Week 2- Activity 2

TPACK

The following is a youtube clip that explains TPACK. However, below is my understanding.

Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wGpSaTzW58 on the 15/08/12, uploaded by roycekimmons on Mar 22, 2011.

After reading the set readings on moodle and watching the youtube clip, I was able to get a better understanding of what TPACK is. So, what is TPACK? Well TPACK stands for Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge. To understand this framework, there is a need to first realise that teaching is a highly complex activity that draws on many kinds of knowledge (Mishra and Koehler, 2006).

The framework first began with acknowledging the importance of knowing subject content, and pedagogical knowledge. It than made a shift, Shulman (1986) explained that "having knowledge of subject matter and general pedagogical strategies, though necessary, was not sufficient for capturing the knowledge of good teachers". Therefore, for teachers to be successful they need to use both forms of knowledge, simultaneously.

As the framework continued to develop, the inclusion of technology became an important aspect also.
Many problems that arise from technology is the tendency to only look at the technology and NOT how it is being used. To successfully use this framework, teachers or learning teachers, like myself, need to learn how to use technology appropriately to support learning. The framework emphasizes the connections, interactions, affordances, and constraints between content, pedagogy, and technology. As the climate of all classrooms are changing into the 21st centuray classroom, rather than treating these forms as separate bodies of knowledge, this model emphasises the importance of using all three forms of knowledge together (Mishra and Koehler, 2006).

This model relates to learning environments; making teachers aware of the imporantce of technology. In the classroom, a teacher can use technology to make their lessons engaing for the students, and develop their thinking in ways that interest them.