Of all the text books I have had to purchase for the degree this is the one that I will most likely keep as a reference long after I graduate ( cross your fingers). I did find this chapter a bit all over the board as it focused on teaching and learning theories and how to implement technology. i would have preferred to see it divided into two chapters. The first part was a good review on direct instruction and inquiry learning. When looking at objectivists who believe learning happens when knowledge is transmitted to people and they store it in their minds. They believe it is separate and a has a real existence in the brain. Constuctivistists believe it is controlled by participating in certain experiences. Figures 2.3, 2.4 and 2.5 thoroughly explain the leaders in each field and the what makes them different from one another.
The second part of the chapter explains in detail the challenges the teacher and schools face when implementing technology in the classroom. There exists conflicting views of directed and constructivist methods when it comes to implementing this change. This occurs because each group focuses on different problems or different aspects of the same problem. Objectivists say constructivist methods are unrealistic; constructivist consider directed methods to be outmoded.
TPACK stands for technological,pedagogical, content knowledge. It is not to be confused with the total knowledge in each category that is important but knowing how each group comes together and works to make the classroom more effective. In order for this to be successful we must first consider what both the teacher and the student have in knowledge in all the areas before entering the program. This framework attempts to capture some of the essential qualities of knowledge required by teachers for technology integrations their teaching.
TIP stands for technology, integration, planning. This is a six step process that is a meta cognitive tool the teacher uses to identify strengths and weaknesses and develop a strategy to integrate the technology in their classroom. the steps are: 1) assess technological pedagogical content knowledge, 2) determine relative advantage 3) decide on objectives and assessments 4) design integration strategies 5) prepare instructional environment 6) evaluate and revise integration strategies.
The muddiest point of all this information is keeping focused. technology changes so fast that while we are training our teachers the equipment is being outdated before we use it in many cases. the new Best Buy adds as so true. I feel often we get lost in what comes first the chicken or the egg and we never eat break feast. that same thing is happening in education. It has become to easy to not answer the call to electronic text books, elmos, smartbaoards and laptops for every students.
What an interesting post! I really liked your muddy point - I agree very much. I wonder if younger teachers have an advantage over me in that, the technologies you mentioned weren't in my realm of thought when I started teaching, and planning to include them is an extra step. Younger teachers, I think, might include technology more naturally, as so many of the technologies are just a part of how they interact with the world. I liked TIP for this reason, it helped show me how technology can be integrated in the planning I'm already doing, as a part of teaching, not just something extra to include.
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