Dani's Massey University Portfolio

Guiding Question: What do these models say about effective digital teaching in a blended learning environment? TPACK The TPACK framework is a digital teaching model designed to highlight the important interwoven knowledge types that competent teachers should have. These knowledge types include pedagogical knowledge , content knowledge  and technology knowledge . This model identifies the important interwoven relationship between these knowledge types and how they influence each other with the ultimate goal of effective digital teaching.  Koehler et al. (2013) states that a teacher's lack of one of these knowledge types could be detrimental to the educational achievement of their learners e.g. with a lack of content knowledge, learners could be at risk of developing misconceptions or incorrect ideals from their teachers; with a lack of pedagogical knowledge, teachers may be unaware of how their students learn best or use inadequate teaching strategies - hindering the capabi...

The fine line between pessimism and optimism After reading the critiques of the use of technology in eduction by Selwyn (2014) and Knox (2019), I will be a lot more cautious in not getting caught up in the ‘hype’ when new technologies are presented to me, and rather look at it through a lens of 'Is this technology or software fit for the educational purpose I need it for?' These readings have definitely highlighted a lot of the issues that come with digital education. I can identify as being an optimist in terms of the use of digital education and have been quite passionate about its uses and ability to not only enhance my teaching, but also engage my learners. A lot of the professional development we have received over the past few years has been focused on the positives technology has to offer, ignoring or failing to point out any criticisms. It leads me to question whether my students are any better off learning through using a device or are these tools (or at least some ...

Pedagogy & Technology in a Blended Primary School Classroom   The nature of the relationship between technology and pedagogy implied by the module two readings is one where pedagogy can be enhanced by technology. Technology is useless in a blended primary school classroom if good pedagogy of how students learn is not carefully considered. Effective pedagogy and education which is carefully facilitated by a teacher, cannot be replaced by a device. Many of the module two readings highlight the importance of teachers needing the knowledge of effective pedagogy to enable their students to reach their intended learning outcomes - but how technology is used to enhance this learning, needs to be carefully considered (Koehler et al., 2013; Howland et al., 2012; Hickey, 2014). Simply implementing technology without pedagogical considerations of how it is implemented, can be a disruptive distraction and hinderance on learning (Hickey, 2014). Learning outcomes should not be purely ...