Quickfire Activity

This week in CEP 810, my task was to have a friend or family member pick out 3 kitchen tools (one plate, one bowl, and one utensil) without knowing what we would be using it for. We were then told to randomly draw a number out of a hat where each number corresponded to a particular task. In this activity, the tools I received were a paper plate, a large plastic bowl, and a pair of tongs. The random task we drew was to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using the three tools I was given.

The intention of this activity was to help us think about repurposing tools to achieve a given task. In thinking about education, and what Punya Mishra discussed in his video, technology was not designed for the classroom. For this reason, educators should be mindful of how they can repurpose technological tools to support what they would like to accomplish in the  classroom.

While making my peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I easily thought of a way to use the plate and tongs. Although the bowl was a nice tool, I really had no idea how to repurpose it. This was a little bit eye opening for me as I quickly realized that perhaps not every tool out there can be repurposed for a given task. Unless, I used it for some kind of platform to prop up and display my sandwich, it did not help me make my sandwich in any way. Likewise, in the classroom, it may or may not always be so easy to repurpose technological tools that were not designed for educating students. Teachers will have to really think outside of the box to successfully use these tools.

The TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) framework identifies what teachers need to successfully teach their students using technology. If we can use what we already know about teaching and content and then incorporate it with technological tools, we will not only engage our students, but we will also help them participate in 21st century skills as they explore, create, and share their work!

Check out my video below!

            

Reference:

21CLearning. “Punya Mishra – Keynote Speaker @ 21st Century Learning Conference – Hong Kong 2012.” YouTube. YouTube, 26 Mar. 2012. Web. 26 June 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bwXYa91fvQ&feature=youtu.be&gt;.