Posts Tagged Pedagogy

Meta-Reflection

December 19, 2009 at 1:23 am · Filed under T4: Technology ·Tagged , , , ,

                It has been an interesting experience taking a technology class with people who are already teachers and attempting to use technologies in their classrooms. This is my first quarter in the MAT program; I have nearly two years before I will be in a classroom of my own.  So while some of my colleagues are actually applying our learning to their classrooms, I am formulating my pedagogical beliefs about technology and its place in the classroom. For example, Harris, Mishra, and Koehler (2009, p. 396-97) emphasize not only the use of technology, but “the connections among technologies, curriculum content, and specific pedagogical approaches” which “produce effective discipline-based teaching with educational technologies.” While I am not completely sure if I will ever use tools as specific as Scratch or SuperGoo (Peppler & Kafai, 2007), I think it is more important that I develop a philosophy about incorporating technologies into education without becoming too focused on the technology and lose sight of the rest of the content the state requires that students learn.  The technology will change and become outdated; from this course I now understand that it is about finding technologies that are worth using and that will work well with the rest of the course content. So while I cannot say that I am leaving this class with a list of tools that I will definitely use, I do know that I will use technologies that are supplemental to the material we are working on in class.

                In years past, the use of technology in the classroom by making the classroom online through online courses has carried a negative stigma with it. Bacer (2009, p.1) describes that students previously enrolled in online courses faced learning obstacles because “the lack of audio and visual clues can create a sense of silence” because students are “not seeing or hearing the other learners.” I shared this perspective and did not believe that it is possible to learn as much in an online course as in an actual classroom. However, through the use of tools such as VoiceThread, WordPress, and EtherPad, there is a connection between the other students and myself; they are now more than just a name on the computer screen to me, proving to me that an online class can be worthwhile. Teachers now have the ability to overcome the obstacle of engaging the students in an online classroom through tools that allow students to interact with one another and work together, even if it is not face to face.  Even in regular classrooms, technologies have been difficult to incorporate because of the cost to purchase the latest and greatest programs; but most of the technologies we looked at this quarter were free, allowing teachers to have plenty of options without having to pay.  The advancement of technologies that allow people to be more interactive through the use of audio, video, real-time technologies, and others, make using technologies for class work an enjoyable activity that still allows learning to take place.

                Using technology in the classroom is not always an easy feat. Sandholtz and Reilly (2004, p. 487) explain that it is difficult for teachers to stay up to date on what technology is available to teachers and that it is better not to expect them to have high technical skills, but for them “to focus on developing curriculum, evaluating learning materials, and thinking about how to provide better learning opportunities for their students”; when this is done, “teachers are likely to use technology more effectively and creatively in their teaching.” Students are expected to be taught how to use technology so they are ready for the digital world that we live in. However, this is not a specific content area in itself; teachers have to tie it in with the rest of students’ educations. As someone who is not yet a teacher, I cannot say that I understand the difficulties that these and some of my peers have described, but I feel more informed about some of the struggles I may face and some of the expectations that will be on my shoulders when I walk into my classroom. Not only have I been informed about potential challenges, rather, I feel as though I have also been equipped with the tools and with the philosophy to allow me to succeed in becoming a teacher who utilizes technology in the classroom.

References:

Bacer, Kathleen (2009, May). Utilizing auditory and visual tools to engage the 21st Century eLearner.

Harris, J., Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2009). Teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge and learning activity types: Curriculum-based technology integration reframed, Journal of research on technology in education, 41(4), p. 393-416.

Peppler, K. A. & Kafai, Y. S., (2007). From SuperGoo to Scratch: Exploring Creative Digital Media Production in Informal Learning, Learning, Media and Technology Special Issue: Media Education Goes Digital [Electronic Version].

Ribble, M. S., Bailey, G.D., & Ross, T. W. (2004). Digital citizenship: addressing appropriate technology behavior, Learning & leading with technology 32(1), p. 6-12.

Sandholtz, J. H. & Reilly, B. (2004). Teachers, not technicians: rethinking technical expectations for teachers, Teachers college record, 106(3), p. 487-512.

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Module 8: TPACK Reflection

December 2, 2009 at 4:53 am · Filed under T4: Technology ·Tagged , , ,

                Teachers’ Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and Learning Activity Types: Curriculum-based Technology Integration Reframed by Harris, Mishra, and Koehler (2009) presents the combination of pedagogical knowledge, technological knowledge, and content knowledge into one form of knowledge, referred to as TPACK that allows for teachers to successfully incorporate all three concepts for a more well-rounded approach to teaching. I appreciate this article because it does not claim to have an entirely new idea, rather it is a combination of concepts that educators already understand and use. Harris, Mishra, and Koehler (2009, p. 401) understand that “there is no single technological solution that will function equally well for every teacher, every course, or every pedagogical approach.” They do not claim to have a whole new “professional development model” (Harris, Mishra & Koehler, 2009, p. 402-03). Instead, they describe TPACK as “a framework for teacher knowledge” (Harris, Mishra & Koehler, 2009, p. 403). A knowledge-base like TPACK trains teachers to create lessons that still meet the standards and goals for a content area, but does so using “activity types,” which are “new (or revised) technologically enhanced activity structures” (Harris, Mishra & Koehler, 2009, p. 404). Teachers can refer to tables in their content-matter that describe possible activities for their class as well as technologies that are good supplements for that activity on the Learning Activity Types Wiki. This approach allows for teachers to use activities that work for their class and technologies that they have access to. TPACK is not a program that schools need to buy; it is a way of approaching teaching.

                I think TPACK is an approach to teaching that I will use in the classroom. To have a resource that guides you in using multiple technologies, not just one program, with different types of activities in the classroom is a great idea. It is not about teaching students how to use a specific technology for the sake of teaching that technology, but because it is aiding in their education of content matter as well. The authors show that it is possible to use technologies with a variety of in-class activities; the technology is a supplement, not the focus. Learning about TPACK has definitely been one of the most beneficial experiences of this class.

Harris, J., Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2009). Teachers’ technological pedagogical content knowledge and learning activity types: Curriculum-based technology integration reframed, Journal of research on technology in education, 41(4), p. 393-416.

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Module 5: Pedagogies and Technology Beliefs

November 11, 2009 at 4:21 am · Filed under T4: Technology ·Tagged , ,

                The article that we read for this week about pedagogical beliefs and the implementation of technology was very different from anything we had looked at thus far in class. I found the article to be very interesting in how a teacher’s personal beliefs can be an influence in how technology is utilized in that teacher’s classroom. For example, Ertmer (2005, p. 30) states “whereas some teachers may think of technology as just another tool they can use to facilitate student learning, others may think of it as one more thing to do (i.e., an innovation).” These differences in perspectives will change the way that teachers use technology in the classroom. While I am not extremely savvy in the technology field, I hope that when I implement technology tools in the classroom it is for the benefit of the students and benefitting their learning experience. While technology can cause dilemmas and hold-ups, I hope that I do not see using something new as a chore but as an opportunity. In a class like secondary history, where students are quick to assume the course is boring, I would like to use innovative tools that liven up the content and engage the students. Maybe I can even convince them that history is not boring!

                As far as how I fit-in in relation to this article, I think I am at an in-between point. I am not a teacher who already has a set belief about the use of technology in a classroom, nor am I a person who has seen technology utilized in a classroom as a student. I would like to go into the teaching field with fresh energy for doing things in a new way; however, I have not seen this be done before. So while it is not because I am too fixed in my own routine that I do not utilize technology, I definitely feel as though I need better preparation in order to be excited about implementing it in a classroom. However, this is part of the problem for current teachers that Ertmer (2005, p. 30) discusses, “because few current teachers have experienced, or even observed, the use of technology in their own K-12 schooling, they are unlikely to have many preconceived ideas about how technology should be used to achieve student learning.” Teachers know the technology is out there, but without seeing it utilized in the classroom context, there is confusion in how to fluidly incorporate it. I believe that technology can be a great tool in the classroom; I just need to know how to implement it better.

                I think that in all of this we need to remember the purpose for incorporating technology into any classroom. “Ultimately, the goal is to facilitate uses of technology that lead to increased student learning” (Ertmer, 2005, pgs. 27-28). I think that this end-goal is often forgotten and that teachers and schools begin to compete with one another in becoming the most hi-tech. The only reason for using a new tool in the classroom is if it will be beneficial for the students. I want this to be the reason that I do anything in my classroom. I want the students to be engaged and appreciate what they are spending their time on, both because they are learning and because they enjoy the way they are doing it.

Ertmer, Peggy A. (2005). Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs: The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration?. Educational Technology Research & Development, 53(4), 25-39.

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