“Raise your hand if at twenty years old you were the most wholesome version of yourself” (Korf, 2017) No, no I was not. Chances you weren’t, either. Nor at sixteen, or thirteen… Imagine you are thirteen years old again. Greenday is blaring on your stereo in the background, and you’re scribbling in your diary with all of the teen angst you can muster. You go in to grand detail about your crush, your changing body, and your deepest and darkest desires. You feel a little bit better after writing out the day’s frustrations. You feel even better knowing that no one will ever read your diary, because you have a…

“Technology has led to a more equitable society” Oh, how wonderful would it be if this statement rang true. I knew from the get-go the answer, but yet I listened with rose-coloured anticipation, hoping to be convinced otherwise. The potential that educational technology has to enhance learning, especially for those with varying abilities or for those in remote areas is limitless. There is one overarching hindrance, though: Money. Cash flow, funding, dollar dollar bills…however you word it, it is what is needed to have technology live up to its fullest potential in educational equity. The possibilities in assistive technology alone would be enough to close this argument, but alas. Funding…

The key takeaway from this week’s debate, for me, is that everything is okay in moderation. Social media is a fantastic tool for so many reasons. Most specifically, for creating connections in ways that never used to be possible. The negatives may currently seem to be outweighing the positive aspects, but this is an opportunity for some teachable moments about finding a balance between virtual reality and regular reality. Social media may not be “ruining” childhood, but things will never be like the “good old days” again. My only thought is that of course, we can’t completely ban social media, however we as adults and educators need to help our…