Blog Journal #5

 Twitter use? 

    I've been using Twitter for quite a while (maybe five or six years?), and I have always loved the platform. When I came to college, that was the first time that I started to use Twitter for academic purposes. For instance, one of my English classes required us to tweet questions about the topic we were discussing each class and respond to our classmates. In this class, I have been interacting with a lot of educational Twitter accounts and other classmates. All in all, I have found the weekly discussions to be the most intriguing! I participated in my first live chat this past Monday and it was amazing to see different teachers or students from across the United States discuss issues within the field. It was insightful to see seasoned teachers' responses to newer teachers or students! I feel that I want to incorporate Twitter into my future classroom because these discussions and focused accounts are great resources for people to learn about a specific topic. I think I can also see myself using Twitter to tweet to fellow English teachers about lesson plans or what to improve in a classroom. 

Digital Divide?

    Since we are becoming teachers in a digital age, the digital divide is an important topic to discuss because it will most likely affect our classrooms. The digital divide negatively affects students within underfunded schools and can create an educational gap between lower-class students and their peers. If students are provided the same resources or information then they are sure to fall behind. This can hinder their success in class if one student has access to updated technology compared to another student who does not have the same access. Some of the causes of the digital divide are underfunded schools, different family situations, and cultural philosophies about technology. I do believe that the digital divide is increased because of funding based on test scores and what resources counties and states provide. I think that the digital divide might affect outside homework assignments if they were assigned through online systems, so I would change my strategies to provide paper homework or notes. I think this might be able to help because I would provide the paper so the students wouldn't have to worry about typing up essays or answering comprehension questions. In addition, I would make most of my work or assignments be completed at school, either through a trip to the school library or using school computers if the students need to type or research topics online. 

Software in My Classroom! 

    As I said previously, I do want to incorporate an educational Twitter account in my classroom if all students have access to phones or Twitter. I think it would be a good idea to have a check-in every morning where the students tweet their feelings or questions about the class. I would also try to create an assignment like the one we just completed where the student participates in an English live chat! Another software I want to incorporate into my classroom is TikTok. The app is pretty popular currently, and I have seen TikToks where students create one as a project for the class they're in (e.g., a history TikTok for their American History class). I think it would be a fun and interactive assignment that students would be excited to participate in. They would also choose their English topic and can be creative with it instead of having a research paper or essay.