blog 4: Technology & the digital divide

                *** my voice thread was not working so I had to complete a normal blog*** :( 

My experience with Twitter did not begin until this class! Growing up, all of my friends had a Twitter account and used them daily; I just never had the desire to have one. One thing that has really taken me by surprise is how useful Twitter is when trying to promote or raise awareness about something in particular. I have seen a shift of Twitter being used by teenagers only to now being used by many global organizations. Being comfortable with using Twitter is attractive to employers because it shows you know how to market yourself. Going into your future career knowing how to use Twitter comfortably will not only make you more appealing to employers but also provide you with a base of resources you can refer to.

The digital divide is something that really concerns me when it comes to education and success levels. While there are many factors that contribute to the digital divide; two main reasons that have a large impact are income and race. I saw this first hand as I interned in two public schools last semester. One of the schools being an underfunded, title one school in an area where poverty stricken children were enrolled. The opportunity they were given when it came to technology use was not fair and served them a disadvantage when compared to the students at the other public school. The digital divide is something many know about however, it is a completely different story when you see it yourself. This experience was both humbling and surreal. I realized how blessed I am to have access to any technology I needed in order to complete assignments in school. I witnessed how the teacher at this school took advantage of every opportunity she had to use technology. I watched her speak to the principal many times as she begged him to try to change the way things were. I watched her as she created interactive learning activities for the children instead of using technology. I know that if I were in this position as an educator, I would do everything she did and more in order to best serve my students! 

Being that I would like to teach elementary school aged children, I believe one of the best ways for them to learn is to create fun yet challenging activities to engage the students in the material we are learning that day or week! The first software that I have grown to love and enjoy myself is Kahoot! Kahoot is a quiz type game that helps the students exercise their memory on the things we have learned in the class! It encourages the students to work together which is my favorite part about it! I have always wanted to involve art in my lessons, regardless of the grade I am teaching. This is why COMPAS is an amazing tool that I would love to use in my classroom. COMPAS is a program that engages your students in multiple subjects that are "outside the box" when it comes to a normal lesson plan. For example, there is a program on COMPAS that is specifically for teaching the students about global culture. This is something I would absolutely insist on putting in my classroom!