What can TPCK do for us?

To achieve a successful and effective classroom there must be the interaction of three key elements, content, pedagogy and technology (Mishra & Koehler). This article highlighted the importance of not only understanding but becoming completely competent in these three components. The deep understanding of these concepts and how they intertwine enables the teacher to apply them in a diverse way to construct content specific strategies to achieve higher learning outcomes. For many, incorporating the TPCK framework is a daunting prospect and one that requires self-reflection and an adjustment of beliefs, teaching styles and personal abilities. The difficulties perceived with this topic have the potential of making it even more difficult for educators to become versed in the ways of integrating technology into the classroom. With the provision of the correct expertise and support the transition required to implement successful interplay between content, pedagogy and technology teachers should be able to accept this change much more readily. It would be a remiss of teachers to be aware of a framework that would provide enhanced learning opportunities for students and not implement it in their classroom.

A key ideal that has been taught throughout this course is to engage the learner in a meaningful way. This concept needs to be applied to educating teachers on how to view content, pedagogy and technology as one seamless idea. It would be beneficial for teachers to view the change that is required in their classroom in an authentic way instead of believing that it is just an order from some upper echelon of the education system that has a skewed view of what is required in our schools. Teachers need to comprehend the value of technology within the education system.

The implementation of this concept in the construction of this online course has resulted in our peers being able to partake in connectivism and extend and refine our knowledge on a wide variety of topics.

The students that are coming through our classes today are digital natives and as such teachers should recognise this and use the language that these students are used to conversing in. 

Here is a clip that discusses digital natives in a way that proves what technology can do for education. Think afterward whether you were engaged whilst watching this clip and if it is likely that you will remember this for longer than you would if you read an article on it. I know that I certainly will. 

This clip even proved how ingrained technology is in our society – there were little icons, symbols and words throughout it that did not have to be explained as it is believed that the knowledge to critical analyse this and understand what it means is common knowledge – such as the blue bird holding the ‘follow me’ sign. How many people unconsciously knew that it was referring to twitter?

The implementation of the TPCK framework within classrooms would prove beneficial to all concerned, assist in students academic achievement and increase their enjoyment in their education. 

How does learning theory and learning styles intertwine with technology?

How easy is it for all of us to zone out when we are supposed to be paying attention to whatever we are learning. Our lack of focus can be attributed to a myriad of reasons and yet as mature adults we have a few skills that should make this easier for us then the children that we will be teaching one day, determination, focus, discipline and being able to see what our labour will get us. Having these skills in our arsenal should make the process of engaging in material even easier for us and yet we still, on occasion, slide. Yet we expect the children in our class to always pay undivided attention. As Prensky (2005) outlines, it is our job as teachers to provided interesting and appealing material for students so that they engage in the content being taught and achieve the learning outcomes required. Not only does this material need to be engaging but also at a high enough academic standard that students do not need to “power down every time they go to class” (Prensky, 2005).

Once reading the material on behaviourism where Pavlov, Watson, Thorndike and Skinner outlined the stimulus-response pattern in conditioned behaviour I started to wonder where some peoples' belief that technology does not have a place within the classrooms of today comes from. Whether they actually hold this belief or whether they have had previous negative experiences when using technology and it is now an unconscious behaviour that they don’t like it?  Technology is what has allowed us to discover the information supplied by this course and share it with our peers to enrich our learning on these topics. We are applying connectivism right now as we all tap out our blogs and communicate the knowledge we have interpreted and gained from the course materials.

Whatever the teacher’s belief or preference is it is our duty to provide any and all resources that we can to ensure that students are engaged in the learning taking place within the classroom. It seems that increasingly the resources that are required are the digital resources that these children are surrounded by. Discovering students learning styles is another important tool in designing lessons in the most beneficial way to all students within the classroom.

I believe knowing a students preferred learning style can assist greatly in delivering content in a way that is effectively and successfully conveyed, however discovering the right tool to assess a learning style can be difficult. There are endless amounts of test out there on the internet that can be applied to determine a learning style. I found completing the learning styles test this week quite difficult/annoying. I have completed quite a few of these tests and I always sit debating which answer to pick and which one will truly represent me. At the end of the tests I have to wonder whether they are a true assessment of my learning style or if I have manipulated the answers to generate the result that I think applies to myself.  The benefit of digital resources within the classroom is that they can cater to all learning styles visual, auditory and kinaesthetic so it isn’t so important to have a 100% accurate result. Below are the results from my learning styles test.

      Results for: Holly T

      ACT      X                                            REF

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

      SEN      X                                            INT

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

      VIS          X                                        VRB

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

      SEQ                  X                                GLO

           11  9   7   5   3   1   1   3   5   7   9   11

                              <-- -->

The fast paced world of technology.

As I opened up my blog I looked at my profile and realised that even though it is only two weeks old I already wanted to change it as since creating it I have picked up new likes and changed my mind about the information that it contains. This got me to thinking that is it not fabulous that had I decided to change it, it would have been simple. All I would have to do would be press the delete button a few times and then add in my new information, whereas had this been a book or diary it would not have been so easy. It made me realise that technology accommodates us and the increasingly rapid society that we live in today. It allows us to express ourselves, learn, share, create and educate at a pace that will allow us to stay ahead of the game and in a way that suits us as an individual.

Diving into the world of technology.

Hello to all of you fellow technology goers,

Today has been a mixture of confidence and apprehension. Before embarking on my journey that is to be Managing E-Learning I felt fairly confident with my abilities to interact successfully with the world of technology, however once I began I had the distinct feeling that maybe I had over-estimated my abilities. I thoroughly enjoyed the process of using my prior knowledge on technology and exploring the new resources that I was required to master. This blog is proof that I successfully achieved my goal and I was happy that I did not find this process too difficult. Upon later reflection I have to contribute the relative ease in which I found this week's tasks to my upbringing. Being born in the late '80s in a western country I have been raised in a society that is immersed in technology and places a high value on the ability to be fluent in such resources. I also frequented schools that included technology in their curriculum. For this I have to be eternally grateful as it has assisted me in feeling at ease (most of the time) with the requirements of today's society and education within the classroom.

After having these epiphanies I went to my mother's house to find her in a state of absolute frustration about having to use her new computer. What followed was an hours lesson on how to copy and paste, what a text box is and how to connect to the internet. This exercise reinforced my earlier thoughts on how grateful I am to my upbringing. It also emphasised my belief that each generation learns in a completely different way. For her the things that I find easy she finds extremely hard and the things that I find difficult my little brother finds simple. As such I believe that we need to address each generation and learner as an individual and acknowledge that it is extremely important to not only become confident technology users but teach these skills to the students in our classrooms. I am looking forward to increasing my knowledge and abilities throughout this course.

Happy learning everyone.