Ethics and Morals and TPACK

This week's topic was an interesting one to think about for me.  As was discussed in the lecture it is hard to think that there is the possibility that technology has effects and consequences that are not positive.  I think about technology in the classroom and ways I want to or have already incorporated it and I'm not sure if I see any ways in which it's immoral or unethical.... BUT I'm also not sure that I've really looked very deeply into it.

Do I need to do more thinking about what I'm doing?  Are there some unintended consequences that I'm not seeing.  I really think this is something I need to delve into further.

The part of our week that I really enjoyed reading about and discussing the most was the TPACK article.  I am currently on our districts tech team and we are working hard to figure out how to support teachers in the implementation of technology into their classrooms.  I found the article very insightful into the ways that technology really fits into the areas of teaching we already identify with.  Teachers can pretty easily see the importance of having a deep content knowledge in their specific area, or as in elementary teachers their grade or perhaps grade span.  I appreciated the way this article paired that content knowledge with technology.  Discussing why they are both important as separate entities and also as a pair.  You need to have a good grasp on your content before you can really use technology at a deep level.  If you are not sure of the content in your class or subject area, I'm not really sure you will pick technology that matches your needs in the best possible way.  If you do have a deep content knowledge I think it becomes easier and more feasible to search for technology to support the work you are already doing in the content.

I have share this article with others on the team and administration and it is something we are going to take a deeper look at.  Helping teachers to see that technology is an important piece of this puzzle, but it is just one piece.  A good handle on pedagogy and also content knowledge should and really must be present before one can move to that step.  I'd like to take a closer look at this and help teachers see how they all go together.  This may help alleviate some fears of teachers who feel like they are going to be asked to add technology for technology's sake.  Really focusing on that strong content knowledge and pedagogy will help teachers to see where technology should and could be added and where it would be unnecessary.