I should consider some questions when introducing new tools into the classroom. I can know how to manage a new tool but maybe my students do not understand what I am doing. I remember when I was in 6th grade and a professor was really into technology. The problem was that he was really advanced and we didn't have any idea about smart boards. We were in class doing homework and he was asking for volunteers to do exercises in the smart board. We didn't know how to use it and he got mad.
So many professors expect us to know how to use technology just because of the fact that we are young. So, as a future professor, I would ask myself if I am using the right tool or not and I should know if my students know how to use it.
Also, an important question is if I am using the right tool according to the age. I should not use a smart board or using computers and do difficult exercises with five years old kids. Another question is if I need to use that tool or not. Sometimes teachers work so much better with just a book and the blackboard. I feel like sometimes students start playing with the computer instead of listen the lesson. The last thing that I want as a teacher is to see that my students don't learn and that I am loosing my time.
About positive attributes as well as potential barriers regarding the introduction of tools in the classroom, I totally agree with Nada Salem in " Integrating technology in the Classroom". As she said: "Students tend to work together more while using technology" and "Their critical thinking is also improved as they learn how to create and design websites then publish heir work."
Moreover, students nowadays use tecnhnology almost all the time. Technoly is already the future. We are going to need technolgy to solve a lot of problems. Integrating it in the classroom gives students the possibility of having a better future.
I really think that students work better with technology tools. Young people love to have laptops, phones and ipads in their hands. As soon as professors give to students some of these objects, they get excited and interested. I interview my nephew about this so I could see if I was right or wrong. He is six years old.
- Do you like when your go to the classroom with computers?
- Yes! I do like it a lot.
-Why?
- We work in groups of three people and we have so much fun doing activities together. We are all the time laughing!
- Do you actually learn?
- Yes I do learn a lot because if I don't understand something, my partners can explain it to me and we also learn how to use a computer.
I could tell that kids work together more when technology is available. In class, they just sit in their desks and listen what the professor says. Instead, technology in this case is a method where you learn so many things: respect turns, share opinions, help to each other and communication.
I will choose one technology or another in my classroom depending of the content. For instance, if I am going to explain a lesson about new vocabulary, I would use a power point and I would add pictures and games inside the power point. If I am in music class and I want them to learn some songs I would go to youtube and explain to them that if they want to listen songs, there is this website where you can listen your favorite songs as many times as you want. Finally, If I am in Language class, English as well as Spanish, I would create a web page where they can upload their homework or posts and they can comment it among them. Every class is different, every child is different, we cannot use the same tool for every student and subject.
Finally, TPACK is something that not everyone knows what is. According to David Carpenter, TPACK is a " framework that describes the process required of a teacher to bring together the requisite technology, pedagogical and content knowledge to effectively integrate technology in the classroom."
All right…technology is awesome and we love it. However, it does not work always. We sometimes hate tecnology, specially when a web page does not charge or we cannot check our emails because Internet is not working. Same with TPACK, Are the tasks well suited to my learners? Does the tool do all that I think it can?Do the students have all of the information they need to complete the task? Are there other strategies that I may not use as often (or be as comfortable with), but that might be more appropriate for this task? Does the tool that I chose fit the type of task that I wanted to do? Does it tend to lean more towards one of the TPACK factors?
I feel like I just can know the answers once I teach in a class or observing a class that use TPACK. And I can’t wait to figure these questions out!
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