Week 2 Relfection

Engagement Activity 1:

Engagement Activity 2:

TPACK is a guide for teachers and other educators about how to successfully implement and develop classrooms using Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge. The main parts that make up the reasonings for the theory is Content Knowledge, Pegagogical Knowledge and Technology Knowledge. Each of these can be broken down and simplified into a seperate catergory that is already respected and considered essential, as part of the Education experience. Content Knowledge can be more simply described as having a good understanding of the background knowledge of the subject matter that it to be taught and knowing where the lessons and projects are going to advance teach the children, because once a teacher knows where they are going their subjects can be taught more effectively with a goal in sight. Pedagogical knowledge is more or less having the deep understanding of the topic and being able to interpret how it fits into the curriculum and plan you have set for the classroom. The value of this knowledge and and being able to successfully demonstrate this to students as well as other educators is essential in being able to providing a rich and fulfilling overall education experience. The last part of TPACK is Technology Knowledge which is having a understanding and ability to use advanced technologies such as Internet, videos and phones but also taking advantage of standard technolgies such as books and blackboards that are just as useful when used properly. So in conclusion TPACK is a blend of all these important areas, that are vital for teachers to develop and use when working with students to ensure that they are getting the most out of all educational experiences as well as forming a lifelong love and respect for their own learning journey.

Engagement Activity 3:

My opinion on mobile phones and the use of them in classrooms, using the De Bono Hat Six thinking hats. My opinion is written in maroon.

http://fahe11001-1-12.wikispaces.com/Group+1+Mobile+Phones

Engagement Activity 4:

The use of wiki to analyse and develop our opinion and knowledge of using mobile phones in the classroom was, in my opinion, a really good brainstorming activity that allowed us to look at the issue from a number of different perspectives. I also believe that the forum was a mix of behavourism, constructivisim, cognitivisim and connectivism. The behavourism that was evident through the activities ability to alter our opinions and beliefs by exposing us to different sides of the issue. The constructivisim was shown through the activity helping transform our basic ideas of what we already thought we knew about the topic and giving us a broader view of the issue and a deeper understanding of its key points. The thinking hats table gave us the chance to use our perceptions on the mobile phone issue and try and come up with new opinions and solutions to fix the developing problems we discover. Finally the connectivisim shown in this activity was its ability to relate each different hat colour or topic group and show how they are related to the previous hat, demonstrating that although there were different concepts to be gained from each colour that they each represent a small part of the whole issue. The idea of using the wiki was a creative way to let everyone few the same information but creating the variable of having everyones opinion on the same page allowing reflection and comparrsion with peers work. One drawback would be if some students had a issue with putting their opinion in such a public place for fear of being incorrect. I believe this wiki activity gave students the opportunity to socialise, compare their ideas and review their opinions against similiar minded people, which is beneificial in the overall development of successful teachers that will have to demonstrate these qualitities once out in the field.