Benefits of TPACK

TPACK and the Benefits for Classrooms Today
There is absolutely no question that in our technologically advance society we have today, using technology in the classroom is a no brainer. Not using any sort of technology I think is probably impossible at this point. Our technology can have such great impacts on our students lives that it would be dumb of us as teachers to deprive our students of that experience.
To begin, teachers must have not only an understanding of the content that they wish to teach, but a mastery of it. When a teacher enters a classroom, they must know the information they are going to teach front and back. Otherwise how are we to expect our students gain an understanding of it? Pedagogical knowledge is the actual ability to teach the content.. So basically do you know everything about what you are teaching and can you teach it well enough that they will know it as well as you do? The last main point in TPACK is the ability to properly integrate technology into what is being taught.

The advantage to using TPACK is that the model is very easy to understand but also easy to use for every subject. The disadvantage to TPACK is that no matter how laid out it is, not all teachers have the same pedagogical, content, and technology knowledge. In those areas that over lap on the chart seen below, it would be hard to say that the model works perfectly every time for everyone because some teachers may lack more than others in some areas.

Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70.
Parr, G., Bellis, N. & Bulfin, S. (2013 in press) Teaching English teachers for the future: Speaking back to TPACK. English in Australia, 48 (1).