Blog Post 5

I've noticed a lot of misinformation on both X/Twitter and Instagram. I tend to take everything I see with a grain of salt since everyone has their own opinions and "evidence" that will always contradict that of others. However, finding misinformation on mainstream platforms isn't anything new, but sometimes it's hard to sift the truth from the reactionary/misleading/political/emotionally-charged posts. I'm not one to private message a stranger's account and as such I haven't used utilized either platform to reach out to accounts, however I could see the appeal as a future educator. Being able to find other educators that will post about their teaching experience, practices, and advice could be very beneficial for me. Similar to reading other teachers' blogs, browsing an educator's page could spark ideas for the classroom, shed light on current issues that affect students/teachers, and (if nothing else) find some commonality in the struggles of being an educator.

The digital divide is becoming a bigger and bigger problem in schools today. Not being literate with educational technology or technology in general is a major disadvantage in the world today. Unfortunately, the absence of basic technology and technology literacy is more prevalent than it should be. Many schools/counties are underfunded and can't provide the technological resources that students need. If a school requires a lot of technology to be used for schoolwork and a student doesn't have a computer at home, there aren't many ways that student can succeed without using the resources the school gives them. Not having a gradual introduction to technology and how to navigate it for school purposes is detrimental to students. I've had first-hand experience as my household didn't have cable or WIFI until I was in 7th grade. The learning curve was extremely steep for me and I'm still not as technologically literate as my peers and friends. I want my students to not have to worry about navigating unfamiliar programs or struggling to search for the information they need, I want their focus to be on the assignment not on learning the means to even start the assignment. Despite my own continues struggle with technology, I want to do my best to aid my students with their confusion or unfamiliarity with their technological issues.

Google Drive is the software I would most want my future students to be familiarized with/use. It's free and allows students to store a lot of files/documents/data while also being able to work on spreadsheets, slides, notes, and papers. Plus (from my experience as a student), Google Docs seems to be the preferred way to share and work on documents when doing a group project. I expect my students to use Microsoft office since most schools or counties have and continue to prefer the use of Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. However, I feel that many students still aren't as familiar with the programs than they ought to be. I would want my students to gain a better understanding for the programs (mainly PowerPoint and Word) so that they might be better prepared for future assignments or work. I myself am still not as fluent in Microsoft programs as I would want to be and I wish my teachers had taught us more about the programs back when I started to use them. 

"Computers in a School Classroom - Creative Commons Attribution Only" by educators.co.uk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.