Weekly Reflection 7

This week in class we reviewed what we have learned so far (because we’re halfway done which is crazy!) and further discussed “technology integration models” such as SAMR and TPACK. It was a really insightful class and brought up topics that I hadn’t heard of before.

SAMR is a model showing the levels of tech usage for integration in education. The question that describes this model is “how does tech expand what is possible in teaching and learning?” I found a really great image on “Creative Commons” that demonstrates what SAMR stands for. I really like this table because it gives examples of how each category of tech integration plays into a realistic classroom task.

TPACK stands for “The Integration of Technological, Pedological, and Content Knowledge.” The question that describes this question is “how do you combine knowledge of content and pedagogy in a meaningful way with educational knowledge?” This model is also important to us as future teacher because it demonstrates how to incorporate these different areas of knowledge into each other, something that will be required of us in the curriculum.

Some of the other things we discussed in today’s class were:

• Content knowledge (the what) vs Pedagogical (the how) knowledge
• Curriculum content in different provinces and countries and how they all differ
• Different beliefs of education in societies (specifically egalitarianism)
• How teaching styles change depending on the students you have in your class (this can also determine what types of technology you use and how you use them)
• Assessment and evaluation and the ways in which they are changing, specifically in BC
• How to use your time throughout the school year wisely, “don’t teach what you don’t have to teach

I really enjoyed our discussions today and the opportunity we had to think about the future of education using technology!