TPACK to me is somewhat of a confusing processes. I understand the importance of technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge as a teacher, it is more of become the teacher who incorporates then all effectively in my classroom. It seems as though that for each content area you teach, as a kindergarten teacher that would be everything, you need to explore and find this balance. I feel as though I personally have the pedagogy and content knowledge I need to benefit my students learning I think the harder part if to use technology to enhance the lesson I am teaching and not to just have technology to have it. I have found some interesting blogs and resources from the web that I think can help not only myself but an teacher. On the
http://llcurious.wordpress.com/tag/tpck/ blog that I came across while looking on the web about TPACK, she talks about how the process should lie outside the realm of TPACK. The process you use to teach is always happening in PK sphere of TPACK is where you are able to change the process to to be an effective teacher. Outside of TPACK is your daily routine and practice. I would love to see if others understood this differently, Do you?
I see myself as a teacher who is in the PK part of the TPACK framework but I am working to add the T to my PACK. I want to be an effective teacher for the 21st century learner. I have found many good resources that I believe have great ideas of how to repurpose and use technology effectively to enhance content learning in my room. One of these is
Digital Kindergarten. This blog talks about how to integrate technology effectively into Early Childhood Classrooms. I had thought about creating a wiki space for my kindergartners to be able to navigate the computers and stay where I wanted them to stay but this site talks about symbaloo. You are able to set this as a homepage with site appropriate for your kids and even for certain topics or units. There are also great app resources for iPads and a great resource for teachers to look at their teaching in the
Blooms Taxonomy with Technology. Another resource I will be using is
21st Century Tools. In my masters class we have been talking about repurposing technology for the classroom. This website gives many ideas for all grade levels on technology tools that could be used in education effectively. Many of the article I read talked about teacher needing training on how to use the technology and that teachers need professional development to learn how to use technology effectively.
One of the pieces of technology I was wanting to use in my room was the wiki. The website
Web Tool 4 U 2 Use gave great ways to use wikis in classrooms effectively. I haven't been through the whole site but the resources from this site are great so far. One other area I wanted to add was showing parents what we do in our classroom through the picture I take in a private way. There is link on this site for this too! Hoping I can check it out soon. I am hoping by using these sites I will be able to move closer to adding the T to my PACK and become a more effective teacher.
So THIS is where your blog is . . . =-)
ReplyDeleteYour reflections are quite interesting. It IS difficult to see how we can integrate technology to support the PCK that we do in class already. Don't do it for the sake of doing it, but because it provides opportunities that were not previously available.
I liked the Tale of Two TPACKS. Do they have to be separate? Do Education and Science TPACKS merge when we are just looking at technology as another "plate on the table" instead of something that "Has to be done because it is cool?"
Keep up the good work, Mindy.
Z
Great blog. I agree with Dr. Z's comment that as educators, we can't add technology just for technology's sake. It should be chosen only if it can help enhance the learning experience. Sometimes that best "technology" is merely poster board and markers. But then again, maybe this activity could be documented on a class blog? Or maybe it could be concluded with a multi-media project? Or maybe links to photos could be sent out via Twitter? The possibilities are there, they just need to be refined and utilized WHEN they make sense. I think just reading about TPACK and thinking about TPACK is a great first step in applying the TPACK framework. Thanks for the great links and interesting post!
ReplyDeleteAnn - I, too, find myself striving to be more in the TK area. As teachers we're expected to learn the PK and CK components, but TK is constantly changing which requires us to continue to learn and implement new technology into our classroom.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you discuss the importance of using technology in a purposeful way, as opposed to the simple use of technology due to expectation. I too find the balance of these three elements difficult to find. Personally when I finally feel that I have one are managed then that is the only area I am focusing on. Thanks for the great resources as well!
ReplyDelete