Blog 5: Technological Communication

Twitter was something that, before using it, did not understand much. I didn't see the reason why a social media platform whose sole purpose was to send short sentences and pictures needed to exist. However, when I first began using it, I understood. It is a way to provide information in a concise manner or to give others access to pieces of media from around the internet. I first used it for my school, where I created a twitter to connect with friends and see what was going on. From there, I found important people, news outlets, and info pages that gave me a vast amount of information in such a small format. Twitter might be helpful in my future career when I would like to inform others of a specific teaching method, how it's worked for me, and if there is anything I can do to improve that method or if there is a better method to begin with.

But, informing others may be an issue when taking into consideration the digital divide that exists in our world. The digital divide is a split between people that are able to successfully use technology for personal uses and be efficient at it and others that either do not use technology or are completely unaware how to use it. The digital divide may affect the classroom if there are students that cannot afford set pieces of technology, such as a laptop, a phone, or home internet. It may cause them to have some difficulties in doing some tasks where research is necessary. Another cause of the digital divide is a lack of understanding of technology and people having a misconception of it. I will need to take all of this information into account as a teacher, and for students that may not have access to that information I will create an alternate lesson plan that will not need technology but will still allow the students to gain the necessary information. Something else I can do is move those days where technology is needed to the library so that the students can use the computers to get the information they need, taking into account that I have taught those students how to properly use said pieces of technology.

This will also play into the different academic softwares that I would like my students to use. I would like for them to use Google Scholar as well as learning tools such as Khan Academy. With Google Scholar, students will be able to access information that is mostly non-biased and is full of primary sources, allowing them to access the proper information instead of any misinformation that is more present than ever in our times. As for Khan Academy, it is a great tool that students can use as a tutor or additional learning to get ahead of the curve. As a teacher, I can try my best to teach my students and ensure that they gain the information, process it, and apply the information whenever it is possible, but sometimes a helping hand is needed to get that across to the students. Plus, it can help me do something for my students to show that they are motivated to learn, such as using badges.

With badges, I can give students both short and long-term goals that have a reward when achieved. Whether it be turning in their assignment on time or getting 5 straight A's, it gives them the competitive edge to succeed for themselves. I will not make it a competition since that can lead to students having a issues with performing, where they only focus on their success. I have earned badges in the past for connecting a symbol in a novel to an overarching theme of our lesson. It was a fun achievement and something that always pushed me to do great things. I also get badges in videogames, such as through challenges or trials. Those I would be proud of receiving as well since some of them were very difficult to obtain, and some will show that only a certain percentage of people were able to get this achievement or badge.