In our technology class we were required to do an exercise to demonstrate the TPACK concept.
TPACK is the intersection of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge.
Our exercise involved having someone pick out a plate, bowl, and random kitchen utensil. Then the person drew a number out of a hat. The number corresponded to a specific task which we had to complete using the tools given to us.
My son, Levi, got a plate and bowl for me. He then selected a mezzaluna(herb chopping tool) as the utensil. He drew the number 5, the task for which was to slice vegetables for a veggie tray.
I got lucky! The utensil he selected was easy to repurpose into a veggie peeler and slicer. The technology was represented by the utensils. My ability to effectively demonstrate vegetable slicing and peeling with the utensils symbolized the pedagogical aspect of the task. In my case, I was able to use the technology with the content(slicing vegetables) and pedagogy to create a useful lesson with the intersection of the three.
However, some people were not so lucky! I watched three other videos of my classmates. Tanya's was entertaining because she had to make fruit salad with a corn cob remover! She did a great job working with the tools she was given. But this is a good example of how the technology doesn't always match the task.
That is a lesson we should keep in mind....just because we have the technology doesn't mean we should use it for every single thing!
Absolutely! Not only are some tools a bad match for certain tasks, but there are times when tools aren't needed at all. There are some tasks that work best for learners without technology, while there are others that can be redefined and made so much more effective with technology. The key is knowing when, why, and whether to use technology.
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