I was trying to think what my overall impression is about the 5 articles I read concerning the TPCK model. First impression in one word - Overwhelming, but the longer I thought about it and trying to fuse all the information together, I realized it's just and awful lot of words to describe a rather uncomplicated concept: Educate with technology compared to technology becoming the educator. An even better description might be - Effective technological integration.
After reading Mishra & Koehler's article, I understood the TPCK framework and the triad model of the concepts, but only after reading some of the other articles did it really start to make sense. The studies done throughout the articles really helped to see the implications of the TPCK model in practice. Simply introducing technology into the teaching process is not enough. More emphasis needs to be placed on the knowledge needed when integrating technology into what is already known about teaching and combining it into an effective and meaningful lesson. Baring in mind that technology is ever-changing at a much faster rate than subject matter taught in the classroom.
Teacher education programs are trying to teach today’s preservice teachers how to use the wide range of technologies – from old-school software and tools such as PowerPoint, videos and laptops to those ubiquitous tablets and smartphones – as classroom tools, not just as social devices for communicating with friends or playing games.
ReplyDeleteBut because of rapid technological change, the need to fit more class requirements into a curriculum already filled with state-mandated courses, and the hiring practices of schools recruiting new teachers, many teachers colleges are finding it difficult to integrate technology education into their teacher preparation programs.
The result is a “to each its own” approach to teacher education, as the teaching colleges strive to work technology in without taking content and pedagogy out. Presently schools of education develop their own technology-based curricula that build on best practices in the field, in compliance with the recognized standards in the profession.
I did the research regarding TPACK in WVU and am applying and experimenting the Technology curriculum based on my research and the vision from our program. I hope all of you can implement what you have learn from TPACK as you become the teacher from my ongoing experiments in our class!