Blog Posting 4: A Review of My Tech-Integrated Unit Presentation

The TPCK Model:

1. TPCK is the basis of good teaching with technology and requires an understanding of the representation of concepts using technologies;
2. Pedagogical techniques that use technologies in constructive ways to teach content;
3. Knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help solve the problems that students face;
4. Knowledge of how technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge.
5. Teachers need to know not just the subject matter they teach but also the manner in which the subject matter can be changed by the application of technology.

I will address each point separately:

1. I believe that Rob and I were able to represent concepts of our unit through technology. Although our presentation gave a short overview of what these concepts were, I believe that as students go through the unit and all pieces of technology, including the e-sheets and Webquest, that these concepts would be even better represented through technology.

2. I think this second point may have been the strongest part of our presentation. On my part, I tried to differentiate by content or interest in a few areas, which I have learned is a very constructive way to teach. Also, it is very clear that many students today are well-versed in technology, so the fact that we included so much technology in our unit was another way we tried to build good teaching into our project.

3.We entered this project with the knowledge that The Great Gatsby is not the easiest text for students; indeed, I recently reread the novel, and some of its themes and symbolism can be difficult for readers to grasp. The use of technology in this unit could help students with some of these concepts; we not only used technology to explore the historical backdrop of the novel, but also to explore themes, concepts, symbols, and how these ideas translate to modern-day times. I believe this part was another strong point in our presentation.

4. Our Webquest is a good example of how we used technology to build on existing knowledge. By the time students get to the Webquest in the overall unit, they will already have read the novel and have developed (hopefully) a strong sense of the historical background of the time. Using the Webquest, students can design their own project and ideas about the novel and time period. I was very satisfied with how we were able to integrate technology, and especially the Great (Gatsby) Webquest to meet these needs of our students.

5. In any other class, Rob and I would have likely designed this unit with some technology--like PowerPoint or another similar program--but we would not have done this much technology integration. This course helped us to realize how any unit of study could be changed by integrating technology. Personally, I will approach all lesson-planning differently now because I realize how much it can change a unit. We were able to make these English and history lessons so much more accessible to students because of the technologies we used.

Overall, I was very satisfied with our presentation. I believe it showed how much work and time we put into the unit, and I hope that we were able to demonstrate these ideas well in class.

Have a great summer, everyone!