Best Practice In Education Technology

The term "Best Practice" has been used to describe "what works" in a particular situation or environment. Trends are influencing Education, making us realized Education was intended to be done with and by learners and not done to them. Learners in this digital era have adopted and adapted to technology, so why not use that tendency in our advantage and incorporate it in the classrooms as a key element to increase motivation in the learning process.

“Technology and digital media continue to represent a powerful pathway for advancing the goals of education, including raising academic achievement and preparing students for college and career. In time for Digital Learning Day, the new paper, Wired to Learn: K-12 Students in the Digital Classroom, supported by the Cable Impacts Foundation, explores digital learning as a promising strategy for improving students’ educational experiences and highlights the efforts of schools across the country focused on reshaping the traditional learning environment.” (e-schoolnews)

One trend, for example is the New Structure and Funding Models, that uses technology to expand the leading-edge of traditional learning/teaching activities, as well as its covered areas causing a more effective impact challenging the traditional school structure. It forces to modified the structure not only in the context of how to learn a subject, but when and even where it should take place.The new rising technology allows to get access to a wider group of individuals with the same interests in despite of their location or age. For example, with applications such as Evernote, where students can save their class notes and share them with other student, it can also help them organize their homework and set reminders.


The future is forcing us to change the orthodox curriculum and pedagogy methods and adapt them in such way that it fit the  progressing technology.

Sources: 

Ctserc.org 

cisco: education technology best practices
e-schoolnews:best-practices

What is TPACK?

 
TPACK is the basis of meaningful teaching with assistance of technology. It requires the understanding of pedagogical techniques, and teaching concepts using technology in a constructive way. We could use the new trends in technology to teach the most commonly difficult concepts that students face, as well as help to understand how technology can be used to build academic materials easier to teach.  Understanding the theory of the nature and grounds of knowledge especially with reference to its limits and validity; it will help expand knowledge and build new.

The heart of TPACK is a combination of three primary forms of knowledge: CONTENT (which is what teachers are to learn and teach), PEDAGOGY (The process and practices/methods of teaching and learning), AND TECHNOLOGY. Furthermore, the framework product of the areas where these three forms intersect: Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), combined form Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK).

TPACK is a range of teaching techniques related to pedagogy and content that has been around for quite some time, and is very popular among researchers and scholars.  TPACK informs teachers of all platforms, and application ,designed to offer the students the opportunity to experience, and embrace, social media in an academic way; engaging with experts, and collaborate with peers around the word in a safe environment. Its goal is to keep teachers up to date with the upcoming technology trends, such as BYOD, OER, E-Portfolios, LMS, or GBL.

In other words, TPACK is a combination of technological tools put together in a format easy to follow and apply by educators in the classrooms, helping them improve the learning process by making it fun for students to learn in an interactive way, connecting all three forms of knowledge Content, Pedagogy, and Technology into one.

References
http://www.matt-koehler.com/tpack/tpack-explained/

Draft of TPACK VoiceThreat project: 
http://voicethread.com/#create/6748508

What I Hope to Get Out This Course

My class  "Intro to Technology in the Classroom" seems to be a very interesting class, where we are going to learn how to use tools such as Voice Threat, NETS, and how to build our own website. The future points out to a tech-savvy classroom environment, and I want to be up to speed with the upcoming electronic devises and technology. Technology is a great learning tool, and getting ourselves familiar with the new trends will definitely help us in our jobs as educators, so I hope to take advantage of all the information that will be provided in this class and learn as much as I can in my own benefit as well as my students.
Google Drive Voice Threat