Blog 4

I have been using Twitter to share interesting articles I find and things we've been learning in class. I have not replied to nor retweeted anyone's Tweets yet, but I will be sure to do that in the future. I know a lot of teachers at my high school had Twitter accounts to remind students of upcoming assignments, advertise events around school, and connect with their students on a professional media platform. When I am a teacher, I will likely use it the same way.

The digital divide is defined in the podcast as the difference between students who have ready access to technology and the Internet versus those who do not. This can create a big gap in student success. A student who has a nice computer and high-speed Internet at home will perform better in the long run compared to a student who lives in a rural area with a 20th century computer and no Internet access. As a teacher, this will be a problem I will likely face more than once. In order to counteract this, I will be sure to accommodate my students as needed, giving them paper homework, but introducing them to technology inside the classroom as much as I am able.

By the time I become a teacher, I expect most classrooms will be equipped with a class set of computers or tablets, and maybe a SmartBoard. However, since I plan on being a first grade teacher, I predict that the use of technology at this age will be quite limited. If anything, it will be used for my lessons. If I had to guess on which electronics/software would be used the most, I would assume Microsoft Word, so I can create worksheets and newsletters for my students and their families. I would also assume that I would use Microsoft PowerPoint the least, unless it was for an occasional lesson or two.