For my CEP 810 assignment this week, my task was to have someone pick out a plate, a bowl, and a cooking utensil with no guidance from me. My husband picked out a spatula
for my cooking utensil and the random number generator determined that I would use my tools to slice cheese for a cheese plate. This assignment baffled me. I had no clue what I should be taking away. However, after engaging with the content on TPACK, I found the focus of TPACK is the connection between the content being taught, the pedagogical approach being used to teach the material, and determining which technology tool to incorporate into the lesson. Check out my experience, “Cooking with TPACK:”
I recently read Mishra and Koehler’s (2009) Too Cool for School. According to Mishra and Koehler (2009), “the fact that technology is innovative and popular does not make it an educational technology. We often hear the refrain ‘Technology should not drive pedagogy’”. I realized sometimes, teachers start building a lesson with the technology tool they wish to incorporate instead of what they are trying to get their students to understand. In this example, the tools randomly chosen to complete the unknown task would represent the choosing of a technology tool. Choosing the tools before knowing the task made it difficult to complete the task. This happens with our students when we do not consider what skill we are trying to enhance by incorporating technology. Utilizing technology within lessons should help students gain a deeper understanding and connection to the material, not make it more difficult for them to complete the assigned tasks.
References
Bridges, M. (2020, May 24). CEP 810 Cooking with TPACK. [Video]. https://youtu.be/Jf0pJNt4odg
Mishra, P., (2018). Revised version of TPACK image.https://punyamishra.com/2018/09/10/the-tpack-diagram-gets-an-upgrade/
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2009). Too cool for school? No way! Using the TPACK framework: You can have your hot tools and teach with them too. Learning & Leading with Technology, 36(7).