WPP PART B- Application of TPACK

Progress on the Wicked Problem Project has been steady to say the least. I know, in my mind, what it is I'd like to address and what I envision the solution to be. The challenge appears to be communicating it effectively. So let me begin by reiterating the issue. As mentioned in a previous blog, the presence of cell phones in the classroom has not been a total distraction nor disruption but they have become a nuisance. Since my high school English and Spanish students are now allowed to carry their cell phones with them at all times, I find them preoccupied with what text they may be receiving or what the latest "tweet" from their BFF is rather then being interested with my instruction. I would see them peek at their phones and it annoyed me. Despite all my efforts to reprimand my students for fidgeting with my little nemesis I always fell short and knew I could not compete with these pieces of metal and plastic. So, I decided to do like Honest Abe, and put these rivals on my team and make cell phones useful in the classroom as educational tools. So an example of the plan is as follows:

Nearly all my students (at least 8 out of 10) have cell phones. Of these cell phones most have cameras and videos within them. Every two weeks students are given a set of vocabulary words. A choice of  projects  accompanies these vocab lists. Students choose the project that best meets their learning style. For example, students can create a collage, write a story, perform a rap, produce a book, etc....using their vocabulary words correctly. All these options require no technology. But since technology exist in the classroom, via cell phones,  I would like to see, NO REQUIRE,  students to create innovative, technology-rich vocabulary projects with their cell phones like short videos, pod casts  and blogs. There are apps that will enable students to do this.  This is just one example of how I envision making cell phones a required learning tool, just as valuable and necessary as coming to class with paper and pencils. I'm sure there are many more ways to put cell phones to good use in the classroom. That is what I will continue to explore.

I believe the technology of cell phones, depending on the assignment, activity or project,  supports teaching strategies such as scaffolding, student-centered/teacher facilitated, differentiated, cooperative and independent, hands-on, visual and  tactile learning. Assigning a student to create a  thirty second video with his/her phone using a free app like Animoto with the vocabulary list, encourages creativity and can accommodate a  broad range of learning styles. The student can create a slide show with pictures and/or words. Or the student can perform a skit with the help of others and record it. The student can create a blog and using the recording devise on his/her phone record him/herself reading a story he/she created or rapping a song with the vocabulary words and up load it to a post within the blog. The possibilities appear to be endless. So I will continue to explore what more is available.

The technology of cell phones makes the content of vocab (for example) more intellectually accessible in that many cell phones offer a vast amount of information and can perform a vast amount of duties, making learning easier, convenient (since students can create some of these assignments at home), and exciting. Students can refer to dictionary apps like Webster to expand their vocabulary. Or they can use an app like Chegg to create index cards for studying.

My pedagogical choices make the content more intellectually accessible by allowing the students an alternative format to complete assignments, display their creativity and learn in a meaningful 21st Century manner. Students will begin to see their cell phone as more than a communicating device but also as a learning aid that will enable them to explore other options to complete academic assignments.

My Wicked Problem Project is obviously still a work in progress. Continued exploration of solutions to the cell phone mayhem will continue.