Post 5

POST 5: Using a pedagogical lens, write an evaluation of the impact this project has had on your own TPCK. Referring to course readings and your experiences, include a brief discussion of your views on the social impact of technology on teachers and students. (500 words)

Technological, pedagogical, content knowledge (TPCK) is the intersection of, and interaction between, knowledge of the curriculum, strategies of curriculum delivery, knowledge of relevant available technologies, and the ability to apply these technologies in a meaningful way to achieve maximum educational outcomes for students (Mishra & Koehler 2006). The TPCK model lays out a framework for how ICT can be integrated into classroom delivery to achieve these outcomes. What is of critical importance to the integration of technology into the classroom is that it is done in a way that adds to the intellectual quality of the lesson by being included in a way that is authentic and not tokenistic (Reeves, Herrington, & Oliver 2002). 

This course has been my final course at university, and this my last assignment. As such, I have had experience already in incorporating the use of ICT into lessons in a variety of classes, subjects, and year levels on practicums, internship, and in my work so far as a causal relief teacher. However, undertaking this course has strengthened my own knowledge and understanding of my TPCK. The main way this has been achieved is by enhancing my awareness of the sheer number of available technologies, and in particular websites, that I will be able to incorporate into lesson delivery going forward in my career. Also, it has strengthened my understanding of some websites and applications of which I was already aware. This has been particularly the case for the use of Wikispaces and I know am keen to use this platform to help with the design and implementation of units and programs which I will design in the first few years of my career. Also, my understanding of other educational platforms such as Moodle and Edmodo have has also been increased to an extent where I believe I will be able to incorporate these into my teaching if I choose to do so.

While the social impacts of increasing use of, and reliance upon technology can be argued to be a double edged sword, in my view the positive aspects far outweigh the negatives. Much has been made of the negative influences of technology such as privacy issues and the tendency for some people to become withdrawn from real social interaction, but I believe that improvements such as the availability of information and the opportunities for teaching and learning through multimodal approaches far outweigh these. Students are now more connected with each other than ever before, and more significantly, they are more connected with the world than ever before. Like no time in history students are able to see themselves as citizens of the world as a whole and it is technology that has made this possible. The opportunities that this affords teachers and students in the modern classroom are virtually limitless. It is for this reason that we as teachers should embrace the use of ICT in the classroom with both hands and strive to remain of the cutting edge of technological advancement in both curriculum content and delivery. In fact, anything less than that should be considered a failure in our duty and responsibility to the students of the future.

Koehler, M.J. (2006). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge: A Framework for Teacher Knowledge. Teachers College, Columbia University. Volume 108, pg. 1017-1054.

Reeves, T.C., Herrington, J., & Oliver, R. (2002). Authentic activities and online learning. HERDSA, pg 562-567.