Educational Technology Showcase:
Products of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework
During my time at MSU I studied Matthew J. Koehler and Punya Mishra's (2006) complex relationship of the three principal forms of knowledge: Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK), which emphasize the kind of knowledge that meet between three primary areas: Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), and Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). Through effective technology integration, I learned the pedagogy around specific subject matter requires understanding the unique nature of how the relationship of these areas affect decision making in an educational setting when embedding technology. On this page, you will find the products of the work produced on my journey through the MAET program, with an emphasis upon the TPACK framework. Enjoy!
Personal Inspirations......
“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure."
Confucius
Content Knowledge (CK)
How teachers intergrate their content with the technology available to educators is the spot where content and technology overlap in the TPACK framework. As I began to address the needs to value both realms I discovered a way to facilitate change in the classroom. Content drives my instruction and what I have learned are the skills that allow me to deliver my instruction in meaningful ways using technology. While integrating technology into the classroom setting has many advantages, and positive developmental factors, it could also present some issues. There are five (5) main change elements that will effect the results: (1) Vision, (2) Skills, (3) Incentives, (4) Resources, and an (5) Action Plan. Here is my presentation on how we can take Andrew Churches' elements of change to build an Educational Technology Vision.
Another example of how I address my content needs when building a foundational method to deliver instruction to all students resulted in asking the same questions I ask myself during class. Ask yourself, the critical analysis questions all good Historians ask: Who said it? When did it happen? What other opinions are out there about this topic? Where is the most active involvement? Why is this topic important to me?
The webquest I designed for 9th grade U.S. History class reinforces standards that may not be covered due to time constraints within the classroom, yet is an integral part of the course. Through the use of a webquest I was able to engage students in a self-paced lesson idependent of classroom instruction.
Pedagogical Knowledge (PK)
In January of 2013, the New Media Consortium (NMC) identified five pressing “wicked challenges” that, in their view, must be addressed to change the “future of education”. Consistent with how we have understood the term, the NMC defined wicked problems as “issues that are extremely difficult and even seemingly impossible to solve because of the complex or ever-changing environments in which they arise.” (p. 1) In the creation of this Voicethread presentation I learned the lesson of international collaboration and the importance of working with time zone differences amongst group members. We explored the Wicked Problem from a learning ethic. I have included the original planning document in Google Docs so you may see the process of collaboration.
As a firm believer in the Social Constructivist pedagogy I have envisioned a number of lessons that differentiated all levels of instruction meeting my students' needs. Not only is technology the driving force behind many new innovations within the educational community the use of media to display a number of skills also is just as important to education. In this poster created for a leadership class, I chose to emphasize the vision that is necessary to keep the dreams and imaginations of my students inspired. With this poster, I am able to share the beautiful area in which I live in northern Michigan with struggling students that may need to make the personal connections to their course work. I have blown this poster up and it is now displayed within my office to keep me focused on where I still want to go professionally. I have linked a PDF of the outline for my Sustainability Technology Project .
Technology Knowledge (TK)
My research involved learning, exploring, and creating a viable solution for a special learning need that I feel affects my work. As a secondary teacher and instructional coach, my colleagues and I are faced with students 13-18 years-old struggling with language acquisition not to mention mastery of content standards and objectives. The special need I focused upon for my research addressed the rising testing demands, which all districts must face, and the support needed for ELL students within a mainstream classroom, yet at the same time addressing the real learning needs of all of my students. As we continue to differentiate instruction, I believe that any area of specific focus to address inconsistent learning opportunities will result in all students learning. The UDL principles expressly support this same intention that by helping some, all benefit.
Wow! I am amazed at how my Professional Learning Network continues to grow as I find myself adding new resources to my Twitter feed to follow. As an educator, I like most educators, do not have enough time or energy to sift through all the information in a given day that we are bombarded with and demands our attention. When someone asks, “Have you heard?” my favorite and usual response sounds something like, “If the world was ending I would be the last person to know.” One the ways I have learned to keep abreast of new technology trends has been through my Twitter follows. In the past twenty years, collaboration through the use of social media has not only become a necessity, but a wealth of information to bring technology into the classroom.
The initial course of CEP 810 introduced me to the Web2.0 tools that would be necessary to be successful throughout my journey in the MAET program. Mr. McMichael asked students to define and broaden their Personal Learning Networks (PLN) by jumping into the communication frenzy of Twitter. Throughout the journey, I have become so well accustomed to these tools that by the end of the program, I can say that my PLN has increased exponentially. The first experience of holding collaborative discussions with classmates online was a real pleasure to experience with other students just as uncomfortable as I was initially with the platforms. This course taught me the importance of Web2.0 tools when I had never really given them a chance before the course. I grew as an individual and as a teacher during this introductory period knowing in the end that all of these skills would be needed to bring technology into an educational setting with a purpose.
Peagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
Digital storytelling is an easy way to integrate digital tools into your projects. The basic premise is simple: tell a story through digital photographs and drawings, information, video, recorded voice, and music. This story can be based on anything you imagine, from a biography of a person, to a student-written creative piece, to a series of images that represent a poem, to a narrative that assembles information about a particular country or culture. The only limit to a digital story is the amount of imagination you put into the process! (2009, Johnson)
Technological Content Knowledge (TCK)
Infuse Learning is a Learner Response Solution for educators to receive assessment information during the course of their instruction. The software allows all devices that students use to connect to the internet (iPad, phones, androids, iphones, computer lab, laptops, nooks, tablets) to login and respond to the questions educators post to gather data. Formative assessment opportunities during instruction, planned ahead of time or reacted upon during the class, is so easy to edit a quiz and send out to students.
Another great feature of the program is that it allows students to change the language setting and hear the questions in their own language and in English. The breakdown of the language barrier gives the students the ability to control when and how the translation needs to occur. They can have the audio set to speak in their native language or they can just translate the text. Whatever way students use to support their learning, the tools are available with this software. As a constructivist teacher I believe that students need to be given the tools to use to succeed, but before they can stand on their own they must have the necessary instruction to provide a deep commitment to the learning process. They must understand how to interact in a social world with new technology being added every day.
Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)
Special Interest Groups took on a new meaning when my fellow classmates and I created and joined a SIG sponsored by Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning (MACUL). Our SIGAIFlippedVLE addressed the needs of teachers to discover the tools necessary to flip their classroom instruction. I found out early on that a flipped classroom can take on a number of various forms, but what I really enjoyed was the beginning of the video movement within my own class setting. I am a strong supporter of a flipped classroom especially when teachers will be out for an extended period. For example, I am working with a teacher to create videos of instruction during her maternity leave. I also work with teachers’ leery of videotaping themselves and choose to link their audio to Khan Academy videos where the "professionals" have already created the work.
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)
My final addition to my showcase was an independent course created to address the pedagogy, content, and technology within one product. The Economics' course I created along with journaling in a Developer's Notebook, which documents the thought process behind additions to the course along with the principles of a Universal Design for Learning (UDL) lesson that have come to be embedded with all of the lessons I now work on with teachers. The learning management system I chose to create the survey course with was Haiku, another new addition to my growing list of tools to enhance learning through technology. I have worked with a number of platforms such as Moodle, Wiki, and Edmodo, but the ease of use and the features that Haiku offered its users was very easy and would be accessible for any teacher just starting out building their classes online.
Invitation code: H929G
Image credits:
TPACK Image Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org
References
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00684.x.