TQ #1: frameworks for technology-based educational activities

As I lead my students through a bout of researching, writing, and presenting through persuasive speeches, these two articles began to make me think about where I am heading and what my intentions are for my students and self. Currently, in English class, students are preparing to write persuasive speeches and they are using computers as their medium for creating the product. As to the two chapters, as I was continually reading through them, I was thinking about all of the questions that I run into as a teacher who wants to incorporate technology into as much as possible. Very often as a younger teacher who has known school settings to include computers, many of the statements that we said in this book and article, bring up the questions as to the worth that some of our activities have to the students.

In Chapter One of Jonassen, he brought up the idea that technologies are only used best when there is an active, intentional plan, and when reflection or collaboration is included. Very often, I feel that in my past, educators felt that by using a computer in a project, students were gaining something from the activity. In a similar fashion, many administrators, at least in my experience, look to find technology in a lesson plan. According to Koehler and Mishra, that can mean any tool created by human knowledge. In my opinion, many technologies are something new, something innovative, and sometimes something that students don't typically get to use in class or at home. To me, the point of utilizing technology in the classroom is to connect student's outside world of recreation and lifestyle with the curriculum of the district. By utilizing technology, students can begin to find connections between the two worlds and in my hope, find more interest in the subjects that are not their favorites because of the technologies used. All in all, I agree with what Jonassen is saying that a plan, collaboration, and reflection need to be involved, just as these are pieces of a student's lifestyle outside of school whenever technology is involved, therefore it should be done in school as well.

As to the difficulties of the articles, I felt that the Koehler and Mishra article was hard to read in its format. When citing too many these and those, I find it very difficult to read and comprehend the content. I believe I understood the general outline of what technology's role in classroom should be and the TPCK model. From what I understand of the article, I understand the TPCK model and for the most part agree with the model. In my opinion, Koehler and Mishra stated that optimum teaching occurs when all three knowledges are combined to create the center most "triangle"- the technological pedagogical content knowledge. However, I believe that it may not always be possible or plausible to incorporate all three knowledges into every lesson. I also feel that if we use the same technologies or the same practices of teaching to display the variety of content that this model will prove to be ineffective. I believe that when a careful balance of a variety of technologies and pedagogical techniques are used that optimum learning can occur.

With all of this being said, my opinion of the articles include a variety of opinions in that I do not completely agree with one article or the other, but that I find pieces of both that I agree with and hope to remind myself of when future activities are created.