PART B - Application of TPACK

For this part of my WPP, I need to explain how my idea fits into TPACK, specifically how the TPK, TCK and PCK relate to my project.

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?
The teaching strategy that I have chosen is to use an interactive smart board to teach geography to my seventh grade social studies class. This meets my teaching strategies and methods in a number of ways. The smart-board will allow me to accomplish many goals in my classroom - ones that any teacher normally would using a regular lesson. Here are some of my objectives, and how I will meet them

1.) Present Information - This technology will allow me to do my most basic task of presenting the information to my students. By using Google Earth in my classroom on a smart-board, the students will gain knowledge on the placement of South American Countries and the Physical Features around them. This knowledge is up to date (more so than our books) and will provide students with a 3D look at the features around them. By adding layers, students will also be able to take a look at climate zones and human characteristics in South America.

2.) Active Learning - A large part of why I wanted to create this lesson was to eliminate passive learning in my classroom. With a smart-board I am able to create interactive lessons that can change on the fly. Classes can choose what to to explore next, what physical features to look at and what information to go in depth into. Compared to reading out of a book, this lesson will allow students to be out of their seat, having discussions and moving the map to help answer questions.

3.) Accommodated Instruction - Another goal of my unit is always to make accommodations for students. Another way of explaining it is that I want to be able to create a lesson that does not need accommodation. I would like to be able to teach, and have all of my students to understand the curriculum with no added help. To do this, I have though about some of the roadblocks that are in my lessons (see my UDL for more information on this) and I chose a technology that would eliminate them. One accommodation that needs to be made is that over 20% of students are not Proficient readers per the MEAP test. By eliminating the reading, and allowing students to be involved and active learners, I will help more students learn.

4.) Remedial Help - Lastly, this lesson will allow me to give students remedial help. A large problem in my classroom is students who are absent. These students become a large part of the students who need remedial help. By creating a lesson on a smart-board I will be able to Jing, or screencast parts of my instruction, add audio, and then save it to my website for students to view at a later date.

5.) Differentiated Instruction - Because the lesson is interactive, it can change. Not all classes will be exactly the same. This means that each class can focus on the concepts that they need more time on. While the book presents the same information for all students, my interactive smart-board lesson will be able to adapt to the needs of specific class and specific individuals.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution?

The knowledge discussed in my problem, understanding location and characteristics of South America, becomes more accessible to all students when using my technology. By saving my smart-board presentation and uploading it to my website, all students will be able to look a back and see key points of the lesson. I would also be able to stage small parts of the lesson that I could post that would emphasize benchmarks that are being covered. Because most students have internet access (per technology survey) and others have use of computers during homeroom - a bank of information created by the use of smart-boards would become very useful.
There are also new representations possible when using this technology. GoogleEarth is a build in cross-curricular machine. There is so much content on GoogleEarth that while I'm teaching about the geography of the land, I'm also able to teach about the history of the people who inhabited it years ago. Layers on Google Earth allow me to show about transportation, climate, cloud cover, 3d topography, earthquake maps and more. While using the book only allows me to teach a limited number of things, this technology allows me to change the subject matter because I now have the means to teach it.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution?

My teaching choices will make the content more accessible to all students for many reasons. Students will be more involved in the lessons because their choices will affect what we cover next. Because students will have an opportunity to pick the next layer (traffic, climate, cloud cover, pictures etc) they will be engaged in the lesson and more apt to remember what is being covered.
I think that students will also be excited to partake in this lesson because it is a change of pace for them. Many times, students do the same things daily in school. There is a routine. By changing this routine students should be more excited to go to class knowing that they are not going to have to read.