Number 20: TPACK the basics

I have been so busy using the ICT's, building them and occasionally trying to work out how I could destroy them....that I missed some of the obligatory material.

So here I am  at TPACK.  You can see at the bottom of my blog I uploaded the image of how TPACK works  but completely skipped over the part where "I' the learner was meant to engage with it in a meaningful way.

The course material was thick and I got lost and started thinking this e-learning was about being good with the ICT's.

So lets start with the basics.

TPACK stands for technological pedagogical and content knowledge.

Now if you are like me and things are still as clear as mud, then don't worry because in the following paragraphs I am going to set TPACK out so that you and I can understand it better.

Technological Pedagogical and content knowledge. The only three words in that sentence that make sense to me straight away are "and content knowlegdge".   That little word 'and' tells me that there is a shared relationship. So I know that these four words are all linked together in some way.

Content is about knowing the subject. Teachers need need to be familiar enough with the concepts and ideas within the content so that they can share it with others (Mishra & Koehler 2006).

For example, you cannot teach someone to fish if you yourself are unsure of how to catch a fish.  You must know the process intimately to be in position to teach it. It is not necessary for you to be a good fisherman.  It is however necessary for you to know what makes a good fisherman.  Once you know the content in this way you are then able to help your audience be better fishermen.  When you do this as a teacher, you have covered the content part of the TPACK acronym.

Knowledge as part of this is about communicating, representing and understanding how students best learn.  Knowledge is tied to content, technological and pedagogical.  You must have definitive knowledge of all three to adhere to the TPACK framework.

If we then focus on the word technological, in its simplest form it is about using technology.  In its most complex it is about using technology effectively to transform learning (Mishra & Koehler 2006).  If you are constructing meaning about fishing then you get the learner to use the technology so that they begin to understand how and can tell you why and maybe where to fish. It is just like Myagi said, 'the student becomes the master'.

Lastly we come to this new word.  To be honest it is a word that I dread.  Pedagocical, derived from pedagogy. Ever since I arrived at university 2 months ago, this word has baffled me.  Pedagogy is the art of teaching.  It is not concerned with telling, so much as it is about understanding.  It is ensuring that the learner and their learning is the focus of the teaching process. Its really about being a good teacher.

TPACK then is a framework for teacher to work from.  It is designed to ensure that teachers know how to use technology, combined with good teaching practices, to ensure that they are covering the content knowledge of the discipline they are teaching. To do this well teachers must have an understanding their content and know the subject well.