Tech Savvy Teacher and TPACK Questions

Since my last post about the science activity involving technology I can now reflect about my experience exploring science through Kidspiration.  It was good practice to do a science lesson with the new technology programs we have today.  There are many great technology tools I can use as a teacher to make science more exciting and fun.  These are the questions I am going to address concerning my last post and previous science technology activity.  

what is the content you are focusing on in the science lesson?

The content I focused on in the science lesson was from the second grade core curriculum.  It was standard three which states, "Students will develop an understanding of their environment."  The objective is number one and it states, "Investigate relationships between plants and animals and how living things change during their lives."  The objective is 1b which states, "Describe the life cycle of local plants and animals using diagrams and pictures." 

what is the pedagogy you are using and why is it a good fit with the content?

The pedagogy I used were strategies that are important for teaching science.  I believed the students would learn these inquiry processing skills through this science activity.  The main pedagogy I used was processing data, describing relationships, using diagrams and pictures.  This skill was enhanced by breaking up each step of the life cycle and showing its' components and connecting the steps.  The concept maps were perfect for this because the students can not only understand the cycle mentally, but they can visually see how they relate.  Another pedagogy skill I used in the science project was constructing hypotheses.  The students had to provide examples, in pictures and words, of the parts of each step of the life cycle.  Students made educated guesses as to which steps were included in certain stages of a plant.      

what is the technology you used and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

The technology I used for this science project was Kidspiration.  It was a fun and easy tool to use for this activity.  Kidspiration fit perfectly with my content area because it dealt with the life cycle of plants and animals.  Kidspiration has a science section and inside is a life cycle component.  I made a concept map to display the life cycle of a plant, and break it down into steps.  Kidspiration had pictures that related to the concept map items to make it more fun and pleasing to the eye.  Students can relate to pictures more than just words on a page.  Kidspiration fit well with my pedagogy because it again broke down the concept, allowing the students to process data and describe relationships.  The concept map is meant to create correlations between big concepts.  

The Tech Savvy Teacher

I have been recruited by my district to contribute an article to the monthly newsletter concerning technology in the elementary science classroom.  The column I am writing is entitled “The Tech Savvy Teacher. “  My newsletters will provide examples of how different technologies are used for specific science concepts.  I look forward to exploring these programs as well as implementing them in the classroom. 

The first science activity we did was based on this objective in the second grade core curriculum.  It is standard three, which says, “Students will develop an understanding of their environment.”  The objective is number one and it says, “Investigate relationships between plants and animals and how living things change during their lives.  The objective is 1b, which says, “Describe the life cycle of local plants and animals using diagrams and pictures.”  For this objective we used the program Kidspiration and used this technology to enhance our lesson.  We went into the science section of the program and selected the life cycles option. 

In this application we searched plants and a variety of species appeared.  We began with the birth of a plant and typed in seed.  Pictures of seeds appeared and we placed it in the concept map.  Then we added words that related to the beginning of a plant such as water and soil.  We could use words or pictures to represent these items.  The students can choose whichever option they prefer.  We did this same process for the other steps of the life cycle. 

 

The writing guide is another tool we used for this project.  We wanted to know what other words related to reproduction.  When we typed in reproduction a series of definitions came up and synonyms along with them.  We learned that a similar word to reproduction is breed.  We then used that word in our concept map and continued with our learning.  After we completed the concept map with pictures and words we went to the writing view.  There was an icon for every picture and word with writing space for explanation and expansion.  This is a great tool to help kids connect their learning with their writing.

 

Word Guide Page

 Word Guide Definition

Writing View

 

Life Cycle Page

Life Cycles Concept Map in Progress

Kidspiration was an easy and fun tool to use for this objective.  It allowed me to easily and affectively incorporate technology into the classroom.  Kidspiration helped enhance students’ learning of the life cycle by analyzing each step individually.  The program supplied pictures to relate the items in each concept map.  The concept maps helped the students analyze the exact steps of the life cycle.  Kidspiration made this easy and fun as it provided visual learning tools. Another processing skill Kidspiration enhances is the ability to observe a scientific theory.  The picture concept map visually broke down the abstract concept of a life cycle to a second grader’s level.  Kids also used prediction skills as they hypothesized the outcomes in a specific part of the life cycle.  

Science/Math Technologies

I explored many of the science/math technologies from the resources on our course website.  I am excited to there are many software resources that can increase my students' comprehension of specific content areas.  It is very true that students need to actually "do" science to understand it.  There is so much more excitement and enthusiasm with hands-on assignments rather than notes on the board.  One of the resources I explored more in depth was Kidspiration.  One of the science activities is called alike and different.  Here they present you with groups of pictures that are alike and different; you then choose the picture that is different and find other examples that are similar with it.  Then they have to write about why they are similar and different; it incorporates writing with science to increase a deeper understanding.  There are different categories you can choose such as math, social studies, science, reading, and writing.  This helps the teachers focus their students learning in different medians and resources.  I think this will be a great resource for my future classroom!

TPACK

TPACK has to do with how teachers integrate technology into their teaching.  TPACK stands for technological pedagogical and content knowledge.  The TPACK has three kinds of knowledge that it blends together.  First it is TK or technological knowledge, or knowing how to use various technologies, or specific kinds of software.  There is also CK or content knowledge, or knowledge of facts and skills.  Lastly there is PK or pedagogical knowledge, or general knowledge of skills related to teaching.  This has to do with general teaching methods, and classroom management skills.  All three of these knowledge types create the whole TPACK or how to incorporate different teaching methods and technology effectively.  Teachers need TPACK because it can help them decide which type of content is best taught through which method of technology.  Teachers can know a lot about a specific content areas, but not know the best way children will grasp the knowledge.  Also, teachers may have a lot of pedagogical knowledge, but if they cannot connect that with technology to enhance the content, it will be a loss for them.  I am excited to grow in all areas of the TPACK and combine my knowledge resources in the classroom.  

Learning about RSS and Web 2.0

This week I learned a lot about what the internet has to offer. I had no idea there was such a thing as an RSS and the abilities that has. This seems so much easier and that you can keep all your information and desired websites together. I also learned about the website GoodReads which I think is very interesting. This can be a huge benefit to teachers to collaborate about their favorite books and why they enjoy them. I will definitely use this once I get in the classroom. Another new subject to me is delicious.com. This is also another great tool for me to use as a teacher. I can continue to add great links and lesson plans for my students. I am excited to be learning more and more about the internet and assets that I have as a teacher.

We are in a multimedia generation nowadays, and teachers need to act accordingly. Not only should we as teachers use this technology, but we should also let our students be aware of it. I am actually excited to create a blog for my classroom; I think this will be a great tool. Parents who cannot come into the classroom but are interested in their student’s schooling can get updates and information from the class blog. I am also impressed with the delicious website and am glad to have a place to keep all my good ideas and resources. I feel like I have learned so many great things from this and last semester and delicious is the perfect place to home all of them. The classroom I have with my students will be completely different from what I experienced in elementary school. The task seems a little daunting at first, but I will be able to do it with my knowledge of these great resources.

My Technology Background Experience

I am pretty comfortable using the internet and its different functions. I have not created a blog before, but I have friends that have their own. I use the internet about one hour a day, and use it to search many different topics. I do not consider myself a computer "genius" but I can normally find the information I need. I am excited about this class because it will give me ideas to put my teaching online and share it with my student's parents. I also frequently visit the website Facebook where I have information and pictures about myself and friends.