Technology plays a big
role in classrooms now a days. Since technology has been integrated within
them, it helps give not only the teacher more opportunities to present
information, but also allows the student to learn in a variety of ways. Through
the use of methods like TPACK and SAMR, it helps students understand
information easier, but on top of that makes class entertaining. Within this
blog post I’ll break down what TPACK and SAMR are, and at the end I’ll compare
the two.
Technological Pedagogical
Content Knowledge, TPACK, is a framework that describes the knowledge that is
needed by a teacher to create an effective learning environment through the use
of technology. Lee Shulman was the first person to talk about pedagogical content
knowledge and from there TPACK was built to incorporate those ideas just with
the use of technology added to it. There are three main knowledge areas within
TPACK including technology, pedagogical, and content. In the technology
knowledge area, the teacher needs to know enough information on the items to be
able to effectively use them within their classroom. Adding on to that, they
need to know what to do if something goes wrong with the technology and be able
to adapt to the constant changes that are being made to technology each and
every day. The second knowledge area is pedagogical, which talks about the
understanding of students and how they learn within the classroom, lesson
planning, and how to manage a classroom in general. In the third knowledge
area, it talks about content. Content knowledge is how much the teacher knows
about the subject that is meant to be taught or learned. The content within an
elementary math classroom is much more different than a college level class
talking about calculus. If a teacher is able to incorporate all three of these knowledge
areas into the classroom at once, then they are using successfully following
the framework, TPACK. The only downside to this framework is context. Teachers
are limited to what is provided to them within their teaching environment. Some
schools may not have Web 2.0 tools, so teachers need to work around that. If
they can successfully use the technology that is given to as well as
incorporate the knowledge areas, then they are using the framework TPACK
correctly.
The acronym SAMR stands
for substitution-augmentation-modification-redefinition. This model helps show
how technology can impact teaching and learning. There are four levels to this
model and each level is listed in the first sentence of this paragraph. The
first level, substitution, talks about how computers are now performing tasks
teachers used before computer. Within the next level, augmentation, it describe
how computer technology can be used as a tool to perform simple tasks. An
example of this would be completing a quiz on Google Forms rather than having a
paper test. Modification, the third level, changes the way information is
presented through the use of technology. In the last level, redefinition, it
talks about how technology allows us to complete tasks that weren’t even
possible before. Technology is advancing each day and this model helps show how
it impacts the way information is taught as well as learned.
TPACK and SAMR are
similar in a variety of ways. They both talk about technology in the classroom
and how it is being integrated within the classroom. On top of that they both
discuss how teachers can improve their lessons through the use of either one of
them. Another comparison is that they were both created to help make learning
easier for the student through the use of technology. SAMR and TPACK can be
super beneficial to teachers especially since technology is never going away. Technology
allows students to get more involved in the classroom as well as makes
information much easier to learn.
Cited Sources:
Koehler, Matthew J.
"TPACK Explained." TPACKorg. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.
Schrock, Kathy. "SAMR." Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything. N.p., 9 Nov. 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.
"Technology Is Learning." Technology Is Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.
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