The Total PACKage
An example of a basic Explain Everything slide with text and photos.
Context:
I teach 5th Grade English Language Arts in a bilingual, national school setting in a foreign country. The students are enrolled in 9 lessons a day, with at least half of them being an English course (art, math, science, literature, etc.) The school functions at a very fast pace, switching from one language to another in an instant depending on which teacher is scheduled to come into each class--a very unpredictable and hectic situation for elementary students and teachers alike.
The students are competitive, motivated by influential families and are competing for top spots in our host nation's top high schools. When the students reach our middle school, the families usually have planned private tutors, private classes, summer camps at prestigious universities, and have hired professional college counselors in hope of getting their students in the world's best universities. The pressure is non-stop for all the stakeholders in the school. There could never be enough time, enough lessons or enough contacts to successfully develop a true, deep-level knowledge for our students in class.
The one, very motivational element of our school community is the national standardized test that takes place in 8th grade. The test decides what high school, and maybe even, what university a student can enroll in. English at a low level does appear on this test, however, we use a more comprehensive test in 5th and 7th grades in the English Department--the KET by Cambridge. While this test is a very accurate representation of their English skills and it does have some motivating factors for our students and families, it is not nearly as significant as the national standardized test for our community.
This system, to say the least, results in students and teachers feeling overwhelmed, as well as administration and parents feeling overwhelmed, all competing with an impossible system, guided by one national standardized test! We are encouraged as teachers to not slow down and to "cover" as much as possible, even if at a superficial level. This is the school culture that exists throughout our host country's education system.
What's more, my students in 5th Grade Language Arts are responsible for creating English portfolios. In 4th Grade, students are required to showcase their best work in a portfolio and complete reflections about each best piece. In 5th Grade, they are to use it as a showcase portfolio again, and include pieces from 5th and 4th Grades. We spend little time reflecting on the pieces the students have selected. The portfolio follows them to 6th Grade, where the portfolio gets sent into archives and is never to be seen again, unfortunately. It feels as if our portfolios could never compete with a superficial, busy and impossible education system based on one, 8th grade standardized test.
With that being said, at the moment, there is not enough effort or guidance provided by the 5th Grade teachers to set up a successful portfolio system for our English students. Since there is no presentation of the hard copy portfolios currently, and our department head doesn't inquire about the process, the 5th Grade teachers and I have recently chosen to cancel the portfolio help this year since we are unable to provide a structured and intelligent portfolio system, one that is not simply just forgotten about.
It also must be mentioned that the 5th Grade team has adopted a 1-to-1 iPad program for the upcoming year. We will have access to all apps, but will be adopting the use of the TEA Mobile app that allows for sharing all media and notes between teacher and student, on or off campus. The teachers have received two, short trainings on the TEA Mobile app but have received no comprehensive training about how to use iPads or think critically about the tool's role when combined with pedagogy and content.
Also, my school uses the European Common Framework (CEF) to plan all language curriculum. The CEF asks that the students be able to apply English competency in social settings and carry out actions that allow them to monitor their knowledge, respond to their environment, and reinforce or adapt their current competency in English. My 5th Graders should test at the A2 competency level of the CEF (on the KET test) in reading, writing, speaking and listening. While the CEF is rather over-arching and flexible, it means that my students should be able to do such things (but not limited to): describe plans and arrangements, habits and routines, past activities and personal experiences; give a simple description or presentation of people, living or working conditions, daily routines,likes/dislikes, etc; give a short, rehearsed presentation on a topic pertinent to his/her everyday life, briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions, plans and actions; write about everyday aspects of his/her environment.
Content (C) in TPACK:
My students are not creating complete or successful 5th Grade English portfolios, however, according to my English Department, the students should produce showcase portfolios. The portfolios should reflect the work we do within our Common European Framework standards. Typically, when we are able to complete the portfolio, we spend a few lessons at the end of the year going through our files of student work. The students select their best pieces, write a quick reflection with some written prompts by the teacher, regarding why they chose the piece and what it shows that they are able to do, why they think it's a "good" piece of work. However, the students usually select pieces that have lower level thinking (answers to worksheets, etc.) because they are rushed to complete the showcase portfolio and don't want to dive into a deep reflection due to lack of time and lack of portfolio importance.
According to Dr. Helen Barrett, a portfolio should create deep learning. A (showcase portfolio) is an option to highlight all of my students acquired skills over the course of six years of English. A portfolio allows them to collect, reflect, improve, share and receive feedback on their work. These portfolios would create interest, motivation, and ownership in our students and increase their understanding of what they are capable of. What's more, is that the students' progress and achievements could easily be shared with any and all stakeholders in the portfolio-curating process (parents, other teachers, administrators, etc.). Portfolios should follow five steps: 1.selection (stakeholders decide on purpose and objectives), 2. collection (students gather work samples based on step 1), reflection (students review the reflection process and collection process) , 4. direction (students review reflections and create goals), and 5. connection (students publish work and receive feedback from peers, etc.
Portfolios should be an important piece of evidence of students' learning. Having used the CEF to teach English lessons, portfolios align well with connecting learning to the students' environment and social situations. Lessons are created around potential social situations that will arise for our students in different English-speaking countries and life themes that appear in English-speaking countries' stories. Portfolios are a necessary and comprehensive option that encompass learning reflections, goals, motivation, sharing and collaboration.
Pedagogy (P) in TPACK:
Socioculturalism will be my teaching approach with the showcase portfolios. This pedagogy will be useful in making successful portfolios because it allows the students to build-off of and respond to their social and cultural situation, as the lessons are designed. The students will select ideas that they think are important in their own learning and portfolio process and that they can apply to their lives (after having discussed the purpose and objective of curating an e-portfolio). They will be practicing with and responding to peers' feedback and interactions in an English context. However, hopefully, this pedagogy will lead the students to become more aware of their learning and development and will allow them to select pieces that have higher-level thinking in reflections and direction steps, and overall, feel more motivation and ownership toward their capabilities and achievement because of the lessons' and portfolio's authenticity. It's important to note that I will be spending more thoughtful time, shaping this sociocultualism approach, as before I was spending very little time planning a successful portfolio process with my students.
Technology (T) in TPACK:
Technology will aide in producing, modifying and sharing the portfolios. I have selected Explain Everything, an app for the iPad to help in my school's e-portfolio adoption. The storage (in conjunction with Dropbox, Evernote, or Google Docs) with the help of the school server, will allow for easy sharing and collecting of the e-portfolios. Explain Everything allows for sharing on our edmodo class page and still provides a safe environment within our community for sharing and receiving feedback. The usability is also great for students with limited language ability, as it's intuitive and simple. The chosen app facilitates easy accessibility with parents and teachers, as all children will have iPads in 5th grade. The other fantastic element is that this app allows for the students to save snapshots their 4th grade work and include it in their e-portfolio. At the same time, the students could then blend examples from 4th and 5th grade into a potential 6th grade portfolio.
I also considered Educreations and Kidblog in selecting an e-portfolio platform. Educreations is a free app for the iPad, whereas Explain Everything is $2.99. However, Educreations offers less in that you can only draw and add text. Kidblog was considered in that it is student and teacher-friendly in set up and usability. However, on an iPad, the accessibility of apps is just much more simple and quick, which are two important factors to consider in our rushed school environment. Also, with Kidblog, few, if any images and videos can be added, if your storage space allows, so it would naturally be an e-portfolio heavier in text. Explain Everything allows for multimedia options, easy access and easy sharing.
The Total PACKage:
The balance of using technology, pedagogy and content knowledge in teaching, so that no one element is singled out or hindered in any lesson. Rather, there is a harmonious, supportive effect between the knowledge types to promote the best learning experience for students. That's not to say that there aren't affordances and constraints to consider when expertly planning a best-fit TPACK learning activity. In my case of planning e-portfolios, I must consider my context and how technology best suits the needs of the content and pedagogy. My goal is to get successful e-portfolios completed on iPads. After considering different tech tools, I chose the app, Explain Everything, at a cost of $2.99 per app, per student, because it's platform best fits my sociocultural approach, which best-fits my purpose of students reviewing and reflecting on their English language learning. It also gives a simple, trustworthy and successful product for the purpose at hand. What's more, my students' portfolios will no longer be purposeless or shuffled to the archive closet--never to be seen again--because they can be easily stored on the school server or the many sharing and saving options given by Explain Everything. While the time that goes into the e-portfolio process will be increased, along with a change in my pedagogy, the e-portfolios will give meaning and motivation to the overall importance of learning English.
Leidner, D. E., & Jarvenpaa, S.L. (Sept. 1995). The Use of Information Technology to Enhance Management School Education: A Theoretical View.
MIS Quarterly, Vol. 19, 13-14. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/249596?uid=3738232&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102535869027
I teach 5th Grade English Language Arts in a bilingual, national school setting in a foreign country. The students are enrolled in 9 lessons a day, with at least half of them being an English course (art, math, science, literature, etc.) The school functions at a very fast pace, switching from one language to another in an instant depending on which teacher is scheduled to come into each class--a very unpredictable and hectic situation for elementary students and teachers alike.
The students are competitive, motivated by influential families and are competing for top spots in our host nation's top high schools. When the students reach our middle school, the families usually have planned private tutors, private classes, summer camps at prestigious universities, and have hired professional college counselors in hope of getting their students in the world's best universities. The pressure is non-stop for all the stakeholders in the school. There could never be enough time, enough lessons or enough contacts to successfully develop a true, deep-level knowledge for our students in class.
The one, very motivational element of our school community is the national standardized test that takes place in 8th grade. The test decides what high school, and maybe even, what university a student can enroll in. English at a low level does appear on this test, however, we use a more comprehensive test in 5th and 7th grades in the English Department--the KET by Cambridge. While this test is a very accurate representation of their English skills and it does have some motivating factors for our students and families, it is not nearly as significant as the national standardized test for our community.
This system, to say the least, results in students and teachers feeling overwhelmed, as well as administration and parents feeling overwhelmed, all competing with an impossible system, guided by one national standardized test! We are encouraged as teachers to not slow down and to "cover" as much as possible, even if at a superficial level. This is the school culture that exists throughout our host country's education system.
What's more, my students in 5th Grade Language Arts are responsible for creating English portfolios. In 4th Grade, students are required to showcase their best work in a portfolio and complete reflections about each best piece. In 5th Grade, they are to use it as a showcase portfolio again, and include pieces from 5th and 4th Grades. We spend little time reflecting on the pieces the students have selected. The portfolio follows them to 6th Grade, where the portfolio gets sent into archives and is never to be seen again, unfortunately. It feels as if our portfolios could never compete with a superficial, busy and impossible education system based on one, 8th grade standardized test.
With that being said, at the moment, there is not enough effort or guidance provided by the 5th Grade teachers to set up a successful portfolio system for our English students. Since there is no presentation of the hard copy portfolios currently, and our department head doesn't inquire about the process, the 5th Grade teachers and I have recently chosen to cancel the portfolio help this year since we are unable to provide a structured and intelligent portfolio system, one that is not simply just forgotten about.
It also must be mentioned that the 5th Grade team has adopted a 1-to-1 iPad program for the upcoming year. We will have access to all apps, but will be adopting the use of the TEA Mobile app that allows for sharing all media and notes between teacher and student, on or off campus. The teachers have received two, short trainings on the TEA Mobile app but have received no comprehensive training about how to use iPads or think critically about the tool's role when combined with pedagogy and content.
Also, my school uses the European Common Framework (CEF) to plan all language curriculum. The CEF asks that the students be able to apply English competency in social settings and carry out actions that allow them to monitor their knowledge, respond to their environment, and reinforce or adapt their current competency in English. My 5th Graders should test at the A2 competency level of the CEF (on the KET test) in reading, writing, speaking and listening. While the CEF is rather over-arching and flexible, it means that my students should be able to do such things (but not limited to): describe plans and arrangements, habits and routines, past activities and personal experiences; give a simple description or presentation of people, living or working conditions, daily routines,likes/dislikes, etc; give a short, rehearsed presentation on a topic pertinent to his/her everyday life, briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions, plans and actions; write about everyday aspects of his/her environment.
Content (C) in TPACK:
My students are not creating complete or successful 5th Grade English portfolios, however, according to my English Department, the students should produce showcase portfolios. The portfolios should reflect the work we do within our Common European Framework standards. Typically, when we are able to complete the portfolio, we spend a few lessons at the end of the year going through our files of student work. The students select their best pieces, write a quick reflection with some written prompts by the teacher, regarding why they chose the piece and what it shows that they are able to do, why they think it's a "good" piece of work. However, the students usually select pieces that have lower level thinking (answers to worksheets, etc.) because they are rushed to complete the showcase portfolio and don't want to dive into a deep reflection due to lack of time and lack of portfolio importance.
According to Dr. Helen Barrett, a portfolio should create deep learning. A (showcase portfolio) is an option to highlight all of my students acquired skills over the course of six years of English. A portfolio allows them to collect, reflect, improve, share and receive feedback on their work. These portfolios would create interest, motivation, and ownership in our students and increase their understanding of what they are capable of. What's more, is that the students' progress and achievements could easily be shared with any and all stakeholders in the portfolio-curating process (parents, other teachers, administrators, etc.). Portfolios should follow five steps: 1.selection (stakeholders decide on purpose and objectives), 2. collection (students gather work samples based on step 1), reflection (students review the reflection process and collection process) , 4. direction (students review reflections and create goals), and 5. connection (students publish work and receive feedback from peers, etc.
Portfolios should be an important piece of evidence of students' learning. Having used the CEF to teach English lessons, portfolios align well with connecting learning to the students' environment and social situations. Lessons are created around potential social situations that will arise for our students in different English-speaking countries and life themes that appear in English-speaking countries' stories. Portfolios are a necessary and comprehensive option that encompass learning reflections, goals, motivation, sharing and collaboration.
Pedagogy (P) in TPACK:
Socioculturalism will be my teaching approach with the showcase portfolios. This pedagogy will be useful in making successful portfolios because it allows the students to build-off of and respond to their social and cultural situation, as the lessons are designed. The students will select ideas that they think are important in their own learning and portfolio process and that they can apply to their lives (after having discussed the purpose and objective of curating an e-portfolio). They will be practicing with and responding to peers' feedback and interactions in an English context. However, hopefully, this pedagogy will lead the students to become more aware of their learning and development and will allow them to select pieces that have higher-level thinking in reflections and direction steps, and overall, feel more motivation and ownership toward their capabilities and achievement because of the lessons' and portfolio's authenticity. It's important to note that I will be spending more thoughtful time, shaping this sociocultualism approach, as before I was spending very little time planning a successful portfolio process with my students.
Technology (T) in TPACK:
Technology will aide in producing, modifying and sharing the portfolios. I have selected Explain Everything, an app for the iPad to help in my school's e-portfolio adoption. The storage (in conjunction with Dropbox, Evernote, or Google Docs) with the help of the school server, will allow for easy sharing and collecting of the e-portfolios. Explain Everything allows for sharing on our edmodo class page and still provides a safe environment within our community for sharing and receiving feedback. The usability is also great for students with limited language ability, as it's intuitive and simple. The chosen app facilitates easy accessibility with parents and teachers, as all children will have iPads in 5th grade. The other fantastic element is that this app allows for the students to save snapshots their 4th grade work and include it in their e-portfolio. At the same time, the students could then blend examples from 4th and 5th grade into a potential 6th grade portfolio.
I also considered Educreations and Kidblog in selecting an e-portfolio platform. Educreations is a free app for the iPad, whereas Explain Everything is $2.99. However, Educreations offers less in that you can only draw and add text. Kidblog was considered in that it is student and teacher-friendly in set up and usability. However, on an iPad, the accessibility of apps is just much more simple and quick, which are two important factors to consider in our rushed school environment. Also, with Kidblog, few, if any images and videos can be added, if your storage space allows, so it would naturally be an e-portfolio heavier in text. Explain Everything allows for multimedia options, easy access and easy sharing.
The Total PACKage:
The balance of using technology, pedagogy and content knowledge in teaching, so that no one element is singled out or hindered in any lesson. Rather, there is a harmonious, supportive effect between the knowledge types to promote the best learning experience for students. That's not to say that there aren't affordances and constraints to consider when expertly planning a best-fit TPACK learning activity. In my case of planning e-portfolios, I must consider my context and how technology best suits the needs of the content and pedagogy. My goal is to get successful e-portfolios completed on iPads. After considering different tech tools, I chose the app, Explain Everything, at a cost of $2.99 per app, per student, because it's platform best fits my sociocultural approach, which best-fits my purpose of students reviewing and reflecting on their English language learning. It also gives a simple, trustworthy and successful product for the purpose at hand. What's more, my students' portfolios will no longer be purposeless or shuffled to the archive closet--never to be seen again--because they can be easily stored on the school server or the many sharing and saving options given by Explain Everything. While the time that goes into the e-portfolio process will be increased, along with a change in my pedagogy, the e-portfolios will give meaning and motivation to the overall importance of learning English.
Leidner, D. E., & Jarvenpaa, S.L. (Sept. 1995). The Use of Information Technology to Enhance Management School Education: A Theoretical View.
MIS Quarterly, Vol. 19, 13-14. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/249596?uid=3738232&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21102535869027