TPACK Planning Activity

I have completed the assignment for planning three different lesson plans. They are here for your viewing pleasure.

Science Lesson Plan

Social Studies Lesson Plan

Language Arts Lesson Plan

PLE Week 13

I know that every classroom is different and you never know what you might end up with, but every teacher does have the opportunity to "spice" it up a little bit with whatever they have. Personally, I would have a good laptop that can connect to the internet, because that in and of itself is a huge asset. It allows for so many different programs to play a part in teaching a lesson. If possible, a projector that hooks up to the computer would be ideal. That's probably too much to ask for in a general education classroom right now, but hopefully in the future. In a classroom there are never enough computers. So, even if there are some available, I wish there was a way to have each student with a computer (but only at times desired by the teacher) at their desk. It's not real feasible but it is still possible. A way to get something in to your room when it's not readily available is by networking. Talk to as many people as you can and maybe you will find a hookup to what you need. Writing a formal note to the principal is always a good idea as well.

PLE Week 11

When I see what TPACK actually stands for it tends to just go right over my head. There are some pretty big words in there. If it were me, I would sum it up by saying that TPACK is a way to be an effective teacher.

Pedagogical Knowledge is knowing how to teach something.
Content Knowledge is being familiar with the area that is being taught.
Technological Knowledge is knowing about different technologies and how to integrate them.

The thing I learned most about TPACK is how equal it all needs to be. Just because you know everything about a subject does not mean that it will be a good lesson. Each area is as important as the next in this framework of teaching effectively. In the MTC I had a teacher who knew French like the back of his hand, but didn't seem to realize that we were starting out at level ZERO. His methods of teaching (PK) were not effective for us and although he was quite well-versed in the smallest parts of the French language he couldn't quite help us to get even the basic principles of it.

There are many different representations that a technology can have, namely technological, visual, auditory, dynamic, and multimodal. My favorite ones are the dynamic ones because they really seem to interact with the student. Google Earth and Stellarium are a blast for students because it is a dynamic learning experience, those are definitely the ones I enjoy the most.

Internet Safety Reflection (PLE Week 14)

I chose to read the article about Provident Living Guidelines to Internet Safety. It was a good and brief list of things to do to keep your home safe and free of inappropriate things. I watched the video in class that comprised many little segments and the statistics I heard were shocking. I'm sure they've only escalated since then because that was five years old. What I really took away from the video was that kids need to ask themselves a few simple questions before going onto the internet. They undoubtedly won't be completely honest with random people on the internet, so why should they be under the assumption that someone else will. The internet is a dangerous place and it should be treated with caution just like any other place with potential hazards.

I chose to talk to my wife about what I had learned while watching the movie, and she like myself was appalled at some of the numbers. It led us into a great discussion about what kind of rules we will have as parents for our children. Naturally things will change by then, but we realize that it's not worth it to just not talk about things with your kids. We want to sit them down and give them an orientation before they use I chose to talk to my wife about what I had learned while watching the movie, and she like myself was appalled at some of the numbers. It led us into a great discussion about what kind of rules we will have as parents for our children. Naturally things will change by then, but we realize that it's not worth it to just not talk about things with your kids. We want to sit them down and give them an orientation before they use Facebook or other internet sites. If a child iknowledgeable about something it is likely that he or she will not abuse it.

Week 10 PLE

The first technology that I have used outside of class is Prezi. This is such a fun tool for presentations because it is a different way to look at it other than with Powerpoint. It can be downloaded for free at prezi.com and is very effective in showing a presentation with many ideas, particularly when they stem from one source. The second technology I enjoy using is Stellarium, which can be downloaded for free at stellarium.org. It is such a dynamic program that takes Google Earth to a whole new level. You can see stars, constellations, and much more with this fun program. The third and last technology I have used outside of class is called Hot Potatoes. It is available at http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked/ and it helps teachers create small quizzes, with multiple choice, matching, crosswords, puzzles, etc. It is a fun way to create a more interesting quiz for a child than to just give them short answer questions.

Science Project Challenge

Thermometers vary in shape and size. We have selected to use digital thermometers to test water temperatures and the speed at which they become “room temperature.” Our objective was to help the students become more familiar with how thermometers are used and temperatures of objects around them.


The activity we chose to do with our students was to use two cups full of water at different temperatures while measuring how easily the thermometer changed when switching it back and forth.


We would transfer it between the two cups and had the goal of creating designs with the recorded data.


The cold cup obviously made the line fall, while the hot water made the line rise. This was very fun for the students to try such things like writing their name with the temperature gauge.


Using digital thermometers as opposed to standard thermometers is an effective choice because as we all know students love computers. This creates a fun environment because they can be moving around and interacting with the results, and manipulating them in a way that generates fun activity. It also stimulates the brain in a different way so that the students can think of temperature in a visual format, instead of just numbers written on a scale. They were able to create images and designs based solely off of the results they garnered while performing this particular science project. These types of learning would have been missed if the activity had involved simple thermometers.

If the student is under the impression that an activity will be ‘fun’ they are far more likely to be more engaged and give it the full attention the activity deserves.

The use of digital thermometers enhanced the quality of learning for the students because it is a visual description of the results they would obtain with a regular thermometer. Another great thing was that the results were very precise, which made graphing and other calculations much easier.

Week 9 PLE

I can often tell if I have been successful in integrating technology into my teaching when the activities are more dynamic and the technology doesn't detract at all from the learning experience. There is not much more frustrating than spending more time to use the technology and having it either not work or distract the students from learning the desired outcome. Technology needs to enhance a lesson, and create more opportunities for a student to learn in order to be effective. Feedback is always a great indicator if what you have chosen was smart, and usually the students will respond positively or negatively with each technology.