1. Teachnology
1.1. A teaching philosophy which involves the use of technology in the classroom
1.2. Technology could be used in teaching, learning, and Professional Development
1.3. Teachers can develop their own written statement describing their personal views on using technology as a teaching and learning tool
1.4. My own Teachnology ideas
1.4.1. Just as we need to teach our students how to read and write, we also need to ensure they are proficient in the use of technology. Technology is becoming a large part of our lives, and it is important that students can use it when they leave school
1.4.2. The use of technology allows teachers to ensure each and every one of our students are learning the required concepts to the best of their abilities. Every student learns in a different way, and technology can help support teachers on their journey for understanding.
1.4.3. Technology can help students become creative thinkers. It allows them the chance to express themselves in a variety of ways that are unique to them and hold their interests. Only when a student is interested and motivated, do they learn to the best of their abilities.
1.4.4. Communication is an important aspect of today's society. Students can already text someone who is half way around the world. Technology is another way to gain connections and to stay connected. If we give students the ability to connect with someone around the world, we are giving them the world itself. Connections help us learn from each other and gain information from each other, two important concepts for students to have.
2. Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK)
2.1. Determines the type of knowledge needed to integrate technology successfully in the classroom
2.2. Three Primary Forms of Knowledge
2.2.1. Technological Knowledge
2.2.2. Pedagogical Knowledge
2.2.3. Content Knowledge
2.3. These three forms are not mutually exclusive, but new knowledge can be formed at the intersection of the three
2.4. True technology integration is understanding and negotiating the relationships between these three components of knowledge
3. Learning Theories
3.1. Constructivism
3.1.1. ICECAR
3.1.1.1. Inquiry-Based
3.1.1.1.1. Students own questions about knowledge feed their hunger to learn
3.1.1.1.2. Problem-Based tasks (ex. debate, news broadcast) and Project-Based tasks (ex. make a video, write a story, make a portfolio)
3.1.1.2. Constructed
3.1.1.2.1. Past experiences influence student's learning
3.1.1.3. Evolving
3.1.1.3.1. New information is either consonant (matches up to previous knowledge), dissonant (doesn't match so student needs to change previous knowledge), or ignored (new information doesn't match previous knowledge, so it is not absorbed).
3.1.1.4. Collaborative
3.1.1.4.1. Students work together with each other and with the teacher, who acts as a facilitator to their learning
3.1.1.5. Active
3.1.1.5.1. Students are responsible for their own learning
3.1.1.5.2. Students change their understanding and modify their knowledge base to accommodate for new experiences
3.1.1.6. Reflective
3.1.1.6.1. Students become "expert learners" through reflecting on their work and how they learn.
3.1.2. Examples
3.1.2.1. WordPress
3.1.2.2. Experiments
3.1.2.3. Real-World Problem Solving
3.1.2.4. Blogger
3.1.2.5. Scratch
3.1.2.6. WebQuest
3.1.2.7. Lego Robotics
3.2. Connectivism
3.2.1. Learning for the digital age
3.2.2. Learning occurs as part of a social network of diverse connections
3.2.3. Students are actively engaged in their own learning
3.2.4. Currency is very important
3.2.5. There is too much information out there to know it all, so it's better to have the connections to find the answer
3.2.6. Knowing where to look for information has an increased importance in the digital age
3.2.7. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual knowledge
3.2.8. Learning and knowledge rests in the diversity of opinions
3.2.9. Capacity to learn is more important than what is currently known
3.2.10. Implementing a Connectivist approach in teaching can be as simple as students creating a PLN (such as Twitter) and using it to communicate information
3.2.11. Examples
3.2.11.1. Twitter, OneNote, GoogleScholar, ReadIt, Facebook, MySpace, Pinterest,
3.3. Cognitive Load
3.3.1. Information-Processing Theory
3.3.2. Magic Number 7
3.3.2.1. Working Memory can only handle 7 (+/- 2) disconnected bits of information at one time
3.3.2.1.1. Ex. Phone numbers, postal/ZIP codes
3.3.3. Processing information can over or under load working memory
3.3.3.1. An imbalance inhibits our ability to learn
3.3.3.2. Ex. learning in another language, overstimulation (websites with too much animation)
3.3.4. Students often have to pay attention to multiple things at once, such as the lecture notes and the teacher's voice. Reducing the text on the screen and adding stimulating pictures can help to "unclog the cognitive traffic jam" and create connections within the mind.
3.3.5. Chunking
3.3.5.1. Used to separate information into groups for easier memory retention.
3.3.5.1.1. Ex. Graphic organizers, job aids, mnemonic devices
3.3.5.2. Great for subjects with large amounts of information
3.3.6. The more background knowledge the better for comprehension
3.4. Behaviourism
3.4.1. Theorists
3.4.1.1. Pavlov, Watson, Skinner
3.4.2. Responses to stimuli facilitate learning
3.4.2.1. Positive Reinforcement: Rewarding students for good behaviour using a sticker chart; when the students receive 10 stickers, they can choose a reward.
3.4.2.2. Negative Reinforcement: Removing an unpleasant stimulus as a reward; for example, the teacher will stop asking you constantly for your homework, when you finally do your homework.
3.4.3. Reinforcement produces results
3.4.4. The environment has a major influence on how we learn
3.4.4.1. A positive learning environment has a positive effect on learning
3.4.5. Practice makes perfect
3.4.5.1. Ex. Reciting Multiplication tables
3.4.6. Teacher-directed learning. The teacher is the model for the students learning
3.4.7. Grades are an excellent example of how behaviourism works in schools; good work is rewarded by good grades.
3.4.8. Examples
3.4.8.1. MathBlaster, All The Right Type, Computer-Assisted Instruction and Assessment
4. Technology Theories
4.1. Media Ecology
4.1.1. Ecology
4.1.1.1. The study of environments and their structure, content, and impact on people
4.1.2. Media
4.1.2.1. Books, radio, films, television
4.1.2.1.1. Very implicit, a very broad term
4.1.2.2. Media is not an object, institution or organization, but an environment.
4.1.3. An emerging metadiscipline of the study of media as environments, or environments as media
4.1.3.1. Tries to make media explicit
4.1.4. Is media helping or hindering our chances of survival?
4.1.5. Media ties the world together
4.1.6. Students can learn how media effects their lives, and how to use media for productivity and creativity
4.1.6.1. Show and demonstrate to students the many different ways to use technology. Use an iPad to read the newspaper, use a Kobo to read a book.
4.1.6.2. Also demonstrate to students how to do things without technology. Create a comic strip by hand or buy a newspaper to read the current events
4.1.6.3. Use Prezi or PowerPoint to create a multimedia presentation
4.1.6.4. Decide whether to create a poster on the computer or by hand
4.1.7. Technology influences society, and may go so far as to control society.
4.1.8. It tries to find out what roles media forces us to play, how media structures what we are seeing, and why media makes us feel and act as we do.
4.1.9. The interactions of communications media, technology, technique, and processes with human feeling, thought, value, and behaviour
4.2. Social Constructivism of Technology (SCOT)
4.2.1. Technology does not determine human action, but human action shapes technology
4.2.2. The ways a technology is used cannot be understood without understanding how that technology is embedded in its social context
4.2.3. Outlines the methodology for analyzing technological successes and failures
4.2.4. Core Concepts
4.2.4.1. Relevant Social Groups: User and Producers of the technological artifact.
4.2.5. Interpretive Flexibility: Each technological artifact has different meanings and interpretations for various groups.
4.2.5.1. For some, technology makes life easier. For others, it makes life harder due to competence, difficulties, technological failures, etc.
4.2.6. To understand the reasons for acceptance or rejection of a technology we need to look to the social world and examine the groups who define a technology as being "the best" and the criteria they have used.
4.2.7. In the classroom, SCOT could be used to help students become critical consumers of technology. For example, would you rather use a Mac or a PC? Why? iPhone, Blackberry, or Android?
4.2.8. It is important for students to become critical thinkers in every subject they encounter. This theory could help them question the world and opinions that are bombarded to them through the Internet every day. Social Studies, Language Arts, Sciences, Psychology: all of these subjects require critical thinking to determine who/what is right or wrong, the best or the worst. What what successful, what failed, and why?