It is amazing to think how far we have come in the past few of decades. When I was in school, I never imagined something so revolutionary as 3D printing would ever be possible. We went from replicating things we like and creating new things out of scraps of wood, paper, plastic, etc., to the ability to replicate objects and creating new things with a 3D scanner and 3D printer and seeing it transform from nothing into something usable right before our very eyes - All due to the advances in technology. What's next? A printer that can duplicate food? Sounds impossible but 30 years ago 3D printing sounded pretty impossible to me too.
As a teacher, I cannot begin to imagine the possibilities this technology of 3D printing would provide for my students. I believe it would provide excellent opportunities to get students excited and engaged in a valuable, interdisciplinary education experience. As the Smithsonian website mentioned, it will spark student's curiosity and will enable them to build lifelong observation and critical thinking skills.
Thingiverse is a great website with so many ideas and possibilities to integrate 3D printing into the classroom. I had fun exploring some of the different subjects and lesson plans available on the site, especially in Math. I would love, for example, to teach measurement by having my students make their own ruler including the separate parts that represents 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch, and 1/8 inch. Also, creating their own manipulatives for representing ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands would be great! Younger students have a hard time grasping these concepts and I think integrating 3D printing and have them create their own learning tools, making it a personal, hands-on experience, would enhance their learning experience tremendously.
Saturday, October 1, 2016
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK)
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.
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.
Friday, August 26, 2016
Articles Reflection
These were some pretty interesting reads. I especially enjoyed reading about the new inventions of 2015. I think we will be amazed by the coming inventions over the next 10-20 years. Looking at the statistics from the PBS article, I am amazed at how far we've come since I was in school. Back then, we didn't have computers in school and neither did I have one at home. One out of my 6 subjects in school was typing and this was done on an old fashioned typewriter. Most children today do not even know what that is. I didn't even have my first cellular phone until after I graduated from high school and it was one of those brick phones without a camera, internet access, or color screen. Imagine that! I started learning to work on computers when I got my first job out of high school and that was only the basics on Word and Excel.
Considering my elementary and secondary education, I can relate to much of Michael Apple's point of views and concerns in his article over teaching and technology since it was clearly written around the same time I was in school. At one point he says that "a number of countries, educational officials and policymakers, legislators, curriculum workers, and others have been subject to immense pressure to make the 'needs' of business and industry the primary goals of the school system." Like it's a bad thing. In hindsight, isn't that what education is primarily about? To create successful citizens that make the economy flow in order to create sustainable lives for themselves? One if his other concerns was that teachers will not receive adequate training in the use of computers to effectively use it in the classroom. I think we all know that is not true today. Most schools are doing a fairly great job towards professional development for their teachers which includes technology use in the classroom. When it comes to social literacy, Apple says that possible negative consequences of technology in the classroom includes deskilling and de-powering of teachers. Absolutely not in my opinion. With the emphasis on diversity in today's society, as a teacher, you have the world at your fingertips. With the technology we have available to us now, there is no end to the possibilities, creativity, and enriched education you can bring to your students. In my opinion, there is no deskilling or de-powering of teachers. Quite the opposite. We now have so much more opportunities and resources to become more skilled and empowered and not only does this benefit the teacher, but it leaves our students more skilled and empowered too.
One more thing that I would like to bring up before I quit my rambling is the study about the equivalency of paper versus tablet computer survey data. Although the study found that there is no significant difference between the two methods, I think it is still a very interesting concept. Perhaps a more effective study would have been over testing using the two methods. I think such a study would prove that computer testing is much less time consuming than pencil and paper. I type much faster than I write which leaves me with more time to think and make corrections. That's a plus in my book.
I don't see much drawback, if any, with technology in the classroom. If used correctly, it's an invaluable tool. One major drawback to technology in general includes social inadequacy, but that's a whole different conversation. Michael Apple ended his article with "It is more than a little important that [teachers] question whether the [technology] wagon we have been asked to ride on is going in the right direction [because] it's a long walk back." To this I say, if technology is to be completely eliminated today, teachers will still be teachers, but where would the rest of the world be?
Considering my elementary and secondary education, I can relate to much of Michael Apple's point of views and concerns in his article over teaching and technology since it was clearly written around the same time I was in school. At one point he says that "a number of countries, educational officials and policymakers, legislators, curriculum workers, and others have been subject to immense pressure to make the 'needs' of business and industry the primary goals of the school system." Like it's a bad thing. In hindsight, isn't that what education is primarily about? To create successful citizens that make the economy flow in order to create sustainable lives for themselves? One if his other concerns was that teachers will not receive adequate training in the use of computers to effectively use it in the classroom. I think we all know that is not true today. Most schools are doing a fairly great job towards professional development for their teachers which includes technology use in the classroom. When it comes to social literacy, Apple says that possible negative consequences of technology in the classroom includes deskilling and de-powering of teachers. Absolutely not in my opinion. With the emphasis on diversity in today's society, as a teacher, you have the world at your fingertips. With the technology we have available to us now, there is no end to the possibilities, creativity, and enriched education you can bring to your students. In my opinion, there is no deskilling or de-powering of teachers. Quite the opposite. We now have so much more opportunities and resources to become more skilled and empowered and not only does this benefit the teacher, but it leaves our students more skilled and empowered too.
One more thing that I would like to bring up before I quit my rambling is the study about the equivalency of paper versus tablet computer survey data. Although the study found that there is no significant difference between the two methods, I think it is still a very interesting concept. Perhaps a more effective study would have been over testing using the two methods. I think such a study would prove that computer testing is much less time consuming than pencil and paper. I type much faster than I write which leaves me with more time to think and make corrections. That's a plus in my book.
I don't see much drawback, if any, with technology in the classroom. If used correctly, it's an invaluable tool. One major drawback to technology in general includes social inadequacy, but that's a whole different conversation. Michael Apple ended his article with "It is more than a little important that [teachers] question whether the [technology] wagon we have been asked to ride on is going in the right direction [because] it's a long walk back." To this I say, if technology is to be completely eliminated today, teachers will still be teachers, but where would the rest of the world be?
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