Blog #4

Although I did not have a twitter account before this class, this site has proven to be very easy to maneuver and I have enjoy using it so far. I have mostly been interacting with a few students in class and some education pages. By checking twitter I am reminded of upcoming assignments which I find to be the most beneficial aspect! I could use twitter for my future career by using it the way we do for EME2040. If I created a twitter account for my students to follow I could tweet reminders about assignments and share resources that would be beneficial to them.

The digital divide can have a tremendous impact on a students success in school. Having little or no access to computers and other technology outside of school and lacking the knowledge of how to use it can create disparity between students in similar situations compared to those who have these resources readily available. As a future teacher I must be aware of the fact that I will have students from different backgrounds. The podcast spoke about how different SES can impact the digital divide so I cannot assume that each student has access to the latest technologies once they go home.  With this being said, I will give a lesson on how to properly use the technology my students will have access to before I give any assignments. I will also provide my students an ample amount of time to get their assignments done in class if they require the use of technology from our classroom.

Since I plan on working with elementary aged children, I think I will be using educational games and tutorial software the most in my classes. I like educational games and tutorials because they are interactive and incorporate graphics, animation, and audio or video clips. I think this would be a great way to capture my students attention and keep their focus until they complete the lesson. I do not think I will be using academic databases with this age group. Research projects that require scholarly articles would not be an appropriate assignment for K-5th grade students.