Blog Journal #5

     I have had a personal Twitter account for a couple years now, and I never find myself using it all that often. I know some people love Twitter and use it every day, but I'm not that drawn to the app for a couple reasons. The main reason is I feel very overwhelmed and find it hard sometimes to keep up with tweets. I decided to make a new account for the purposes of this class. My only interactions have been for assignments, as I still do not find myself drawn to Twitter in my free time. I can understand why many people like Twitter and the features it offers but I don't think it's for me, so unless it is necessary I do not think I'd use Twitter in my future career.

    For students in school, the digital divide can affect them in many ways. Some schools may be able to provide students with Chromebooks or iPads, but some schools require them and are not able to provide them. Especially with products such as the iPad, after only a couple years many people experience lagging and shorter battery life, making it almost necessary to replace them pretty often. This can be an issue as many people don't have the money to constantly buy expensive tablets. There is also a learning curve with technology that most students are expected to already know, so many schools do not take the time to ensure each student feels comfortable using technology. Therefore, if a student comes from a home without a computer or tablet they are not as prepared as students who do.

    One example of educational software that I would use as a teacher is Zoom. Using Zoom as a replacement for in-class learning was never something I liked, but I think that there are some great benefits to it. I would allow students and parents to easily set up one-on-one time with teachers without having to go into the classroom when it isn't necessary. Another way it could be used is to allow students who for personal reasons are not able to be in the classroom to still get instruction instead of leaving them behind the rest of the class for circumstances outside their control. The other example of educational software I would use is the website Newsela. I first learned about it from a professor last semester and I think it is such an amazing tool for teachers. The website allows teachers to personalize classwork for their students in an easy way. Teachers first pick a topic or subject and Newsela provides articles/readings based on that. From there teachers can change the reading level to fit whichever grade level they teach, as well as for students who may be above or below reading level, allowing all the students to read the same material at a level that fits them best.