Thursday, July 17, 2014

TPACK ponderings

TPACK is central to Instructional Technology and Digital Media Literacy. Having learned about some of the literacies in the ITDML program, Literacy Praxis and Global Literacy, it was interesting to be challenged to use a variety of technologies to express ourselves. As I read about the three examples in the Kohler (2006) article, I pictured how this kind of technology is used or might be used for instruction at Abbott Tech.

"The content-neutral emphasis on generic software tools assumes that knowing a technology automatically leads to good teaching with technology." Kohler, 2006.

Learning technology by design

Example #1: Making movies.
The grad students used idea-based videos (iVideos) to communicate an important educational idea. Technology was learned in the context of the project. There was much collaboration among group members about the content and the technology to relay the content.  Work was done outside of the classroom.
Abbott Tech Connection: Students in our health classes make videos. They work together outside of the classroom during class, study halls, and after school. Students seem to be engaged with the project.

Example #2: Redesigning educational websites
Grad students re-designed existing websites for middle school students based on student-centered knowledge of the topic and the interests and skills of middle-schoolers. 
Abbott Tech Connection: Students have created a Facebook-style page of a US Congressman and a poster about the civil rights movement in the past. Designing a website for a Congressman or a cause would require stronger technology and research skills. Also, students have more exposure to (and pay more attention to) websites than flyers.

Example #3: Faculty development and online course design
Together, Grad students and a tenured teacher created an online course for teacher professional development. The grad students learned about how content and pedagogy work together in real life and the teacher learned to integrate the technology skills.
Abbott Tech Connection: A department could work (with me) on an online unit for their students. They would supply the content, we would collaborate on the pedagogy, and I would help with the technology.

In all three cases the participants learned that "design is about finding an optimal solution, not a perfect solution." Kohler, 2006.  This fits in well with the Common Core State Standards.

TECHNOLOGY * PEDAGOGY * CONTENT

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for the examples of how TPACK would look in the classroom. Too often we forget about the real-world in these discussions.

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