Pivotal Moment #1: Technology-how it has changed teaching & learning.
After reviewing my previous blogs, what resonated with me the most is how technology has changed the teaching and learning processes. Teachers now design lessons differently by thinking about how to better use and implement technology into curriculum through the development of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Furthermore, learners now have many choices from E-intensive settings, face-to-face learning environments to blended learning options. Both teachers and learners are constantly exposed to technology.
However, does this influx of technology increase student literacy rates? The New Media Consortium (2005) defines twenty-first century literacy as “the set of abilities and skills where aural, visual, and digital literacy overlap…” (p.8). Literacy must also include traditional literacies of reading and writing as well as new media literacy of developing social skills if students are to work collaboratively in a global, interconnected society (Jenkins, 2006). Research has shown that students’ ability to use technology has not necessarily increased students’ knowledge and capability to use digital tools effectively. As the Young Canadians in a Wired World (YCWW) research project (2012) demonstrated, many teachers felt that their students enjoyed engaging with networked media, but that this access to technology did not make their students better learners. One instructor from the Atlantic stated “They know how to use Facebook or YouTube, those kinds of spaces…I think a lot of students know how to chat, how to text, but they don’t know how to use the learning experience”(Steeves, 2012).
Learners are exposed to vast amounts of information on the Internet, and most students take what they find online as “given”. Therefore, educators need to help learners to think critically about online content if students/teachers are to maximize the benefits of digital literacy. Digital responsibility and ethics when using online sources is another concept that has been introduced as a result of this influx in technology. Learners need to be aware of the negative consequences of recording peoples’ conversations or taking pictures of others and putting it on YouTube without permission. These actions destroy the sense of community and trust that needs to occur in classrooms if learning is to transpire. After taking this course, I am now more aware of the benefits and the pitfalls of using digital resources in my classroom.
This means that educators need to assess their teaching practice to determine ‘how’ they can better use and manage technology to teach competencies in a diverse skill set including: media literacy, technological literacy, critical thinking/problem-solving, communication, collaboration, leadership, social awareness, ethical responsibility, accountability and more (Standards for the 21st Century Learner, 2007).
Pivotal Moment #2: The Need for Teacher Reflection
Another key moment for me was when I reviewed my teaching processes. This review allowed me to reflect on how I can better use and manage digital resources, improve self-efficacy, technology implementation, and the creation of authentic activities to enhance learning opportunities.
I have learned to first assess my students’ abilities and interests before designing activities to ensure that my students are intrinsically motivated. I have encouraged students to build communities of inquiry so that information sharing and experiences perpetuate. Furthermore, I realize that students need to be put in control of their learning. They need to manipulate information and ideas in ways that transform meaning through problem solving. They also need more time to reflect on their learning processes, as well as on specific topics to encourage higher-order thinking skills. I now have a better understanding that covering less material in a course, but making sure that the components of the program are well connected and extended to real-world applications constitutes good teaching practices.
Pivotal Moment #3: The Need to Design Authentic Learning & TPACK
I wish to improve my lesson planning and the quality of my teaching by learning how to better design authentic learning activities. I have learned that connectivism and social constructivism can be used by educators to create authentic, inquiry-based projects. Social constructivism supports “learning by design” since educators design technological tools to solve authentic problems. Teachers become the designers of technology and learn along side their students. Teachers need to put aside their egos; something that many educators fear because they may lose control of their classroom. Consequently, this type of teaching takes much confidence and classroom management skills. Connectivism also supports authentic learning because students connect with their peers through classroom or online discussions, through large or small group activities, or through correspondence with other students around the world. The Internet has made these interactions possible, which has forever changed teaching and learning environments.
Investigating the many concepts presented this term has also aided in my TPACK development. TPACK is the intersection of seven interwoven and interdependent sections of teachers’ knowledge (Harris & Hofer, 2009). I learned that a pedagogically sound method of developing TPACK is to start the process with content-based planning so that technology is integrated into curriculum in a manner that is not technocentric (Papert, 1987). Once these instructional decisions have been made, I can focus on selecting, organizing, and sequencing activity-based tasks. Then choosing the best technology to use from the list of taxonomies given in the Harris and Hofer article comes naturally. The taxonomies have been designed to best serve learning goals and to meet school constraints. I look forward to learning more about how to use these taxonomies in my TPACK development.
I am moving towards the sweet spot in TPACK development. From the course concepts, I have noticed that my process has been this development. I want to incorporate technology into my lesson planning since it is the future, but I want to do it in an authentic and appropriate way. I also want my lessons to spark real-world, relevant learning, which is a requirement for authentic teaching. I have spent the last two years learning how to better create this synergy in my lesson planning.
Through awareness of how technology changes teaching and learning, and through reflection and the development of TPACK, I have greatly improved my teaching abilities. By reflecting on my own teaching processes, I am now more adaptive and flexible (Clark & Peterson, 1986).
Clark, C. M., & Peterson, P. L., (1986). Teachers’ thought processes. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.). Handbook of research on teaching. New York: MacMillan.
Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Instructional planning activity types as vehicles for
curriculum-based TPACK development. In C.D. Maddux, (Ed.). Research highlights in technology and teacher education 2009 (pp. 99-108). Chesapeake, VA: Society for Information Technology in Teacher Education (SITE).
Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st Century. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved from http://digitallearning.macfound.org/atf/cf%7B7E45C7E0-A3E0-4B89-AC9C-E807E1B0AE4E%7D/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF
New Media Consortium (2005). A Global Imperative: The Report of the 21st Century Literacy Summit.
Papert, S. (1987). A critique of technocentrism in thinking about the school of the future. Retrieved November 16, 2012, from http://www.papert.org/articles/ACritiqueofTechnocentrism.html
Standards for the 21st Century Learner (2007). Retrieved March 29, 2010 from http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/guidelinestandards/learningstandards/standards/cfm
Steeves, V. (2012). Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase 3: Teacher’s Perspective. Retrieved from: http://mediasmarts.ca/sites/default/files/pdfs/publication-report/full/YCWWIII-Teachers-Perspectives.pdf