2. WHAT DOES TPACK STAND FOR AND WHY
DOES IT MATTER?
TPACK is an acronym for Technological, Pedagogical, and
Content Knowledge.
Shown below is a generic image of how all three domains of
knowledge relate to each other and intertwine, though every
teacher’s will look different.
While the theory was created in 1986, it wasn’t until 2006 that
the dimension of technology was added, which is very
important for teachers today as technology becomes more
integral to education and learning.
According to this theory, for a teacher to be completely
successful, they must understand the interplay between all of
these three main dimensions and how they are incorporated
in the classroom.
3. WHY TPACK IS IMPORTANT FOR TEACHERS TO
UNDERSTAND
As a teacher, reflecting on the extent of my knowledge in the
three TPACK domains and how I apply them in the classroom
will ensure that the activities and tools I integrate in the
classroom are appropriate and are used to their fullest
potential.
For example, by reflecting on my pedagogical content
knowledge, I am able to ask myself if the technology tool I am
using will really do all that I think it can, and whether it is the
best suited for the task I am using it for.
Will this iPad app really be
helpful in my students’
learning, or will it just be a
distraction?
Is this interactive
whiteboard lesson easy to
follow for my students? Or
is it confusing them with too
many sources and
information overload?
4. MY TPACK UNDERSTANDING BEFORE…
Here is a screenshot of my general TPACK
understanding from Module 5 in February:
So, how much of my knowledge has changed since then?
5. TECHNOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE (TK)
TK: knowledge of the different technology tools that
can be integrated into teaching and how to use them
in the classroom.
Throughout the modules in this course, I have learned
about many, many new technologies appropriate for
teachers and how they work and how they can be best
used in the classroom, so they are being used to their
full potential.
EDU 210 has given me invaluable technological
knowledge and resources I will always find helpful as a
future teacher.
I learned how to use websites like Easel.ly, Smore and
Glogster to easily make fun, professional looking and
customizable educational posters
(click on each image to be directed to
the website they were created on)
6. CONTENT KNOWLEDGE (CK)
CK: the content knowledge the students already have
before being assigned a task.
When designing a Learning Management System in
module 8, I had a chance to explore Alberta’s grade 5
Language Arts curriculum to make sure my
assignments and quizzes were appropriate for the
level I chose.
Creating a screen cast and exploring appropriate
school vendors also allowed me to learn more about
both Alberta and Canada’s elementary school
curricular content. I discovered tons of lessons
appropriate for grades 1-6 on things like
bullying, science, math and more!
Here is a learning log assignment I created in my LMS for module 8:And here is the section of the Alberta Education’s
Language Arts Curriculum I based it off of:
Click the
image to be
taken to
Alberta
Education’s
document
7. TECHNOLOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
(TCK)
TCK: knowledge of how technology can be used to teach or conceptualize
content in new ways.
I am now able to compare, contrast, and analyze a variety of different
technological tools and decide for myself how appropriate they are, taking into
consideration the learning goals of the lesson and the diverse learners in every
class.
Module 6’s interactive white board activity gave me a chance to play around
with an IWB and discover the many ways they can be used to enhance learning
and customized for different subjects (like the weather and temperature in
science, or counting coins in math).
Exploring educational apps in module 9 opened my eyes to apps like iBook
Author, which allows teachers to create and fully customize interactive mini
textbooks for students to download to accompany their lessons.
Lastly, the vendor screen cast activity from module 11 taught me how to create
my own screen cast and upload it to YouTube or embed it into a website. This is
a great way to create mini tutorials and walk students through certain aspects of
the curriculum on their own time.
Most importantly, all of the tools I learned in this course are fully customizable,
and I learn appropriate ways to incorporate them into any subject area!
Here I am using an IWB
to count coins in a grade
2 math lesson.
Click on the photo to be taken to the YouTube video of me using an IWB!
8. HOW LEARNING ABOUT TPACK WILL IMPACT
ME AS A FUTURE TEACHER…
Learning about the TPACK framework has allowed me to
recognize the three main domains of teaching and reflect
on the knowledge I had in each of them.
When I see that I am lacking in some areas, I can focus
my attention to learning more about them, like content
knowledge, for example.
TPACK allows me to actually conceptualize the many
roles of technology in teaching and learning
I believe that the most important thing I learned from this
framework as a future teacher is how to identify
appropriate technological tools for the classroom and
apply them so they are purposeful and coincide with my
pedagogical teaching practices, as well as the content of
the lesson I am trying to teach.
I have become more familiar
with curricular content
through modules in this
course, and have discovered
tons of technological tools
that are customizable and
appropriate for all sorts of
content.
My new and improved TPACK diagram (it’s only going to keep getting better!)
Most of all, this course opened my
eyes to technological tools and
resources I had never heard of before!
I feel much more comfortable
identifying and using technology that is
appropriate for school learning, and
have discovered tons of great
resources that will facilitate me as a
future educator.
I have gained a lot of knowledge
on curricular content over the past
few months through this course
and most of my others. This
course also gave me access to
lots of resources with content
appropriate
activities, games, lesson
plans, videos, and more!
