TPACK Questions

Content of my lesson: Utah 3rd grade Standard 1, Objective 1--students will describe the appearance of the earth and moon.

Pedagogy: incorportating the Scientific Inquiry abilities by using the KWL chart as a class and having student record their observations as they explore the programs. This is a good fit with my content because students are required to describe the appearance of the earth and moon, and by using the KWL chart and their own descriptions, the students get the opportunity to write down and then share those descriptions. The KWL chart also helps them see their own progress, which will help more effectively carry out scientific inquiries in the future.

Technology: Google Earth, Sky, & Moon. These tools are good fits with the content because they allow students to get a realistic idea of what the earth and moon look like. They also fit with the content because they give students the opportunity to explore and inquire individually. The programs let them see with their own eyes what the earth and moon look like, which allows students to follow use K-4 scientific inquiry abilities like gathering data and communicating their findings. (National Science Education Standards Handout: http://open.byu.edu/ipt287/files/2009/01/nces_handout.pdf)

The Tech Savvy Teacher

The subject of space is far too fascinating and boundless to limit it only to making solar system mobiles or looking at star-charts. This is especially true with the equally boundless technological resources we now have available. I have been recruited to write this article by the district to help educators better understand the great benefits of technology integration in the elementary science classroom. To do so, we will look at the following example of effective technology integration in an activity for Utah's 3rd grade science Standard 1, Objective 1 (describing the appearance of the Earth & moon).

As we teach science, we try to give our students a realistic education regarding their environment. However, as we are limited in time and resources, we often fall short in reaching this goal. In teaching about the appearance of the moon and earth, programs known as Google Earth, Google Sky, and Google Moon may help students gain a realistic impression. These programs allow users to explore actual satellite photos from space. Google Earth, which must be downloaded is most detailed, allowing users to zoom in as far as individual buildings, and to zoom out until the planet is only a speck among stars. It also allows users to pan around the entire surface of the earth. Google Moon, which is available online, is more limited in its panning and zooming abilities, but it has detailed descriptions and pictures wherever ships have landed. Google Sky, also available online, is most useful in getting a full scale picture of the moon so students can understand what its shape and general appearance from space.

Google Earth

Google Sky also allows users to view different planets, stars, and moons.

Google Moon has indepth photos both from the satellite and from astronauts during missions.

For the activity, the class would start by using a large class KWL chart (listing what we know, what we wonder, and what we learned), as the teacher facilitates by writing students’ ideas on the board. They would list what they knew and what they wondered about how the earth and moon look from space. The teacher would then let students explore Google Sky to look at the moon from its zoomed-out perspective, Google Moon for a closer perspective, and Google Earth (access to a computer lab is necessary, and it might be helpful to have these programs all up on each computer before the activity starts). The teacher should encourage students to use the panning and zooming tools so they can gain a thorough understanding of what things look like. Have them record their thoughts and observations. After students have finished exploring, gather together as a class again to find out what students learned and finish the KWL chart. Having students make their own observations and use the KWL chart encourages them to use the scientific inquiry abilities for grades K-4 such as asking questions about objects in the environment, conducting a simple investigation, using simple tools to gather data & extend the senses, use data to construct explanations, and communicating those explanations.

There are active icons and objects all over Google Sky on which users can click to find out some interesting facts and information.

This activity could be easily adapted into a full scale lesson plan with such ideas as creating a scavenger hunt for the students as they explore Google Earth, Moon, & Sky. It could also be expanded into lessons about various space missions, such as Apollo 13, since Google Sky is rich with actual pictures taken during different missions, maps of where they landed, and descriptive text. One other idea would be to use Google Sky to track daily satellite pictures of the moon in order to better understand moon phases. As you continue to search and utilize such technology in your lessons, you will help further the worlds of your students and become a “tech savvy teacher.”

TPACK is an interesting, and I believe accurate, way to connect important components of teaching to incorporate technology in the classroom. It both distinguishes knowledge a teacher must have into 3 distinct groups, content, pedagogy, and technology, and illustrates the relationships among them. I believe it can help teachers better understand the dynamics of their lesson plans, especially when they are learning to integrate technology in their classrooms. It is a good model teachers can reference as they seek, as the wiki TPACK website called it, "true technology integration." The ability to distinguish between each of the three groups and to use their relationships is also important for teachers so that when they develop their lesson plans, focused on certain objectives, they can clearly think about the different components they need to use and emphasize in the lesson. It is encouraging to think of teachers learning to identify all of their knowledge in the 3 different components of TPACK and to then to use their knowledge effectively as they try to integrate technology.

As for the science websites we explored, I am so excited about Google Sky! I already knew about Google Earth and have played with it many-a-time, but I had never heard of Google Sky! When I think about the educational values in using this program, my mind is flooding with exciting ideas for my students to explore space. What's absolutely marvelous to me is that the images are real, and so students can actual zoom in on Jupiter or various stars to see for themselves that they really do match up to what they've seen in storybooks. It is wonderful to give students "the big picture" of the grand scope of space as well. It will be so thrilling to develop lesson plans in which students can do things like scavenger hunts for different points in space, or report their observations of different locations or the distances between, or so many other things! I have been skeptical before about just how much the computers can provide elementary school students beyond special projects or regular word processing, but exploring these websites has opened my eyes to a world of more engaging, meaningful instruction.

RSS Feeds & Web 2.0

I am absolutely floored by the resources available to me on the internet! I had no idea of the existence of RSS feeds until this evening, and I'm astounded at what I can access easily! I'm also impressed by the innovation and progress of Web 2.0--it has become so sophisticated and user-friendly, connecting individuals and groups across the globe. Never has the world had so much information so accessible to the masses, and that information (and with it, power) is growing.

As a teacher, I am SO excited about the discovery of RSS feeds! I can be constantly updated on the things that are most important to me as an educator, such as new and useful lesson plans, important news on the education system in our country, and helpful classroom management/planning tools. The best part is, thanks to Web 2.0, I can consult online with teachers across the country about all of these things. This will save me so much time hunting for valuable ideas to keep up on the best classroom methods and on the latest professional information.

My Tech Background

Technology is not necessarily my main domain, but I have always managed to get along. My high school required us to take a technology course that gave me a solid foundation in the basic Microsoft Office tools, and this foundation has been expanded as I've worked as an office assistant for a professor. I have a knack for working search engines--I can almost always find exactly what I'm looking for very quickly. Much of my computer knowledge since high school has been attained through my own exploration and guess-and-check. So in a nutshell, I'm not what you'd call technologically saavy, but I've always managed to figure most things out. Happy birthday to this blog!