Classroom Support or Constraint?

Have you ever found yourself  having started a project only to realize that you don’t have the right tool, leaving you with a deflated kind of uncertainty knowing there is a better way?  

The Cooking with TPACK Experience was just that: a Quickfire  simulation of how it must feel, as a student, to not have access to the appropriate technological tools to successfully complete a task (Masters of Arts in Educational Technology, 2021). First, I was given a dinner plate, a salad bowl, and a whisk. Then I was tasked with making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using only those kitchen tools. Let's see what happens when given the wrong tools for a job. 

Although I was successful, I felt silly, anxious, slightly confused and somewhat frustrated. It got me thinking about marginality. For our students who already struggle with learning due to a disability or trauma, or inattention, having an inappropriate technological tool adds an additional layer of constraint to their challenges.

In Do Artifacts Have Politics?, Winner claims that technology has significant implications. In many of our technological advancements instead of providing humankind with more freedom, these technological systems are often more constraining (Winner, 1980). Winner charges his readers with the importance of attending closely to the technological systems (tools) we are choosing because of its social and political implications. ​

The TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) framework helps us to think critically about those constraints implied by technology, question our practices, and the technological tools we choose to support learning (Green, 2014). As well, this model deepens our understanding of teaching and learning through successful integration of technology by connecting pedagogical (teaching), content (knowledge of discipline) and technological knowledge (Kereluik, 2011). Hence, this framework is a  “repurposing” of technology as a thoughtful classroom support tailored to our student’s learning goals or needs. 

References and Media Credits:

Devlin,C. (2022, May 28). Cooking with TPACK - CEP 810. [Video].
YouTube. https://youtu.be/Mq79xMqYpZY

Master of Arts in Educational Technology (2021, Spring). Course content from Unit 2: Unit 2: Cooking with TPACK Experience and Video. Michigan State University, CEP 810: Teaching Understanding with Technology. https://d2l.msu.edu

Green, Tim. (2014 March 12). Talking TPACK with Dr. Punya Mishra. [Video].
Youtube. https://youtu.be/wn4ElDeZQeM

Kereluik, K., Mishra, P. & Koehler, M. J. (2011). On learning to subvert signs: Literacy, technology and the TPACK framework. The California Reader, 44(2), 12-18.

Mishra, P. (2018) Revised version of TPACK image. [Image]
https://punyamishra.com/2018/09/10/the-tpack-diagram-gets-an-upgrade/

Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge.Teachers College Record,108(6), 1017-1054.

Rubberfinger. (2016).Wrong tool for the job [Photograph]. imgflip.
 imgflip.com/tag/wrong+tool+for+the+job

Winner, L. (1980). Do artifacts have politics? Daedalus, 109(1), 121-136.
  http://www.jstor.org.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/stable/20024652