Let's Talk Tech!

When I first hear the term “algorithms”, my first thoughts are how my phone can listen to my conversations and even read my mind. There have been multiple instances in my life where I am talking with a friend about a certain product, destination, celebrity, etc. and then that topic appears on my social media through ads or recommended “posts I may like”. Image Source: Reddit (r/meme) It is no secret that this is not purely coincidental and I was interested in learning more. I decided to start with an article by Caitlin Dewey titled, “ 98 Personal Data Points That Facebook Uses To Target Ads To You ” from the Washington Post. When the first sentence ended with “it seems someone has possibly read your brain” (Dewey, 2021), I knew that this article was a good starting place for me! I have been particularly interested in Facebook’s targeted advertising because I am not very active on Facebook. I have not updated my profile, posted statuses, or even added new friends in many years. Unlike o...

A Professional Learning Network (PLN), can support a teacher’s personal growth in several ways. Teachers benefit from PLNs through social growth, affective growth, cognitive growth, and identity growth. When thinking of my own PLNs that I have been a part of in the past, have been in for a while, and have recently joined, I feel that the biggest area of growth for me is my cognitive growth. I have gained so many resources, tools, and strategies from the teachers that are in my same professional learning network. It has been so helpful to hear not just about what the resources are, but how they are being used and implemented in these teachers’ classrooms. I have also gotten to hear about the things that did not go as planned which has given me ideas on what I can avoid doing in my own classroom. My personal cognitive growth has greatly impacted my student’s learning environment and academic success in a positive way. Image Source: (Facebook Screenshot) Personal Photo I have had some pri...

Hello! My name is Madeline (Maddie) Simpson. I am currently a 2nd grade general education teacher, but I am working on my Master’s in Educational Technology in the hopes of becoming a technology teacher in the future.  Image Source: Personal Photo My relationship with social media differs based on the platform. I find that I am most active on Instagram. On here, I make posts, look at other people’s posts, and use the direct messaging to send messages and posts to my friends. My Instagram is linked to my Facebook, so I do send things to Facebook, but unlike Instagram I am not posting directly to that platform and I do not often comment or send posts from Facebook. I like that my Instagram and Facebook are time capsules of my life. When I look at Facebook, which I was very active on in high school and college, I have albums of all my old photos with friends and family. Similarly, Instagram has photos of the highlights of my life for the past 10 years. It is really fun to be able to l...