Blog Journal #5

 I have been interacting with other students in EME and educators on Twitter. It has been very interesting seeing the education chats, and teachers sharing what lesson plans that work for them. I never knew so many teachers connected using Twitter, and it has been very interesting to be a part of it. I think Twitter has the opportunity to be a great part of my life and future career with or without teaching. 

The digital divide can greatly impact student success in school. As we move to include technology more in education and the way students learn, it may prove to be a hinderance to underprivileged students. By requiring homework assignments online (while they may be more engaging for some of the class) those without reliable access to internet at home are put at an even grater disadvantage. Some causes of this divide are systemic racism, unequal access to state funds, redlining, and more that contribute to poverty and child neglect in the United States. As an educator if I required my students to use technology I would make sure to ask any student who believes they may have trouble accessing the internet to speak with me privately later so they didn't feel ostracized. 

One software tool I would use in my future classroom is Diigo. After installing it my own browser I have found that is is extremely helpful when annotating documents, and the collaborative/sharing aspect of it would make group research projects much easier. Another software I would use is Canva. Canva is a great tool for students to use to be creative and take their presentations to the next level, and is great for PDF editing and converting.