During the first half of this course, using Twitter has been beneficial. I think that it's interesting to see teachers interact in this sense. I've mostly been interacting with my peers and the EME twitter page. Using my peers as a resource and a reminder to tweet weekly has been helpful to making sure I complete my assignments. In the future, I think Twitter will be a great way for me to connect with other professionals and bounce ideas off of them, as well as share information that can be useful in my future classrooms.
The digital divide, which discusses a persons access to technology, can seriously students. In the podcast, two students were compared. One student from a middle class family, whose father worked in IT and another student, who came from a working class family without a computer in their home. It was explained that when these students go into college or the job field, they would have different levels of knowledge, leading to the student without a computer to be at a disadvantage. A student who is actively using a computer and computer software, will be able to navigate Productivity software, such as Microsoft, making it easier from them to complete many assignments at the college level. Very often, PowerPoint or presentation software, as well as graphics are used for presentations. Being able to adequately navigate these programs is essential to making a visually pleasing assignments. Tutorials, Educational Games and Simulations help students practice and test themselves to make sure they understand information clearly. Without these, they may not be able to focus on a traditional study method, which can hinder their learning.
There are many important points that should be considered when evaluating websites. Using the acronym ABCDT, is helpful to help remember these points. A stands for author, which focuses on the credibility of the person who created the website. B stands for bias. This point emphasizes the need to use websites and sources that do not have biased opinions. C is for content, which focuses on whether or not the information in the article is accurate, including grammar and spelling. D stands for design, focusing on how appealing the site and whether or not it is visually appropriate for students. T stands for Technology. This point emphasizes how accessible the site is and whether or not it will be easy for students to use. Other than these, I don't really use anything else to evaluate websites. Sometimes I check whether a website is a .com, .org or .edu to weigh its credibility. These points are important because they help make sure that information being used by students is appropriate and accurate.
Hey Twitter friend! Good post. The digital divide is definitely important to remember as a future teacher because it can truly impact your students and you may need to change your teaching method!
ReplyDeleteI find it really interesting that some students still may not have at-home access to the internet. As much as we try to make it accessible, there is a tell-tale bias towards middle class families vs. working class families because computers and internet access costs money which some families don't have sometimes.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Twitter will definitely be a great way to get new ideas for our classrooms. This will also be a great way to stay up-to-date on the most current technology to incorporate it into the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your outlook on Twitter! I did not realize how involved it can be in the education field. I also do not do much in searching for reliable address besides check the url.
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