Technology Educational Philosophy

PHILOSOPHY OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM

My philosophy on technology in the classroom is that, technology in the classroom is a wonderful tool if used in the appropriate settings. There are numerous advantages and disadvantages of using technology in the classroom. I believe that it can be a very helpful tool as long as the teacher/student relationship is still apparent in the classroom.

As a teacher, it is your responsibility to get familiar with the students and know their weaknesses and strengths in and out of the classroom. I am a firm believer in the aspect that every student has his/her own way of learning. Students today are learning in a digital age which requires teachers to “customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.” (NETS for Teachers, 2008).  Like John Dewey said students learn in different ways. The wonderful thing about technology is that it incorporates all eight of multiple intelligence learning styles. Allowing the teacher to connect to several different students all at once.

Education is constantly changing and children are starting to use technology before they can even begin to read. As a future educator I think that it is crucial that we apply technology to children in the best way that will benefit the students in their learning environment. As Gay Krause said, technology in the hands of a talented teacher can encourage creativity and help students own their learning. It also allows learning to be tailored to each student and give real-time data about progress so that teachers can adjust lessons. Teachers have to be sure to be flexible when using technology and always have a backup plan.

There are numerous ways technology could be used in the classroom and teachers have to be extremely familiar with the difficulties they could face. Technology allows you to incorporate many different learning styles in every lesson. With technology we have the world at our fingertips and all the information we could ever possibly need or want. One elementary teacher explained technology as "The computer has been an empowering tool to the students. They have a voice and it's not in any way secondary to anybody else's voice. It's an equal voice. So that's incredibly positive. Motivation to use technology is very high." I believe that is the ultimate goal for any educator, to allow the students the full capability of learning and they can feel good about it at the same time; technology makes that possible.

Works Cited:

Singh, Ram (2012, March 13). General format. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/index.html

Gahala, Jan (2011, October). General format. Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm
 

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TECHNOLOGICAL PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge or TPACK attempts to identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge.  A range of other scholars have argued that knowledge about technology cannot be treated as context-free, and that good teaching requires an understanding of how technology relates to the pedagogy and content. TPACK is thinking outside of the box. Since technology is always changing it is crucial that teachers are flexible and realize that things may not always end up the way they had originally planned.  The TPACK approach goes beyond seeing these three knowledge bases in isolation. Pedagogy (P) and content (C) work hand in hand we get Pedagogical Content Knowledge or PCK, pedagogy that is applicable to the teaching of specific content. Similarly, considering technology (T) and pedagogy (P) taken together, we get Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), the knowledge of the relationship between technology and content. At the intersection of T and P, is Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), which emphasizes the components and capabilities of various technologies as they are used in the settings of teaching and learning. Effective technology integration for pedagogy around specific subject matter requires sensitivity to the relationship between all three components.

 

Work Cited:
Koehler, M. (2011, May 13). TPACK Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Retrieved October 28, 2013 from: http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/what-is-tpack/