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TPACK

What is TPACK?
  • Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge
  • A framework that identifies the knowledge teachers need to teach effectively with technology
  • Emphasizes the new kind of knowledge that lies at the intersections between content, technology and pedagogy

Digital Literacy lives in the pedagogical and technology areas of TPACK. Using multimedia like video as a medium to teach the content is a demonstration of "TP" knowledge, "technological pedagogical knowledge" used to make the content more accessible. The heart of TPACK is combining content, technology and pedagogy to meet students' learning needs. 

The use of video as a learning tool allows teachers to embed innovative practices into their teaching that engage students in different modalities. Video is a tool that can be used to deepen and differentiate content as well as extend learning beyond the classroom. Similarly for students, when they are taught to deeply analyze video it becomes an innovative tool to embed in their own research and analysis practices.

The creative use of video also allows another medium for students to express their content knowledge. For example, students creating a 1920s-style silent film to capture a 'lost scene' from The Great Gatsby. Or, students creating a website for 5th graders on a human rights struggle of the 20th century can use video screencasts to go deeper on a specific topics and embed those screencasts directly into their website. 

Increasing digital literacy in students will support them not only in the classroom, as shown above, but in college, career and beyond.