Ensuring all become 21st Century Learners
Just before entering the NLGL program, I was introduced to a new concept concerning technology and teaching during a summer professional development I attended. It was a very interesting model that encompassed the traditions of teaching while incorporating technology. Then, upon entering the program and during one of my first courses, the model was again discussed. The model is known as TPACK, Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge. This model represents a way for planning instruction, offering more to our 21st Century learners.
TPACK When we think of 21st century learning, most often we associate it with technology. Children are already found to be part of the participatory culture in regards to technology even before entering school, but there are concerns. "Educators must work together to ensure that every American young person has access to the skills and experiences needed to become a full participant, can articulate their understanding of how media shapes perceptions, and has been socialized into the emerging ethical standards that should shape their practices as media makers and participants in online communities." (Jenkins, 2006)
Teaching is here to stay and the concept of TPACK brings the past way of teaching, content and pedagogy, into the present and future, which now includes technology. “Teaching requires the transformation of content in ways that make it intellectually accessible to students.” (Mishra & Koehler, 2009). Technology is what makes it more accessible to our 21st Century students. They have been born and raised with it as part of their everyday life. To keep up with students in the rest of the world, fighting for college spots and jobs, they must be able to use technology in a personal, educational and business way. |
Educational institutes are moving more and more toward providing access to technology for all students so they can interact with the virtual world. Twenty-first century skills and knowledge are a language that our students should be learning from a very early age. This language needs to be automatic and highly developed. “According to a report of the University of Wisconsin Global Competence Task Force (2008), a globally competent person should have the skills, knowledge, and attitude to work effectively in our increasingly interdependent world.” (Zhao, 2009) The language that 21st Century learners will need to learn to be effective must include core curriculum and technological competency as well as being able to be creative, problem solve, critical thinking, cultural awareness, and social competencies. We need to start this early so it becomes automatic and a way of life.
"Cool Tools" in the Classroom
I am fortunate to have a 1:1 technology classroom. I have incorporated several "cool tools" into my classroom. Some of my favorites are Seesaw-a student portfolio and blog, Plickers-a hands-on way to assess, QR coding, DrawingPad-used for formative assessing, Animoto-for instruction, and Symbaloo-a cloud for holding bookmarks and favorites. We also use favorite apps, such as SpellingCity, Reading A-Z, and Epic. One step I have taken to help my students with their understanding of text when answering written comprehension questions is using Seesaw. I post comprehension questions from their readings on the blog for guided reading groups and they are practicing restating the question in their answer, answering the questions and adding details. When they have completed the question, they post the answer for me to see and approve and then get feedback from other students. Other things they post are reading a book on video, math assessments, and reading their daily journal entries.
Testing for comprehension in our students is a never ending process. The data we retrieve from these assessments assist us in our instructional planning. For our project-based inquiry project, Kayla Clyma and I wondered if a change in testing format would positively affect students' scores and opinions of test taking. We introduced our students to a new technology cool tool called Plickers, a hands-on way of checking for comprehension that collects data. Both mine and Clyma's students showed little growth. We did wonder if the newness of the activity affected their scores. They needed more practice with the use and handling of the Plickers cards. Below is a video of our PBI Project as well as our written report on the topic.
Testing for comprehension in our students is a never ending process. The data we retrieve from these assessments assist us in our instructional planning. For our project-based inquiry project, Kayla Clyma and I wondered if a change in testing format would positively affect students' scores and opinions of test taking. We introduced our students to a new technology cool tool called Plickers, a hands-on way of checking for comprehension that collects data. Both mine and Clyma's students showed little growth. We did wonder if the newness of the activity affected their scores. They needed more practice with the use and handling of the Plickers cards. Below is a video of our PBI Project as well as our written report on the topic.
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Technology Challenges |
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The biggest challenge for educators is learning how to repurpose technology tools so we can “[intersect] what we teach and how we teach.” (Mishra & Koehler, 2009) We need to “put on our thinking caps” and creatively incorporate technology with our pedagogy and content to better educate our students. An additional challenge is that there are so many technology tools available and many are being shown to us all at once with only brief tutorials on what they do, and not much on examples of how we can use them in the classroom. Picking one or two technology programs to start with and focusing on using them to integrate TPACK, might be the right first step to solve this challenge.Next school year I plan to propose to my principal teaching one cool tool each month to the staff and allow them to practice using and incorporating the tool into their curriculum. If we aren’t fluid in a technology program we introduce, then the balance of all three elements in the TPACK framework will be off.
Teachers have an advantage when it comes to TPACK, we already know how to integrate pedagogy with content. Now we just have to bring in technology to get that perfect sweet spot. |
Standards
1.TT.1 Use technology tools and skills to reinforce classroom concepts and activities.
1.TT.1.1 Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.).
1.TT.1.2 Use a variety of technology tools to organize data and information (e.g., word process, graphic organizer, audio and visual recordings, online collaboration tools, etc.)
1.SE.1 Understand safety and ethical issues related to the responsible use of information and technology resources.
1.SE.1.1 Use technology hardware and software responsibly.
1.TT.1 Use technology tools and skills to reinforce classroom concepts and activities.
1.TT.1.1 Use a variety of technology tools to gather data and information (e.g., Web-based resources, e-books, online communication tools, etc.).
1.TT.1.2 Use a variety of technology tools to organize data and information (e.g., word process, graphic organizer, audio and visual recordings, online collaboration tools, etc.)
1.SE.1 Understand safety and ethical issues related to the responsible use of information and technology resources.
1.SE.1.1 Use technology hardware and software responsibly.