TPACK - How is it relevant?

What needs to be considered is how does Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge apply in today's classroom?

How can we introduce relevant lesson plans to today's students to effectively engage and stimulate them?  How do we keep pace with the demands on learning for today's students?  How do we keep our knowledge and our pedagogy relevant?  

The answer is technology...

In many instances our children are more proficient in its use than we are.  Why not utilise this resource and make it a two way learning process.

It was once the case the teacher did the teaching, and the student did the learning.  There may have been the occasional situation where learning became a two way interaction, however this was probably the exception rather than the rule...now however, we can learn more from our students than ever before.  Technology is moving at such a fast pace children seem to be better equipped at maintaining this pace than we are.  They are an untapped technological resource like we have never seen.  

I find myself more and more often asking my 11 year old son for help with technology than I do reaching for the phone to dial the 'help desk'!  When programming the remote... well that is definitely a job for the children...and I must admit when designing a blog it was to the children to whom I turned!!!

For us to teach students well, we must incorporate technology, petagogy, content and knowledge in a complimentary way.  We need to draw on our own knowledge but also that of our students and design lessons that are stimulating to the way we learn.  Mobile phones, IPads, and tablets are just some of the tools we need to incorporate to make this learning a success.

The following You Tube clip provides evidence of how learning is evolving with the use of technology, in particular integrating the use of IPads into everyday classroom learning...One teacher is quoted saying "it really allows us to take a virtual field trip every day..." What a way to learn!