Blog Journal #7

So far, I have honestly enjoyed using Twitter. It offers a unique way for me and my classmates to communicate with one another, whether that be through talking about educational technology, class assignments, or tweeting out relatable funny gifs for each other to see. I have learned to see Twitter as not only a social media platform but also an educational tool. I had never before thought Twitter could be used to enhance education but turns out I just was not properly informed about all of its various uses. There are so many benefits to using Twitter. For instance, you can follow a class page and get notifications every time your class page posts so you're always caught up, you can follow major education corporations such as Quizlet, NASA, etc, you can follow news outlets to stay up-to-date about what is going on in the world, you can partake in Twitter chats, and the list is endless. The only issues I have been experiencing are technical and due to my own lack of familiarity with Twitter. For instance, when I am trying to reply to a Tweet but have the original tweet show along with my reply, sometimes I can't figure out how to do that, so I end up just replying to the Tweet.

I have learned so much while working on the Web Design Assignment. For starters, I never knew you could just go to another website to create your own website. Once you're there, a website such as Weebly then has all the formatting tools right there waiting for you to start building your website. This makes it extremely convenient for people like me who would have no idea where to even start with building a website. One aspect of the web assignment that I really like is that there are multiple themes that you can choose from, and you can also personalize your website. This will ensure at least some sense of variety between my website and all of my classmates'. Furthermore, as I have mentioned, I really like how Weebly already has all the tools to build your website right there waiting for you. All you have to do is put your vision into motion, and Weebly will do the technology work for you. One aspect of the assignment that I do not like is that our links have to be on different topics. My class is for college students taking British Literature, so my resources are limited as it is unrealistic for a college professor to put English games on her website, it just would not be professional. To solve this issue, I just used different resources that offer their own personal tips for certain things such as citing a paper, finding resources, and writing a good paper. I also did not like how Weebly wouldn't let me create links within my categories, so I had to create more pages in order to include the additional categories I wanted. I think in order to improve my website next time I will use another resource to build my website. Weebly is fantastic for beginners who have no idea what they are doing, but I do believe there are better resources out there that can help you build a more functional website. If you would like to check out my website, here is the link: My Website

Assistive and adaptive technologies are extremely beneficial for those students who have either physical disabilities or learning disabilities. These technologies allow for those disabled students to not miss out on anything in the classroom and get the same educational experience as their unimpaired classmates. I have personally never used any assistive or adaptive technologies and nobody I know personally has used them. However, a great example of someone who did use these technologies was Stephen Hawking. It was through assistive and adaptive technologies that one of the smartest minds was able to communicate with the rest of the world. One challenge I can perceive encountering while using these technologies would be technology problems. For instance, if the software were to malfunction and the student had no way of completing an assignment or even hear the instructions to an assignment, that would definitely be a major problem. Secondly, these technologies could potentially make those disabled students feel even more like an outcast as their classmates would most likely not be using these extra resources to help complete assignments. While there are some potential challenges that come along with assistive and adaptive technologies, there are definitely ways to overcome these challenges. Overall, these technologies are amazing resources that help equalize the learning experience for all students.