Week 5: TPACK & Cool Tool #1

TPACK is so important to understand, when it comes to learning. It involves our technology knowledge, our content knowledge and our pedagogical knowledge. Dr. Holliday says "It is used to increase student motivation and make content more accessible to students." (http://springboard.uakron.edu/d2l/le/content/4060273/viewContent/3429226/View)

I agree, that students can grow and learn more with technology available to them. 

It is important to think ahead before introducing new tools or technology into the classroom. There are many questions that you could ask yourself prior to implementation. Some questions may be: Is the technology I am using age appropriate for my students? Are my students learning effectively by this tool? Do my lesson plans and the tools I want to use coordinate with each other? Do my students like the technology I am using? Are they engaged? There are many other questions someone could ask themselves. However everyone's ultimate goal: Getting the students to learn. 

There are many positive attributions that can come about when integrating technology into the classroom. Educator Nada Salem Abisamra talks about the benefits of using technology into the classroom. (http://www.nadasisland.com/tpack/#benefits) She says that students show a higher motivation, increased organization with writing mechanics, enhanced reading skills and higher order thinking skills. Using technology can give students so many opportunities and let them explore all the things accessible to them. Technology can easily be called the best resource we have today.
Along with all of the positives that come along with technology, there comes potential barriers as well. Nada Salem Abisamra also discusses these. (http://www.nadasisland.com/tpack/#hinder) She says how teachers now, did not grow up around technology and therefore do not know the importance of it. Teachers may not also be properly trained in using technology. Since technology is so high tech, it can be hard to figure out. Nada uses the term "digital natives," the students who grew up surrounded by technology. They challenge the “digital immigrants,” the teachers, who did not grow up with it, because of differences in comfort levels and lack of knowledge in technology. I can see how some technology can be hard to figure out, or maybe distracting.

Using technology can enhance teachers teaching in many ways. One day, when I am a future educator, I hope to use the traditional ways of teaching, but also be open to exploring using technology! When I use technology I hope that my students learn better or get a better understanding of my lessons. I can try to enhance my lessons by picking out the right tools that go along with what I am trying to teach. Using laptops or IPads will hopefully allow students to personally engage at their own pace and having the freedom to different activities on their own.

After learning about TPACK, One question I have is, how will I know if my lessons or ways of teaching is effective to all the different parts of knowledge? I plan to be teaching 1st graders so it is crucial for me to be able to teach them and that they fully understand. This age is they key age when learning and developing. I hope that I can find my answers one day at educational programs or seminars.

This week was the first week for our "Cool Tool Reviews." The tool that I have chosen is the tool from the audio category called "Soundcloud." It is a website where you can listen to podcasts, or any type of music. I have never heard of, or used, this tool before. While experimenting with this tool, I found out that you can listen to books online. This is something that I would definitely use in my future classroom.I would use this tool because it was easy to navigate, and also having books on tape, allows students to read along and stay on track. They can also create an account, for free, and can access it anywhere. Students can be really creative with this site. It allows them to record, edit and upload their own sounds. It is easy to use by its simple instruction and its speed. What might challenge students, is what challenged me, that is trying to find music you like. Searching for it, is an option or scrolling through a bunch of suggestions is another one. Overall, this tool was organized ans simple. I enjoyed making my own collection (https://soundcloud.com/you/collection) and I will definitely look forward to learning about new cool tools that I can use in my future classroom. 

Interested in this site? : (https://soundcloud.com/)