I found the opening quote in the Mishra and Koehler article by Sir William Henry Bragg to be helpful when thinking about TPACK, “The important thing in science is not so much to obtain new facts as to discover new ways of thinking about them.” Similarly, Dr. Z wrote, “Whatever technology you select, it is the intersection of Pedagogy, Content Knowledge and Technology with a Context that will carry the message for the learner. It will determine the topic’s relevance to the learner and ultimately learners’ interest in remembering and using the new information.” TPACK is a relatively simple concept, putting it to use is another matter. I’ve always felt relatively competent in the PCK realm, but adding technology into the mix (and effectively) has only come about in the past two years. Having a class website has helped spur me on.
In my initial search for practical TPACK applications in the classroom, I came across this excellent article about solving real world geography problems using geospatial technologies and the TPACK framework. While slightly dated (2009), it still provides a sound description of technology used in the social studies classroom and offers a guide of how to implement TPACK through student centered lesson plans. It was interesting to read an article that is only six years old and to see how much the T in TPACK has changed. What hasn't changed though is how technology fits into the acronym.
An article by Steven Lapham, Technology and Social Studies: Making it Useful to Classroom Teachers, discusses the practicality of technology in the classroom and digital citizenship in relation to social studies. I found this article to be helpful as it gave a number of good points in using technology, and not just for the sake of using technology. I have often found myself using iPads just to get the kids online, and have slowly made the change to integrating technology with pedagogy and content as well. In some ways though, using technology for the sake of it (using iPads to read a book) can be applicable.
The National Council for the Social Studies released “Using Technology for Powerful Social Studies”. The article brought forth a number of questions that were intertwined with Dr. Z’s RWLD. They all came back to the same idea- using technology to enhance learning and doing in the classroom.
I also came across a Wiki called School Computing that was specific to social studies. The authors questioned the use of technology and how it would impact the history classroom. A step-by-step guide for using technology effectively is described and the author consistently asks if technology is enhancing the lesson, or merely being used for the sake of it.
Much of what I found on TPACK and social studies is dated, but much of it is still applicable. It's not so much what is being presented (apps, websites, and tools), but the purpose and intent of technology in the first place.
In my initial search for practical TPACK applications in the classroom, I came across this excellent article about solving real world geography problems using geospatial technologies and the TPACK framework. While slightly dated (2009), it still provides a sound description of technology used in the social studies classroom and offers a guide of how to implement TPACK through student centered lesson plans. It was interesting to read an article that is only six years old and to see how much the T in TPACK has changed. What hasn't changed though is how technology fits into the acronym.
An article by Steven Lapham, Technology and Social Studies: Making it Useful to Classroom Teachers, discusses the practicality of technology in the classroom and digital citizenship in relation to social studies. I found this article to be helpful as it gave a number of good points in using technology, and not just for the sake of using technology. I have often found myself using iPads just to get the kids online, and have slowly made the change to integrating technology with pedagogy and content as well. In some ways though, using technology for the sake of it (using iPads to read a book) can be applicable.
The National Council for the Social Studies released “Using Technology for Powerful Social Studies”. The article brought forth a number of questions that were intertwined with Dr. Z’s RWLD. They all came back to the same idea- using technology to enhance learning and doing in the classroom.
I also came across a Wiki called School Computing that was specific to social studies. The authors questioned the use of technology and how it would impact the history classroom. A step-by-step guide for using technology effectively is described and the author consistently asks if technology is enhancing the lesson, or merely being used for the sake of it.
Much of what I found on TPACK and social studies is dated, but much of it is still applicable. It's not so much what is being presented (apps, websites, and tools), but the purpose and intent of technology in the first place.