Blog Journal #5

    My earliest experience with twitter dates back to my brother's high school graduation. At this event, there was a jumbotron that displayed tweets from family members if they used a certain hashtag. With my parent's permission *wink wink*, I downloaded the app and wrote "happy graduation Andrew we love you". Around five minutes later my tweet was displayed on the screen and my Twitter fame began. Now I use the app for mostly news and some meme-related content. Me and my friends share news threads with one another and this has not only allowed me to have more access to news but also news that comes from a small journalist. Twitter would allow me to share different articles and stories with students in a manner that feels less formal than in other academic settings. Beyond that, they would have access to materials in a different way.

    The digital divide is the gap that separates a generation of those who benefited from access to technology and those who did not. The digital divide has affected those in schools in a unique way. Those who were fortunate enough to access to something such as a computer cart had a computer every day or some weeks at school. This allowed those students to have access to technological resources which fueled their learning experience. Causes of the digital divide have to do with the dichotomy of a generation of who gave their kids Ipads and a generation above them who will never touch Ipads. As a teacher, my students will probably be more technologically advanced than me because of what seems to be a natural and yet rapid progression of technological understanding. 

    Academic software in our digital age is key for a student to have a successful upbringing in the school system. This can be both for teachers and students but it is nice to know that the encyclopedia is not the most efficient resource anymore. Two software that I would be sure to implement in my classroom are google docs and Microsoft excel. I plan to be a history professor and for me, google docs are great due to having a built-in filing system that separates classes and makes organization and document-making very efficient. (for more google doc related content see "Blog Journal 2") Excel is a tool that I do not know how to use and would like to become for proficient in and if I can incorporate it into a project I would be happy to do it. Overall I think this sort of software is important as it enhances creativity and efficiency.