TPCK- English

I so appreciate the idea expressed in the following quote: "Preparing teachers to use specific technology within the context of their content areas rather than in a separate, general technology skills course is an emerging trend in the field of education" (Dexter, Doering, & Riedel, 2006; Sprague, 2004). In my experience, teaching in isolation tends to be difficult if students are to master and utilize any new learning.
Our school has a computer lab in which classroom teachers can bring groups of students for a variety of purposes. Unfortunatley, there is no technology integrator who can help support staff develop a TPCK model so that the techonolgy can become a meaningful part of the teaching and learning process. What generally happens in the lab is very limited to playing math games or word processing. As chapter 4 illustrates, schools need to provide situations for teachers so that their knowledge of technology integration becomes solidified. Establishing formal in-sevice opportunities where educators are afforded the opportunity to take a specific area of the curriculum and learn how to support it through technology would be incredibly beneficial.
Content-focused technology instruction must become a regular component of a school's culture. Most of the teachers with whom I work are rich in content knowledge. Most have had exposure to general technologies (email, web resources, word processing). Few have been afforded the luxury of engaging in new techologies in order to improve the quality and scope of their content areas.