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School of Education

Teaching With Technology Modules

This course is a practicum in which educators and future teachers learn how to implement researched-based practices for teaching with technology across their respective content areas. Course content is framed by the TPACK model of technology integration. Participants learn to guide instructional planning by formulating learning goals, matching pedagogical approaches to goals, identifying appropriate activities and assessment strategies, and choosing technology tools that most effectively support content.

Module 1: Conceptualizing

This module begins the course by establishing the conceptual framework for teaching with technology. You learn about (1) the ISTE standards that guide educational technology programs, (2) a special kind of knowledge called Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), (3) the principles of How People Learn, and (4) the process of grounded technology integration.

ISTE Standards

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is a large professional organization devoted to helping educators make effective use of technology. Its work is guided by standards that ISTE creates in the following domains. Follow these links to see what each standards group comprises:

  1. ISTE Standards for Students
  2. ISTE Standards for Educators
  3. ISTE Standards for Education Leaders
  4. ISTE Standards for Coaches
  5. Computational Thinking (CT) Competencies for Educators

In your online course files is an ISTE Standards eBook. Download the eBook and peruse it to gain a deeper understanding of what the ISTE standards accomplish and how they have evolved over the years.

TPACK

TPACK describes the intersection between three knowledge domains: Technological Knowledge (TK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK), and Content Knowledge (CK). When technology, content and pedagogy are combined, the result is TPACK, which stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. TPACK is what you will develop by taking this course. It has to do with knowing how to teach effectively by applying technology in your content area according to the principles of how people learn.

TPACK is a heavily researched model for technology integration. Koehler and Mishra introduced it via the articles linked below.

  1. Koehler, M.J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.citejournal.org/volume-9/issue-1-09/general/what-is-technological-pedagogicalcontent-knowledge/
  2. Koehler, M.J., Mishra, P., Bouck, E.C., DeSchryver, M., Kereluik, K., Shin, T.S., Wolf, L.G. (2011). Deep-Play: Developing TPACK for 21st century teachers. International Journal of Learning Technology, 6(2), 146-163. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.709.3619&rep=rep1&type=pdf

How People Learn

How People Learn is the title of a book written by the National Research Council. Because it was funded by your tax dollars at work, this book is freely available here:

You will probably not have time to read this entire book right now, but all of you should endeavor to read its first chapter, which is generally regarded as the best summary ever written about the principles of How People Learn. There is also a second volume that is freely available here:

The second volume does not replace the first volume. Rather, Volume II endorses the first volume as the canonical treatise about How People Learn, then builds upon it by extending the discourse into the realm of learning contexts and cultures. The second volume further defines types of learning and introduces multimedia learning principles.

The first chapter of How People Learn is available in your online course files. Study this chapter and reflect on how it presents the following three guiding principles:

  1. People learn by connecting new information to concepts already learned.
  2. To learn how to reason, solve problems, and augment knowledge in a field of inquiry, people need to understand facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework that facilitates application to real-world problem solving.
  3. People are motivated to learn when they can set their own goals, reflect on their progress, and feel in control of their learning.

From these principles, it follows that learning environments will be effective when instructional designs:

  1. take into account the learner’s preexisting understandings and correct any faulty preconceptions in order to prevent future misunderstandings;
  2. enable students to study multiple examples of the concept at work in order to learn it in depth in authentic contexts; and
  3. include metacognitive supports that make visible the learner’s reflections and enable an instructor to provide scaffolding and guide revisions to improve student learning and reasoning.

Building our Rationale - Pros & Cons of Technology in Teaching

Let's build our rationale for using technology in education. Why is it important? Under what conditions is technology integration most effective? What are the advantages of using technology in the classroom? What are the disadvantages? Does technology make us smarter? To find out, read the following three articles:

  1. National Educational Technology Plan. Read the Introduction: https://tech.ed.gov/netp/introduction/
  2. Mohammed, S. (2019). Is technology good or bad for learning? Brookings Institute. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2019/05/08/is-technology-good-or-bad-for-learning/
  3. De Bruyckere, P., Kirschner, P., & Hulshof, C. (2016). Technology in Education: What Teachers Should Know. American Federation of Teachers. https://www.aft.org/ae/spring2016/debruyckere-kirschner-and-hulshof

Grounded Technology Integration

Grounded technology integration (Harris & Hofer, 2009) is an approach that emphasizes the importance of considering standards-based student learning needs rather than the specific features of particular tech tools and resources. Grounded technology integration involves 5 steps:

  1. Choose Learning Goals
  2. Make pedagogical decisions
  3. Select activity types to combine
  4. Select assessment strategies
  5. Select tools/resources

Notice how the process begins by considering the learning goals. Only after you decide how to teach and assess the learning do you select technological tools and resources. And you make all of these decisions according to the principles of How People Learn. The following article is available in your online course files: