EdTech 101: Is there a right way to use technology in the classroom?
Introducing TPACK
Is there a "right" way to use technology in class? Given the overwhelming variety of educational technology available today, many teachers might say no. Koehler et al. (2013, p. 14), authors of the paper "What Is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)?" agree to an extent, stating that "there is no 'one best way' to integrate technology into curriculum". However, these authors would argue, and I would agree, that there is a right way to integrate technology into your classroom. It has to do with time, appropriateness, and your own comfort level.
Story Time!
HTbh, as an educator, I've gotta say there's no better teacher than failure. During my second practicum (which was 100% virtual--thanks COVID!), I was super excited to show the kids all these neat VR field trips, polling apps, website builders, virtual sketchboards, and so on. I spent days, not hours, making my lessons highly interactive. I figured hey, they're stuck in front of a screen anyway... might as well make it fun!
Well... it imploded. Students were confused, my lesson didn't flow at all the way I expected it to, and I spent more time trying to teach students how to use specific apps than I did on actual teaching.
In my efforts to make classrooms interactive and fun, I forgot the most basic tenet of lesson planning: backwards design.
"Integration efforts should be creatively designed or structured for particular subject matter ideas in specific classroom contexts" - Koehler et al. (2013)
This is key when it comes to lesson planning. Teachers should never lose sight of the basics of teaching, such as backwards design, in the effort to incorporate technology into the classroom. We need to consider what we want to teach before we determine how we’re going to teach it. Going into a lesson with the intent to show off a shiny new app you found rather than going in with the intent to teach something meaningful is a recipe for confused students and frustrated teachers.
This is where TPACK comes in.
TPACK stands for Technological, Pedagogical, And Content Knowledge. The TPACK framework ties together teachers' knowledge of subject material (content knowledge), teaching strategies (pedagogy), and level of technological comfort and capacity (technology).
Technological knowledge is in a constant state of flux. Technologies are developed and mastered faster than anyone can hope to research and write about it. By the time teacher candidates have gone through their teacher education, fifty new educational sites have popped up that we may not even have heard of. Many teachers wind up relying on sites that they feel comfortable using, rather than what's new. Look at me--I'm using Tumblr. And I like to think I'm young!!
Rather than looking at content knowledge, pedagogy, and technology as separate entities, Koehler et al. (2013) focus on the relationship between each of them, i.e. technological content knowledge and technological pedagogical knowledge. Basically, the way you use technology depends on exactly what you hope to teach, and how appropriate specific tech tools are in helping you teach it. Most tech tools are not limited to a single use; Koehler et al. (2013) gives the example of a whiteboard. Teachers can leverage the function of the whiteboard in multiple ways. You could use it for a traditional lecture. You could play an interactive game of hangman. You could use it as a student-centred brainstorming mind map. Knowing how to effectively leverage the whiteboard, a basic tool many wouldn't even consider "technology", is the result of mastering the intersection between pedagogy and technology.
In a recent technology class, some of my peers showed us a teaching app called NearPod. NearPod allows for interactivity to be built right into slideshows. You essentially upload a Google Slides, something I believe every teacher is now familiar with, and choose certain slides to augment. For instance, there's VR field trips using YouTube videos. Now, how appropriate would this app be, according to the principles of TPACK?
Well... keeping in mind my failure from earlier... it wouldn't be a great idea to immediately launch into a cool VR lesson.
First, find out if it's what your students actually want or need in a lesson. Are they already comfortable learning in a certain way, e.g. slideshows, videos, lectures? Then, figure out what you actually want to do for your lesson. What do you want to teach? What tools might you already have at your disposal to teach it? Don't shoehorn NearPod in just because it's shiny and new! If there's indeed a gap that you need NearPod to fill in, then it might be a good idea to use it. For instance, if you're locked into virtual teaching for the near future and believe field trips would be valuable to your lesson, NearPod's VR activities might work for you.
"By simultaneously integrating knowledge of technology, pedagogy, content, and the contexts within which they function, expert teachers bring TPACK into play any time they teach." -Koehler et al. (2013)
If you're a teacher with some experience, it's highly likely you're already following the principles of TPACK in your classroom. The authors recommend including TPACK in teachers' education programs. It's not about how many sites you know, it's about how effectively you're using them, and how well you recognize a need for specific tools.
Want to know more about TPACK? Check out this video summary!
To consider:
What are some effective ways you've found to use technology?
Has the pandemic changed how you use technology?
Have you ever, like me, realized halfway through a lesson that a certain tool just wasn't working for you? What did you do?
Madhulina Seth (July 25th, 2021)