Blog Post #4

I personally love Twitter and am on it more than any other social media, so this assignment has been pretty enjoyable for me because it gives me even more posts to scroll through. I love interacting with my classmates because it is people I really know. I follow some pages that post some really funny teacher memes and despite not being a teacher I have worked very closely with some and helped in classrooms that make them relatable. It could be helpful in the future as a teacher because I see so many links to articles that have tips for teachers, such as “20 ways to keep your students engaged” or “9 tips for keeping cellphones out of your students’ hands”. Usually it is just little teacher life hacks that would definitely come in handy.

The digital divide is an increasingly huge problem for students because it is becoming almost impossible to complete assignments without technology or Internet access. A child may be embarrassed by their low economic status and avoid telling a teacher that the reason that they don’t have their assignment completed is because they don’t have the money to pay for certain technology Internet access. As a teacher I think it is important to talk about all of the places where students could go for Internet access as well as discussing with each student their accessibilities to be sure that you know what your kids are dealing with.

I think that the main software that we will use in the classroom would be forms of software that presents and allows for the production of lessons and assignment completion in the classroom. I really would like to teach in a middle school classroom, so displaying lessons through PowerPoint and Microsoft Word will be critical in the classroom. Unavoidably their will be children with impairments and disabilities that software can help. For example, I have seen some software that can create talk to text, or text to talk documents for students who have visual impairments or dyslexia. Some software can also translate documents for students who are new English Language Learners. Software is incredibly beneficial in the classroom; we will just have to know how to use it.