Integrating Technology in the Classroom

                                                                            Image Source: Clip Art Craft

A Self Evaluation...

    Unfamiliar with the frameworks listed in this week's module, I eagerly dove into the resources for to see which of them applied to my teaching and integration of technology in the classroom. Being a millennial, I was introduced to technology early on in school, which is why it has become convenient in my day-to-day life (in and outside of the classroom), as well as why I tend to rely on it so much to execute my daily lessons to my students.

   My personal reliance on technology--weekly lesson plans (submitted online to Plan Book), implementation of daily PowerPoints, online assignments and practice, modified lessons and work, as well as grading/tracking systems--has become so natural to me that I almost did not know where to begin a lesson when our school's Wi-Fi shut down. Though it had me reflect on how dependent I am on it, it also had me thinking about whether my students were using technology to develop and enhance their learning, or if it is used as a distraction when lessons become too difficult.

    To begin, our entire school contains Google Chromebooks, which are distributed to teachers and students (grades 2 thru 8) for daily use. On the one-to-one devices, students are able to access their Google email accounts, Google Classroom, Google Docs, and many more applications that fall with Google. Since the Chromebooks are touch screen, students are able to write and draw notes on their devices as well. For those very reasons, I was quick to believe that the SAMR framework (link to SAMR in 120 Seconds video) was the one I was implementing in my classroom. I, too, use my Google Chromebook to upload files and assignments onto Google Classroom, I have my students type up their notes, homework, and essays using Google Docs, and complete in-class grammar exercises by using the drawing feature on the device to clearly markup sentences.

    However, the deeper I looked into the SAMR resources and apps (link to APPS in ED Poster doc) that coincide with SAMR, I soon realized that this was not the framework I was working with in my classroom.

TPACK on a Daily Basis

     For years I have been using PowerPoints (link to Google Slides) to create daily notes, provide journal prompts, and include lesson objectives, and additional online tools to help students complete and improve on their work. Looking back on how I integrate technology in my classroom, I realized that the technological framework I use in my classroom is, in fact, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. 

Image Source: Instructional Coaching

    While researching the TPACK framework, I came across edTech Classroom, a website run by Maddie--who is a STEM teacher and instructional technology coach--where the framework was explained in better detail. With the information provided on integration of the TPACK model into the classroom (direct link to TPACK post on edTech Classroom), I was able to make larger, more significant connections to the way I use technology in my own classroom.

    Technological knowledge shows where you stand with understanding and using technology, as well as using other electronic tools and resources. Content knowledge includes the information we know and understand about the topic(s) we will be teaching to our students. Lastly, pedagogical knowledge are the methods we use to throughout teaching and learning. Each of these are components I have been incorporating into my weekly lesson plans and daily lessons in the classroom, however, it was something I was applying naturally, without knowing that there was a specific framework that I could have been working with to apply it more efficiently and effectively for my students.

    

Where am I now with TPACK?

    TPACK consists of three main domains: technology, pedagogy, and content, and I am fairly confident when using the 3 components of TPACK--independently. 

    I am quite familiar with the technology I and my students use on a day-to-day basis, as well as implementing technology into my lessons to give students a variety of ways to learn and practice what they have learned. I use both a Chromebook and a Microsoft laptop each day in class (one to project PowerPoints, while I work on the other to upload assignments, check emails, etc.). I had a difficult time adjusting to Microsoft Teams when I first began working at my school, but caught on quickly to the program, only to have it switched to Google-based applications this school year.

    I use NoRedInk to help students practice proper grammar and what components make up our sentences. I have also used IXL, another online resource for implementing and practicing with grammar, reading, and writing (also used for math, science, and history--although those topics have never applied to my lessons). Students would enjoy reviewing grammar rules on there from a lesson I had concluded, and they would run through a few practice sentences or stories prior to an assessment. Currently, I use I-Ready to assess students on their reading levels and help them improve their reading and comprehension skills throughout the school year. Aside from the diagnostic students take (once each trimester), the site allows me to assign additional practice for students when I see they may be struggling with a certain topic/content, and it creates a Digital Pathway, which automatically creates practice for students at the grade level they tested into. Eventually, students grow with the program, which picks up their level of understanding. This will be my second year with the program, and I have seen a lot of growth in my students since the last school year.

    As educators, we know that our learning path never stops. As technology develops, we continue to find new ways to work with it and apply it to everyday learning. I am excited to gather new information about it as I continue to teach my middle schoolers/junior high students, and now college-level students, since I just accepted an offer from the community college in my neighborhood to teach entry-level English.

    In the future, I hope to implement more creative forms of technology into my teaching and apply the combined forms of TPACK into my lessons as I continue to familiarize myself with the framework and other ways to include it in the classroom.