Week 2 Do Smart Classrooms Equal Smart Teachers and Smart Students?

Lecture and Tutorial Reflection

Today we looked in some detail at the Smart Classrooms ICT Certificate. Completing this certificate will show that we have “demonstrated foundation level capabilities with ICT in a learning context” (The State of Queensland - Department of Education and Training, 2011).

 Meeting these requirements is intended to help us be better teachers not just to add the “Oo” factor to lessons. We should always consider how the ICT we have chosen will aid learning not just how it will engage the students.

Reading Reflections

So exactly “what is Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge?” TPACK (Koehler & Mishra, 2009) is a concept that challenged me and left me confused. Making sense of what was written didn’t come together in my head. I will need to consider this article later. Maybe I should skim it instead of trying to draw meaning from every word I read.

I like Prensky’s (2001) Technology analogy of foreign speaking and native speaking peoples. As my “accent” (Prensky, 2001. P.2) gets a little less noticeable I become more aware of how difficult it is for students to relate and learn because of the heavy accents of their teachers who may resist adapting to use technologies. These teachers hold to old fashioned “legacy” content (Prensky, 2001. P.4) when they need to embrace “Future” technological content in order to more effectively teach “legacy” content and even to transform learning entirely (Prensky, 2001. P.4). Prensky’s favourite way to teach “legacy” content involves educational computer games.
Beverley Head (2008) reminds me that using ICT’s doesn’t necessarily mean students are learning. Students need to be using ICT to create, analyse and transform information. Wise teachers will use these fun technologies and teach students explicitly how to transform content and not just cut and paste it. After all, ICT needs to be used to “benefit…learning and not just as an end itself” (The State of Queensland - Department of Education and Training, 2011).

References:

Head, B. (2008). Generation cut and paste. Retrieved from,             http://www.zagami.info/4001EPS/Readings/Entries/2011/3/7_Week_2.html

Koehler, M., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge?  Contempary issues in technology and teacher education, 9(1), 60-70. Retrieved from http://www.zagami.info/4001EPS/Readings/Entries/2011/3/7_Week_2.html

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. Retrieved from             http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/prensky%20-  %20digital%20natives,%20digital%20immigrants%20-%20part1.pdf     

The State of Queensland - Department of Education and Training. (2011). Smart Classrooms Professional Development Framework. Retrieved from     http://education.qld.gov.au/smartclassrooms/pdframework/