Journal#3

I really enjoyed the article, “Too Cool for School? No Way!” by Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler. I think that this is the most interesting of the articles we have read so far. It talks about the kinds of things that are clear examples of technology and things that we perceive to be technology depending on when we were born. The main point of the article is that there are all kinds of new technologies such as iPods, GPS, and smartboards that are clear examples of technology, but are not considered educational technology until we as educators can repurpose them in order to integrate them into our teaching. The article points out that to do this requires a specific kind of knowledge, called technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK). As we as future teachers navigate our way through the credential program we should pick up the technological and content knowledge necessary to become effective teachers. However, the article points out that, “each of these technologies has affordances and constraints, potentials and problems that we as educators need to understand before we can start using them for pedagogical purposes.” That point describes the technological knowledge part. TPACK is where all of these knowledge bases overlap in our teaching. The article gives three examples which were microblogging, visual search engines, and DJ software.

How can I apply what I have learned in reading this article to my future teaching? I had no idea that visual search engines even existed and it only took one search on one of the sites mentioned to understand exactly what they were talking about in the article. It made me realize that there are probably infinite possibilities for technologies that people create for a certain purpose that can have so many other uses if creative minded individuals take time to fully understand them. The iPod, which is a must have in the minds of most teens and younger children alike, has evolved tremendously since it was first created. I myself have never owned one, but I am familiar with how to use them. The newest version of the iPod Touch, which is controlled mainly using a touch screen, is able to wirelessly connect to the internet and allows users to download not only songs, but an infinite number of games and applications in just seconds, could easily be in the hands of every elementary school child in the next decade. If there is wireless internet capability in every school classroom, I predict that the iPod will become a valuable educational technology in the near future.

I am going to replace my second question with a connection to a video article I saw once. It was an education professor talking about video games being the future of education. He said that video games consist of ongoing problem solving and assessment. He said that video games essentially present you with a series of problems that you must solve in order to continue. If you can't solve them, then the game will tell you, "you fail, try again." Then once you solve the problem, you face a boss, which is basically a “test” on that “unit” of the game. He says that they are fun because, unlike students learning in schools today, they don't separate learning and assessment. It’s really interesting when you think about it and definitely goes with the context of this article.