Phase I

Phase 1: Analysis of Learning & Teaching Needs

In Integrating educational technology into teaching, the authors recommend first identifying the problems which need to be addressed in the curriculum (p 55). By analyzing the learning need first, educators can then work to implement lessons using strategies and technology tools which best meet the needs of learners.

Therefore, in the library, we will start by asking:

• What do teachers need students to be able to do?

• What do students need to be able to do?

• What problems will students encounter?

Step 1: Determine Relative Advantage

In step one of the process, the librarian and content teacher will work to match the problem with possible technology solutions and strategies. This will require analyzing the relative advantages of the technology tools to address the problems students encounter during the lesson or unit.

Example: Students in a US studies course need to access to various types of literature for a literature circle project. When the librarian and social studies teacher meet, they determine one of the issues will be student access to resources. Additionally, students will need access to a diverse selection of materials to fit their individual needs. By identifying the problem "students have various levels of access to the literature to support their learning," the content teacher and librarian can collaborate to develop pedagogical strategies and determine what technology tools can best support the needs of the learners.

Step 2: Assess TPACK

The second step in Phase I, is to consider the content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge needed to address the problem identified in Step 1. This allows the educator to be the content specialist and identify the curriculum goals of the course. The librarian can also address the library content knowledge. Together they can collaborate on instructional strategies "to assist students in finding, understanding, critiquing, and contributing to multimodal, global digital information using social learning practices" (p. 262). Finally, they can determine which technology tools will best fit the needs of student learning.

Example: In the image below, a TPACK assessment was conducted to determine the content needs of the US studies teacher and the librarian. Pedagogical practices were developed and technology tools were identified. Once the assessment is complete, the educators can evaluate the tools for their relative advantage. In this instance, a few of the relative advantages are:

• Students are able to access a variety of formats (print, e-books, audiobooks)

• Students are able to preview the materials in a variety of ways (Google Books, videos, book reviews)

• Students are able to interact with the texts by creating annotations which can be shared with teachers and peers