Blog Post 5

Twitter/Instagram & PLN

I have extremely limited experience with using Twitter and Instagram as a means of enhancing my Personal Learning Network. The extent of this experience is primarily with this class’ use of Twitter, but it also extends to my graduate school application and decision process. I have applied to Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate programs in hopes of becoming an Academic Advisor in the future. Once I started receiving acceptances from programs, I followed each school’s College of Education and Department of Student Affairs accounts on Instagram, as well as their program-specific account if there was one. This has helped me gain insight into what student life is like not just for graduate students in the programs I applied for, but also what student life is like in general for all graduate and undergraduate students. One of the programs I was accepted to also created a Facebook Group for both admitted and current students to introduce themselves and connect. I can see myself utilizing Twitter, Instagram, and even Facebook in the future as a means of gaining new information in the higher education world as well as for connecting with new people.

Digital Divide

Digital divide affects student success because it causes educational and achievement gaps between students. Students who do not have access to WiFi and/or personal technology devices at home are at a significant disadvantage because they do not have as great of access to resources as students who do have technology and WiFi at home. Students without technology and/or Wifi may also have parents who are not skilled at using technology. In contrast, students with access to these things at home likely have parents who can help them use and navigate technology. As a teacher, it is important to recognize these things and plan ahead of time to accommodate to students who experience the downsides of digital divide. Printing out hard-copy assignments and resources for these students to take home with them may help close the educational and achievement gap associated with digital divide.

Academic Software

Two academic software tools I would implement in my classroom are Google Classroom and Canva. Google Classroom is similar to Canvas in the sense that you can create a classroom portal for students to submit assignments, access resources, and receive grades electronically. I find that Google Classroom has a more streamlined and intuitive design compared to Canvas, which is why I would implement it in a K-12 classroom as opposed to Canvas. Additionally, Canva is a tool that allows students to complete assignments and projects in a creative manner. While many functions on Canva are now limited to paying users, it is still a very beneficial program for students to gain basic experience with creative graphic design.