PART B - Application of TPACK

Before beginning courses at MSU, I had never heard of TPACK before.  I didn't know there was a name for integrating technology into my lessons.  I was surprised to learn that it was called TPACK.  TPACK stands for Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge and it attempts to identify the knowledge required by me for technology integration into my lessons.  There are three forms on knowledge that are crucial properly using TPACK.  They are Content (TC), Pedagogy (PC), and Technology (TC).   To apply TPACK to my Wicked Project, I have to think about how to incorporate these three knowledge types.


The first one I have to work on incorporating is the TP.  For this project the technology I have chosen is social media and making students responsible digital citizens.  The main area I see this being used in is Twitter and Facebook.  Students today only see these two sites in only one way: as a way for all the fun stuff they do to be posted. But this becomes a problem because the students don't see how these "fun" things will be viewed in the future.  There minds don't see the long term affects of what they do.  This supports the teaching strategies and methods I have chosen because I can use the two sites that cause the most problems and show the students how these two can be used to benefit them.  I will be showing them the educational applications of Twitter and Facebook.


Next I have to consider the TC, specifically how this technology makes the content more intellectually accessible.  To do this, I plan to use the social media sites as teaching tools.  They wouldn't be the only resources.  I plan to incorporate blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites that the students use to relate the material and technology to them.  If I am using something that they already are familiar with, chances are they will be more responsive to it.

The final thing to consider is the PC.  Some instructional strategies that I will use to help the students through this lesson is to use deductive strategies.  I have found that my students tend to remember material as well as get excited about it if they are the ones who discover the answers on their own.  One way to do this is to divide them into groups and have them relay the information they find.  This would be done through Tweets, blog posts and responses. These are just a few of the ways to incorporate TPACK into creating responsible digital citizens.

Group Leadership Project: Part A - Brainstorming

For the Group Leadership Project, our group worked with Google+ Hangout.  It was a useful tool that allowed us to work on our document and see each others changes while communicating with each other.  We didn't have to have multiple screens open or flip back and forth.  It really made it feel like we were all speaking in person.  Another advantage was that Google+ allowed us to record and upload directly to You Tube.  By using You Tube, we can post links to the video as well as have it saved on a site we are familiar with using.  Google+ did have a disadvantage because you had to upgrade your account to Google+.  I found this troublesome  because I wanted to keep my MSU email that already had a Google Docs.  This wasn't the case so I had to create a new Gmail account to use.  This caused some confusion because when one group member shared the doc, it was either only with my MSU or with Gmail, so I constantly have to remind myself which account I had the file in and to remind myself to share it with the other account.

Web Conference

In today's technology world, communication has become easier.  For this course having to work in groups the need for communication is vital to the success of the group.  To help ensure this my group held a video conference so that we can communicate and see each other.  There are many different options for video conferences.

The first option is using Skype.  While Skype allows multiple people to hold a conference call, it does not allow screencasting (which is a vital part of the assignments given for CEP 812).  There is one way to do this and that would be to use Jing or a similar program.  Personally I didn't think this would be the best option and my group agreed.  So we explored the next option of using Adobe Connect.  For us, this didn't seem like a viable option because nobody in the group had been the one to initiate the conferences as well as record it.  While there is a possibility of recording these, we were just unsure of how it would work.  The decision we made was to host a Google Hangout.  This allowed us to work on the same document (in Google Docs) while we were recording our conference.  While one person worked on the doc we all could see it on our screens being changed.  This was very useful for us to brainstorm and generate ideas because it almost seemed like we were in the same room working on the same project.

By using Google Hangout, our group was able to have a great meeting.  We were able to discuss multiple points of our upcoming project as well as to work out different questions that we had as a group.  It was a very simple tool to use and instantly uploaded itself to YouTube accounts for further access.  One aspect that I really enjoyed about it was the instant recording.  There was no button to remember to push or to stop.  It just started to record and we began working.  One thing I would change is that it was difficult to find the YouTube link.  I had to e-mail a group member for the link because I couldn't find the link in my account.

This is something that can be used in my classroom by allowing students to communicate with other students in other locations.  Similar to pen pals.  It becomes a digital pen pal making it easier for students to share their ideas and thoughts.

http://youtu.be/w6nwes8jkjE

PART A - Description of Need or Opportunity

The nature of school and student to student interaction has changed with increasing technology.  With this idea, one of the most prevalent school problems, bullying, has changed.  It is no longer someone saying something to someone in the bathroom but they send a Twitter or post something on Facebook for the whole world to see. This has caused over 25 percent of teens have to be bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet and well over half do not tell their parents or teachers when cyber bullying occurs.  Since this is all done on social networking sites and through the internet, students feel that it is not the same as bullying so it’s ok for them to post these things.  For my Wicked Project, I am addressing this misconception as well as teaching the students about responsible social networking. My students are 9 – 12 grade AVID students.  By teaching them to be responsible in their social networking, it will help them in the future because then they don’t have to be afraid of what they did in the past coming back to haunt them.  This is a common problem that this generation will have to face.  Things that are funny or cute now, may not be when a scholarship is on the line or even a job. 

To teach this lesson, the students will be learning responsible social networking using the exact programs that cause the problems.  Since Twitter is one of the main sources of cyberbullying, students will participate in discussions using the Academy Twitter and AVID Twitter accounts.  If a student’s parent disapproves on their student using Twitter an alternative assignment will be used for that particular student.  To assess student learning, they will create a PSA (Public Service Announcement) to be shared with the entire school during advisory period.  To create these PSA’s students will use the class set of iPads to film and edit the videos. 

This tool will be used early in the year.  As AVID students they need to be aware of how to responsibly use the internet because colleges and scholarship agencies sometimes look at their social networking to see really what kind of person they are.

Resources that may help guide me in this project are things relating to cyber bullying.  Also, it would be helpful to research ways to communicate the material to students.  Using sources like Jing to screencast and become better at using a blog to communicate ideas and create a forum for students to discuss. The students will be using Diigo to create a digital works cited list to keep resources in one place. To begin their research the students will be given the following sites to start off:  Cyber Bullying Statistics, Cyber Bully Alert, i-SAFE.  But knowing the statistics aren’t enough They will also be given the National Crime Prevention Website and Stop Cyber Bullying to find tactics and strategies to end cyber bullying.

During this course, I will be conducting research and organizing my plan for how I will implement this into my classroom.  Since it will not be something that happens in one lesson, there will be multiple lessons that take place during the school year.  I will be able to use various activities that the students enjoy so that they can have a constant reminder of the principles I am trying to convey.  Also, the new technology available to my students will be able to be brought into the lessons.  One way to incorporate discussion is through the use of a Blog.  For this class, I will be documenting my progress on a class blog but when implemented in the classroom there will be a separate blog for students to post and discuss the relevant material, their progress and discoveries. I would know I was successful by the impact on the students.  By seeing the change in their personalities as well as the way they conduct themselves.  This will be done through the use of pre and post quizzes.  The quizzes will be the same both times to see how the students have learned.  The quizzes will be compared by the students for them to analyze themselves what they have learned.

Personal Intro Video

Check out my first screencast!

http://www.screencast.com/t/qrko79ath