Self Evaluation of Framework

 

Gif source: Giphy

When I started reading through this weeks assignment and read that I would have to look at frameworks and evaluate myself I quickly began to feel overwhelmed. While taking many classes I have found that I had to find a way to adapt the content or evaluations that I was learning to apply it to an early childhood classroom for my assignment. I had found that early childhood rarely was on any rubric, which meant I would have to stretch and accommodate myself to complete an assignment. At first, I thought that's what this was going to be like. I told myself that it would be fine because teaching preschool special education is all about being accommodating and flexible, so I can do it here too. However, I found this not true for these frameworks. Instead I found that I could have used more than one. 

What is TPack?

The framework that I thought best fit my blended 3 year old classroom was the Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPack) . TPack is a framework that combines 3 areas. These 3 areas are technological knowledge (makes content more accessible), content knowledge (what you are teaching), and our pedagogical knowledge (how students will learn).When these three areas come together, they motivate students and look at how the content in the classroom is more assessable to students. 

TPack in the classroom

When I think about the technology that I use in my classroom to teach and how it fits TPack, I am drawn back to my lessons that I taught last year with remote learning. Last year, when I would introduce the content (content knowledge) I would do that by starting off with our question of the day and the follow it up with a read-aloud and then a game or small group activity (pedagogical knowledge). When I had remote students or half remote/half in-person, the question of the day would be asked and students would raise a digital hand/or a physical hand for their turn. During a read aloud, I would often use Epic! this way, the story was on the students screen as I was reading it. When we would play a game, I would use a link from my bitmoji classroom or I would have the game on my smart board behind me and have it on there so they could see. For our remote learners, we would then have their activities on Seesaw that related to our content (technological knowledge).

Technology in the classroom

It can be easy but also hard to use technology in a 3 year old blended classroom. I only have my kids for 3 hours each day and that is including breakfast and lunch/lunch and snack. Since I have them for a short time I try not to use too much screen time with them since I feel that they all get that at home. However, I think there are a lot of great technology tools and apps that I use in my classroom with my kids. All last year I loved Seesaw and Epic (as mentioned above). I really liked both of these apps because it allowed me to pick what activities I wanted, or I could make my own, and then I got to see my students progress and work. I also used Happy Numbers. This let my students work on their pre-math skills and let me see the levels they were on, how much time spent, and their progress. I did not like Happy numbers as much as I liked Seesaw because I didn't get to pick what they worked on. I think for older grades it would be a lot more beneficial. Something that I still use is Scholastic: Let's Find Out. This comes in both a online and paper copy. While teaching remotely I was able to mirror my screen and my students see everything right on their iPad screen. Another technology device I use in my classroom is my Viewboard. I can broadcast or hook up my computer to mirror/interact on the screen with. This way I can use powerpoint, let my students drag things (such as sorting), or just play a game as a reward. For communicating with parents, I have tried a few different apps each year. I used Seesaw, Remind, and ClassDojo. What worked best for my parents was just a good ol' email or a text from our classroom google voice number. I found it strange that I didn't get the best responses from using an app but whatever works best for my parents is what I will use!

Self-Evaluation

Gif Source: Giphy

After learning about TPack and the three different areas that come together, I have learned a lot about my teaching. I have a lot of technology that I am able to use in my classroom. I think I had a good flow of the three areas that would blend together to bring the lesson together to keep my students engaged and having access to the lesson. Now that I am back to in-person learning (for now), I think I need to find a better flow for my technological knowledge, which is making the material more accessible. I want to find that perfect balance on having my students use that technology in the classroom for lesson. I think I could incorporate that during a small group activity once or twice a week. This is something that I will continue to work on a little bit further down the road. Right now I am working hard on letting my students get use to the idea of coming to school and engaging in a lesson for longer than 2 minutes 😆. Overall, I think I am in a good place but I could also use some work and my technological knowledge could use some adjusting. 

Gif source: Giphy

References:

ClassDojo

Retrieved from https://www.classdojo.com

Epic!

Retrieved from https://www.getepic.com

Happy Numbers

Retrieved from https://happynumbers.com

Remind

Retrieved from https://www.remind.com

Scholastic: Let's Find Out

Retrieved from https://letsfindout.scholastic.com

Seesaw

Retrieved from https://web.seesaw.me

TPack Video

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FagVSQlZELY