I have noticed that in the Silicon Valley, where I have spent all of my teaching career (up until this point) is very focused on the the "T" in TPACK. We are all so focused on iPads, BYOD, 1:1, Prezi vs. Powerpoint, Khan Academy vs. Brick & Mortar schools, etc, etc, etc. The technology has been the emphasis. My perspective is that the training, pedagogy, and content have fallen to the wayside due to the onslaught of information during this technological revolution.
My project is focused on the pedagogy. My question has been "What is differentiated instruction and what does it look like in the classroom?" Once I researched that, I wanted to know how could we be doing it better. The question, which the TPACK video addressed is, "What do teachers need to know?" has arisen for me again and again throughout this course. What this cohort has made me think about: In the world of endless information at our fingertips, what is my job as a teacher? For me, Technology is just a tool to deliver Content via a successful Pedagogy. The technology is not the key, the pedagogy and content is. Teachers need to know how to successfully deliver relevant Content, which has to be more than just dates, names, places, and raw facts. Teachers need to evolve to deliver that content in ways that inspire students to grow and move beyond the traditional classroom setting. We are training students for a world that is evolving faster than ever before. Focusing on the Technology is a mistake, as that Technology will be quickly replaced by something else. We must focus on create a dynamic classroom experience which will enable our students to think critically and adapt to the rapidly changing environments they find themselves in every day.
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You may consider the elements of ‘SITE’ and the needs of your learners or audience(s). How does SITE apply to you as a learner?
“...advocates the creation of learning and instruction that integrates the learning of skills with the context in which the learner will be able to apply those skills...This module considers the learner’s motives and goals, techniques for accomplishing these goals, and and the kinds of literacy or “information know-how” that the learner will need to master in order to understand and use these techniques.” (Site Model 3) My goal as a teacher has always been to create critical thinking, problem solving learners who can tackle real world problems. This is the kind of learner I am and I struggle teaching concepts I myself would not want to participate in. I need to know "Where am I going to use this in real life?" In the age of Wikipedia and YouTube, people can learn almost anything they want, without ever opening a book. The traditional models of learning are becoming quickly outdated. The SITE model and the Pebble in the Pond approach is to meant to create a model of real world applications. If I am teaching my students how to write a research paper, what skills am I giving them that will be something they can use in real life. Let’s take the controversial example of Wikipedia. As adults, we rely on it all the time, for any answer. Google and Wikipedia are now seamlessly integrated, so that if you “Google it”, you are probably getting a Wikipedia answer. Many of my colleagues have banned the use of Wikipedia from the classroom for research purposes. I have to disagree. Banning the use of Wikipedia only compels a learner to seek out alternative sources of information, such as Yahoo Answers or Prezi (all user generated, not verified, and usually inaccurate). How is this helping a learner be able to navigate real world? In the real world, no one is going to say, don’t use Wikipedia, it doesn’t happen. Instead, I teach them how to view different types of sources, how to determine if a source is reliable, how to understand what kind of source Wikipedia is. These skills are much Reading these articles was helpful, as I could see that I am not working in a vacuum. SITE speaks to me very much as a learner and an educator. |
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January 2017
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