The least important piece of software for my classroom would be the Imaging Software because for my history class it wouldn't be used very often. The only real time this would be used is when they would need to make visual presentations.