TPACK

So far this tutorial has been the most motivating and exciting for me from any of those that we have explored so far in this class. The more I continue taking classes for elementary education the more I realize how integral technology is in the classroom. I find it almost an obligation for me to learn how to use technology in the classroom. I feel this way because I think that by the time our students that we teach enter the workforce they will be completely surrounded my technology and will be at a disadvantage if they don't understand it. I even see it happening at this time so it only makes me further feel that the workforce will get more and more technologically advanced as time goes by.
I really enjoyed these tutorials because there were ideas that I hadn't thought of that I really feel I could use in the classroom. I felt that the "Brown Bear" style book that the kindergarten class did was very creative. It was simple enough for all the students to participate in yet it created something professional that they could be proud of it. I also felt that having the computers in with the students for their use was great. Not only is it useful because they will eventually need to learn computer skills, but the programs that computers provide are also great. I think that programs can be used to increase chilren's reading or help them in the speech, etc. I have seen in other classrooms, computers used to help teach scientific principles and show graphs and videos. I also really liked the ice cream lesson because it was such a fun and creative way to teach that principle and allow the students to be hands on. They didn't have to just listen to a lecture on freezing points but instead were actually able to experiment and observe it happening.
I feel that TPACK is something that all teachers should have. Not only is it important to know content well or just how to teach it but it is also important that students can incorporate it into their daily lives. Technology is the future and I'm ready to get on board. It will allow students to learn so much more in such a short amount of time that I think it can only increase their time to learn even more information.