Equal Access to the Digital World!

 

What does it mean to provide equal access to the digital world? I believe that this means we are able to provide students with equal opportunities to learn and succeed. In today’s world technology is everywhere. Our phones, laptops, tablets and computers all provide us with the opportunity to learn. More and more teachers are handing out some homework that needs to be completed on the computer through and online program. I believe this trend is going to grow more so overtime.

There are many education based programs that are geared towards children and learning such as Edmodo, Brain Pop and Skillstutor.  Schools seem to be very eager to pick them up and everyday are incorporating them into classrooms and assigned homework lessons. These are all great learning tools but what if your child doesn’t have access to a computer at home? 

This is where it can be tricky. Most schools now have a computer lab or laptops that travel from class to class. Teachers need to help students that don’t have technology at home find time to do the assignments in school. It can be during down time, having some time put aside specifically to do this work or even before or after school.  After all, in the school walls is the best and for some the only place for a child to gain equal access to the digital world.

Social Media Today

 

I know that as parents we do all we can to protect our kids. We stay up until they get home, we make sure that they call us to check in when they are over a friends house, and so on. And with our kids now on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter it can make our check ins a bit more difficult and it becomes much more than just calling and checking in. We now have a harder time checking to make sure our kids are safe and being treated correctly. 
As many negatives as there are with social media there are just as many positives. If our kids learn how to treat and act on social media now hopefully there shouldn't be to much to worry about down the road. For this reason I have chosen to start a class page on Twitter. This will be a place where we can past fun videos and links to educational sites. This is also a place we can post pictures and share our thoughts and feelings about fun field trips with the class and activities we are working on in class.
I have added a tab at the top of our WebQuest page. Hover over the tab until the drop down box appears and click on Twitter. I have added some more information for parents and students about twitter and should be read and watched before venturing on to our Twitter page. A have added the link to our twitter page at the bottom of this post as well as on the Twitter page. 
See you on Twitter!!
Mrs.Randolph's Twitter Page