PART B: Application of TPACK

First of all, let me clarify: TPACK = Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge.  Clear as mud, right?  In other words, TPACK is the intersection and interconnected nature of technology, content, and pedagogy, which is the ideal scenario for incorporating technology into educational practice. The idea is that, by considering those three elements when integrating technology, one should be able to ensure that the tech tool easily slides into practice rather than stands out as a separate entity.  Sadly, what often happens, though, is that technology is treated as an independent, stand-alone element rather than something that is fully integrated into practice and a harmonious part of the educational experience. 

For the next portion of the Wicked Problem Project, I will break down the technology initiative that Abbie and I have proposed into its different knowledge components and clarify how those elements intersect to reinforce the reasoning in our plan.

Google Calendar supports the teaching strategy of communicating with parents and students by allowing teachers to easily edit their daily course content and assignments with a few quick keystrokes. This allows for fast adjustments, requiring less time from teachers as well as leading to more accurate information on the teacher’s homework site (ease of use means they are more likely to make adjustments when things change). The pedagogical notion of parent/teacher/student communication is fully supported by the incorporation of Google Calendar because it allows an optimal venue for information to travel between school and home.  Information can be shared in a visually pleasing format, can be viewed as soon as the teacher has created or modified it, and access is more seamless with Weebly and Google Calendar (Images 1B and 1C) than with the current Homework Hotlink system (Image 1A).

Image 1A (Homework Hotlink Sample)

Image 1B (Weebly Sample)

Image 1C (Google Calendar Sample)

 

The technology of Google Calendar increases intellectual accessibility by allowing those at home (parents/guardians/students) to view what is taking place in class easily via a well-organized website. This access can be gained through a computer, a cell phone, or any other gadget that has an Internet connection. Also, if parents or students already use Google Calendar on their own, they can easily add the teacher’s updates to their personal calendar—meaning that sharing is increasingly seamless and requires a few clicks--no printing or copying by hand. 

Not only does the content become more easily accessible for those at home, but teachers can now modify their entries from anywhere with an Internet connection—they are no longer limited to editing their sites from school only. This is ideal for situations where a teacher might not be in his or her classroom (snow days, illnesses, etc.) and needs to change course details.   Additionally, teachers are able to easily add further detail on any given task that the viewer can then read by clicking on that task (see Image 2 below).  In Image 2, also note that  Wednesday, February 2nd was a Snow Day and the teacher was able to easily readjust her calendar by simply changing the date on her tasks, a process that took less than one minute to complete.

Image 2 (Assignment Detail available by Clicking on Task)

When considering the components of: teaching strategy (communication with those at home), content delivery (via the Internet in an appealing manner), and the pedagogical choices (a more user-friendly and time-saving system for viewers & teachers), it is clear that there is a strong "TPACK" intersection present in our initiative.  All elements overlap nicely to justify our choice of technologies (Weebly & Google Calendar) and support our strategy for implementing them to better serve educators, parents/guardians, and students alike. 

I am proud of the work we are doing and its positive repercussions for all stakeholders involved in the learning process.