As a former government and economics teacher, I did not
implement much technology in the classroom.
I realize now that I did a disservice to my students. I would require them to research various
subjects but I never was able to provide areas where they could receive
information that would be helpful with their research. Looking back, Wikipedia was the primary
source for much of my student’s information, which was upsetting to me at the
time. However, I now know that this was
attributed to my own lack of knowledge and inability to steer my students in a
direction that would be beneficial to their assignments.
A simple Google search “Teaching Government with Technology”
brought me to the website The Pursuit of
Technology Integration Happiness.
The first website I explored was called iCivics. Through this website, there are games,
including Lawcraft, We the Jury, Do I Have a Right, and Supreme Decision. These games allow the students to comprehend laws,
including constitutional law and the process of the Supreme Court. Further, it allows you to go through the process
of making law. This website was
exceptional for expanding the instruction of the aforementioned items. Moreover, when I played I was able to retain
the information longer than if I was simply lecturing. I found the games very informative and
enjoyable. They were a little lengthy in
the time required and because of the need to make quick decisions may deter
from collaborative learning.
Reflecting on the TPACK model, this website and these games
met the desire to review the three primary forms of knowledge; Content (CK),
Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK).
These games reflected the TPACK model and would serve as the “basis of
effective teaching with technology, requiring an understanding of the
representation of concepts using technologies; pedagogical techniques that use
technologies in constructive ways to teach content; knowledge of what makes
concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can help redress some of
the problems that students face; knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and
theories of epistemology; and knowledge of how technologies can be used to
build on existing knowledge to develop new epistemologies or strengthen old
ones” (Koehler & Mishra, 2009).
If I was still teaching, this would be something that we
would visit the computer lab to play.
Or, if the school had a classroom set of laptops or a BYOD program, we
would play in the classroom. We could
have a friendly contest to see who receives the most “points” in the
class. Further, this could be done as a
group project to promote collaboration among the students, as long as the time
allowed for this.
Ultimately, we need to integrate technology in the
classroom. Unfortunately, I was unaware
of these websites and these opportunities eight years ago when I was in the
classroom. In fact, they may not have existed
then, and that was why I was not aware of them.
Regardless, the technology is present.
Teachers today need to promote positive integration of technology in
their classroom, not to replace the instructional model, but to support and
supplement what is being taught in the classroom.
Kayne M. Smith
References
Koehler, M.J. & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content
knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1),
61-70.
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