TECHNOLOGY

Technology Framing Statement

Eva Sanchez

ED 698 Master’s Portfolio Spring 2022

University of Alaska Southeast

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Technology

A teacher uses technology effectively, creatively and wisely.

The Candidate demonstrates their understanding of engaging learners in evaluation and

selection of media and technology resources and their use of technology appropriately to

engage learners and enhance instruction.

This paper will focus on the vital role that technology can play in our classrooms. The

artifact that I used is a concept map that I created while enrolled in a Technology in the

Classroom class during the Summer of 2019. It can be found at

http://sanchezmp.weebly.com/technology-artifact.html. This concept map shows how incredibly

intertwined concepts in technology can be with our teaching pedagogy.

As I began my first year of teaching, I quickly realized that my second-grade class was

very diverse. I understood that technology had the potential to be the vehicle that allowed me to

create an effective, differentiated classroom (Rapp & Arndt, 2012). From previous experience, I

knew that its implementation could not be haphazard, at which point it simply becomes

entertainment; rather it had to be done deliberately and thoughtfully as a means to enhance the

engagement and learning of ALL students. To create this seamless application, I implemented

the TPACK model. The TPACK model was developed by Michigan State University professors

Punya Mishra and Matthew Koehler (Magana, 2017). TPACK is the complex intertwining of the

three core concepts that drive education – Technological Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge,

and Content Knowledge (Magana, 2017).

Content Knowledge encompasses the teacher’s expertise on certain content. In effect, in

order for teachers to educate their students on certain topics, their own knowledge must be

accurate and precise (Koehler, 2012). My class was composed of students from various
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backgrounds, with students of various learning abilities, and disabilities. I had students that read

at a 5th-grade level, and I had students that barely read at a kindergarten level. I appreciated that

my students came into my classroom at different stages in their quest for literacy. To reach all of

my students, I knew that I had to meet them where they were and go from there, as advocated by

Marie Clay (2014). One invaluable way that I utilized technology to enhance my content

knowledge of how best to instruct my students of such a wide range of abilities, I began to

research articles on reading interventions using the online Egan Library. With this tool, I had a

world of information at my fingertips that could be accessed thousands of miles away, without

ever leaving the comfort of my classroom. In lesson planning, I often utilized online teaching

resources such as TeachersFirst® and Education.com® that not only offer lesson plan ideas but

also provide differentiated activities and assessments. Another online resource that I used to

strengthen my content knowledge almost daily is TeachersPayTeachers®. This website provides

thousands of lesson ideas that engage students through multiple teaching methods that encourage

student learning to become enduring.

Pedagogical Knowledge refers to the best practices used to teach certain content. This

describes the various modalities that teachers employ to educate their students, from the methods

and purposes of education to knowing the different learning styles of your students and then

customizing your lesson plans and assessments based on that knowledge (Koehler, 2012). In my

classroom, technology allowed me to differentiate my lessons in such a way that was

comprehensible and engaging to all of my students. For example, as a 2nd-grade standard,

students were expected to research a topic and write an essay on their findings. This was easy for

those that were able to read at grade level, but for those that were not, it was an almost

insurmountable obstacle. Epic! ®, an online reading app, allowed all of my students to

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experience the success of researching and learning about an animal of their choice. I was able to

assign books to certain students based not only on reading level but also could also read books

aloud as students followed along if the only books that I could find were at a much higher

reading level than the student doing the research. I sat in awe, as one of my very shy, soft-spoken

students who read at a 1st-grade level confidently and proudly presented her ‘expertise’ to her

classmates.

Technological Knowledge refers to an educator’s understanding of the technology

available to enhance students’ learning experiences (Koehler, 2012). I understand that

technology is meant to enhance the classroom experience, not control it. As a first-year teacher,

it can often be overwhelming to try to stay abreast of the technology that is available for my

classroom. I have tapped into the priceless resource of my fellow teachers. Their expertise in

what does and does not work has been a guiding light not only for myself but for my students as

well. I have also utilized the many online teacher blogs and social media sites for inspiration.

These three concepts do not exist individually, nor do they interact one or two at a time,

rather it is a constantly evolving and shifting of the boundaries of one to the other (Koehler,

2012). The key idea is that technology is not a blanket that is to be laid over the other two

(pedagogy and content). It is a fusion of the three to create a decidedly unique and effective

approach that enables our students to become expert learners-the ultimate goal of any

educational system.

When considering the implementation of technology, Mishra & Koehler (1998) helped

raise the importance of technological knowledge as an inextricable component of effective

modern instruction. The success of TPACK hinges on the basic tenet that technology is NOT the

driving force, rather teachers begin with their goals of a lesson (content), then they consider how
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best to achieve those goals (pedagogy), and only after deciding on the first two do they even

consider how to implement technology to achieve their purposes. In my classroom, I begin to

plan every lesson by looking at the standards that I will be teaching. I then consider what

assessments I will use to gauge student learning, and last, I consider the activities that I will

employ throughout the lesson. I utilize technology only if it can expand student understanding or

help engage students if they are more visual in their learning.

One particularly important point made by Arnett (2021) is that “the foundational tenets of

conventional instruction hinge on uniformity and compliance. Conventional instruction moves

all students through content at a uniform pace, but not all students master content in the time

allotted. Online learning offers the ability to replace many of these systemic rigidities with

greater adaptability to students’ needs” (p. 1).

Today’s classrooms are more diversified than ever before. My classroom has an ELL

student, several students with IEPs, and students whose abilities range from gifted to remedial.

Blended learning is one way that technology has empowered me to create a differentiated

classroom. Blended learning is defined as “a mix of virtual and non-virtual interaction between

teachers and students, during which the advantages of both instructional approaches are used”

(Alam & Agarwal, 2020, p. 2). The applications of blended learning in the classrooms are many.

One example of blended learning that I utilize in my classroom are rotations during my math and

reading block. Instead of being the ‘sage on the stage’ (Alam & Agarwal, 2020), I provide direct

instruction for only a small portion of the block. I have designed a system where students rotate

through several stations, each lasting about 15 minutes. At these stations, there is ‘At Your Desk’

work where students continue with the lesson I introduced at the beginning of the block,

‘Technology Corner’ where students engage in various online activities from games to quizzes to
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deepen and enhance understanding, to ‘Game Time’ where students interact in pairs with hands-

on, minds-on games that not only challenge students’ thinking on the topic at hand but also

expects them to cooperate and communicate to successfully play the game. The best part of this

type of instructional pedagogy is that “the teacher is not replaced, they’re multiplied” (Farah,

2019).

My goal as a teacher is to create a classroom where the focus of learning is on the

process rather than the product (Usher, 2019). This allows my students to take an active role in

their learning, thus creating a new type of student, an expert learner – students who are

motivated, resourceful, strategic, and goal-oriented (Meyer et al., 2014).

As the mother of an ADHD child, I can appreciate on a personal level how technology

has made my son’s academic life easier. The article Helping Students with ADHD Stay

Organized describes the various ways that modern technology has helped these students become

organized and more importantly, successful. There are a host of apps that can be downloaded to a

phone or tablet that can help students keep track of assignments and due dates. My son also has

difficulty writing, and now that he can type his notes and answers on a computer, the shame that

he felt at his ‘sloppy’ handwriting is gone.

Technology in the classroom has the potential to increase access in every sense of the

word - from facilitating students to participate in online classroom games, to allowing them the

freedom to learn outside of the box, literally (as in the classroom), and figuratively (online

textbooks) Though technology is not the end-all, be-all of education, it has added tremendous

value to our classrooms in that it allows teachers to shine a light on those that have been

marginalized for far too long; a means that allows teachers to teach to many, rather than the few.
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References

Alam, S., & Agarwal, J. (2020). Adopting a blended learning model in education: Opportunities

and challenges. International Journal of Early Childhood Special Education, 12(2), 1–

7. https://doi.org/10.9756/INT-JECSE/V12I2.201050

Arnett, T. (2021). Potential unfulfilled: COVID-19, the rapid adoption of online learning, and

what could be unlocked this year. Christensen Institute. https://eric.ed.gov/?

id=ED614215

Clay, M. (2014). By different paths to common outcomes. Stenhouse Publishers.

Farah, K. (2019, May 9). Blended learning built on teacher expertise. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/blended-learning-built-teacher-expertise

Koehler, M. (2012). TPACK explained. TPACK.ORG. http://www.tpack.org/

Magana, S. (2017). Disruptive classroom technologies: A framework for innovation in

education. Corwin.

https://egan.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?di

rect=true&db=nlebk&AN=2524571&site=eds-live&scope=site&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_ix

Meyer, A., Rose, D.H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and

practice. CAST Professional Publishing.

Rapp, W.H., & Arndt, K.L. (2012). Teaching everyone: An introduction to inclusive education.

Paul H. Brooks.

Usher, K. (2019, April 10). Differentiating by offering choices. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/differentiating-offering-choices
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