Cooking with TPACK

In the video above you can see I have 3 kitchen objects...A handheld cheese grater, colander and small plate. I attempt to use these tools to cut up watermelon and bananas in order to make a fruit salad. The important take away from my attempts is that using the items the correct way did not result in a fruit salad and even trying to repurpose them did not result in 100% success. While this task does not seem to have any relevance to teaching students at first glance, as educators we must think about the tools we expect students to use in the classroom in order to grasp concepts. Are we equipping them with the right materials, instructions and background in order for them to be successful?

Over the past few weeks we have looked at TPACK and how it is not just enough to use technology in the classroom for the sake of using technology. Teachers must choose the right technological tools for the most student success. In the above video you can see that trying to repurpose random kitchen tools can in some cases (if lucky) be successful but overall one can determine that in order to get the job done most successfully and efficiently you need to use the right tools. As educators it is our duty to make sure our students have the right tools and use them correctly for content understanding.

This is the same idea when using technology in the classroom. A teacher has to incorporate the right technology and tools when teaching certain concepts in order to make sure the students not only use the technology correctly but also grasp the concepts for maximum understanding.