The force is strong with the shiny one

This idea came about in a conversation I had the other night with my wife and Mike Sansone. I want to apologize in advance for any possible misrepresentation of the TPACK framework. I understand that feeling the need to apologize in advance means I should probably research more before posting, so consider this acknowledgment that this is an idea-in-progress. I'm posting these thoughts to learn more.

My brother-in-law and fellow edublogger Matt Townsley introduced me to the TPACK (formerly TPCK) framework a while ago. While I haven't taken the time to study it in depth, from what I do understand about it, its simplicity appeals to me. From TPCK.org:

image via http://tpck.org

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) attempts to capture some of the essential qualities of knowledge required by teachers for technology integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and situated nature of teacher knowledge. At the heart of the TPACK framework, is the complex interplay of three primary forms of knowledge: Content (CK), Pedagogy (PK), and Technology (TK). See Figure above. As must be clear, the TPACK framework builds on Shulman's idea of Pedagogical Content Knowledge.

I don't want to simplify it too much, but my takeaway has been that to be the quality teacher I want to be, I need to be in the middle of the diagram.

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I've been thinking lately about the allure of digital technology. I love it. Too much, most of the time. I spend a disproportional amount of time thinking about, reading up on, and lusting after gadgets.

I'm trying not to let it affect my teaching, though. I'm trying to start with the purpose in mind when figuring out what tools will best help my students learn. This post from Evan Abbey illustrates what I mean.

Now that I'm able to see this technology infatuation of my own, I'm noticing it in others, too. As I said, I've been thinking about why.

At this point, I have no answer for why, but I do have a theory based on personal experience I want to throw out there. When I think of the TPACK diagram, I picture horseshoe magnets on the outside of each circle, pointed into the middle. Those magnets are what keep the quality teacher balanced in the center, each magnet pulling and building a feeling of equilibrium. This is obviously best-case scenario.

What I see happening in conversations of big change in education is a super-powered magnet on the Technology circle. That magnet pulls people to the technology. It's what keeps us searching for that silver bullet, that one "thing" that will fix everything.

I'm not here to say we need to "teach naked" and forgo technology altogether. I just have an idea to keep us grounded while we add the Technology circle to our knowledge Venn diagrams.

As I said earlier, I think about the TPACK diagram with the idea that the goal is to be in the center. I see schools working on getting to that center by going on a path through the three circles. I'm being metaphorical. They need to start their journey through one of the circles.

There's the conundrum: through which circle do we start our journey to the center of the Venn? I should capitalize that. Journey to the Center of the Venn. 

My fear is that if we start our journey by attempting to walk through the Technology circle, the pull of that super-strong magnet won't let us get to the center.
 

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So, if you agree about the big technology magnet, where should schools start their journey?

If you don't agree about digital technology's pull on our collective psyche -- it's fine if you don't, by the way -- does that change where we should start our journey?

Do schools need to walk through the circles, or can they drop right down into the middle? 

Let's talk about this journey. Let's talk about TPACK.