Why?

The importance and necessity of integrating technology into the ELA classroom

The world is dramatically changing which is distinctively featured by globalization and new technology. Along with these characteristics of modern society come the evolved concept of literacy, which “now must go beyond basic literacies and include network literacy, global literacy, information literacy, media literacy, and digital citizenship” (Jacobs, 2012, p. 7). What is required is “the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet” (Heick, 2014). Since the times have already changed as mentioned above, teaching and learning must be changed in the 21st century. Integrating technology into the classroom, especially the English Language Arts classroom, answers the call of our time.

This generation is completely different from any other before them. They are living through an era of information and technology explosion. They are called digital natives, that is, children raised in a digital, media-saturated world, and require a media-rich learning environment to hold their attention.  It can be easily and vividly observed in their daily lives. According to Beers, Probst, Rief (2007), “One glance into the bedroom of any adolescent shows the transformation. Computers, iPod, cell phones, and Bluetooth… Today’s adolescents are connected beyond the walls of their bedrooms and their classrooms through email, instant message, social networking, blogs, and personal web pages.” As educators, we must be aware that teaching should be built on the basis of students.  In other words, teaching should take students’ digital characteristics into considerations. Integrating technology into the classroom is a perfect practice and example.

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TPACK

TPACK,  or the technological pedagogical and content knowledge, provides a framework for technologically integrated teaching and emerged over the last decade. TPACK was developed on the basis of Shulman’s conceptions of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and is commonly shown by a Venn diagram. See Figure 1 below.

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                                      Figure 1 Mishra & Koehler, 2006.

The TPACK framework shows how educators can combine the knowledge of content, pedagogy, and technology. From Figure 1, it is clear that TPACK includes three parts: pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK/CN), and technological knowledge (TK). TPACK is:

the basis of good teaching with technology and requires an understanding of the representation of concepts using technologies; pedagogical techniques that use technologies in constructive ways to teach content; knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help redress some of the problems that students face; knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and theories of epistemology; and knowledge of how technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge and to develop new epistemologies or strengthen old ones  (Mishra & Koehler, 2006, P. 1029).

Content knowledge, with the help of pedagogical knowledge, is essential to establishing the goals for the lesson plan. Technology is the catalyst which can help present and organize the class in more creative, interesting, and effective ways. 

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Related Course Infromation

 

ECI 546 New Literacies And Media

Cool Blast Project-Based Learning

Website

http://eci546coolblastpowtoon.weebly.com

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