I think it's so important to remember that engineering in schools turned into wood shop and metal shop, which then became "vocational training" and was considered less serious and less successful than other courses. The article does note that recent technologies provide options to remake certain engineering classes, but it is upsetting that most schools cannot do this. Mostly depending on budgets, high school "engineering" classes are typically not all that they could be.

So much of this article makes me wish that there was some tool in use at the school I work in that focuses on fostering creativity. Too often students are given their activities or assessments and they know that there is one right answer that they are supposed to come up with. This leads to students only answering things when they know they're right and arguing with each other over which answer makes the most sense. While it is great to have classroom debates, it would be better if students had an opportunity to tap into their own creativity for some project and create something that isn't necessarily right or wrong. Digital fabrication and "making" excites me for the future of our schools.

The note about considering audience is something that I believe is incredibly crucial to a student's writing proficiency. When a student is writing an essay and they know the audience is their teacher, they are going to attempt to write more coherently and professionally, when compared to something they may be writing for a class presentation or a group project. In addition, I feel that blog posts and assignments of that nature are also a great way for students to become more cognizant of their compositions. If they know that their whole class will be reading their work, they may feel a sense of importance and seriousness which will lead to a better written piece of work.

This comment is not intended to dismiss technology in the classroom or to claim that students shouldn't be familiar with "twenty-first-century technologies." With that being said, I think it is unlikely that teachers do not use these technologies due to ineptitude or any internalized, unchanging beliefs. When a teacher is assigning students an opinionated essay and ask that it be turned in on paper, they are doing with reason. Students, especially in the 5th grade, need to work on their writing skills. It is hard to imagine a job or a future that does not absolutely require some form of physical writing. These essay assignments are absolutely crucial in literary development as these are the assignments that determine which students go on and succeed and which ones are left by the wayside. Assessing a students' proficiency on "opinion writing" is hard to do when they are submitting "digital compositions" that are not necessarily in essay format.

The discussion over which teacher utilized technology better is interesting but also reminds me the ways in which schools tend to evaluate teachers' use of technology in the classroom. All too often, teachers who are being evaluated will incorporate technology into a lesson simply because they know their principal will be able to check off that box. After reading this, I am reminded that in order for technology to actually be beneficial in the classroom, it needs to be used with purpose and direction.

IT is clear that in order to use the TPCK framework, teachers need an understanding of 1) content 2) pedagogy and 3) technology. While this may seem simple, I can imagine a scenario where a teacher's lesson may become messy and poorly executed if they have not found a proper balance between these 3 areas. That is not to say that the TPCK framework can't or shouldn't be used, it just requires more time and prep work.

While the article focuses on grades 6-12, I feel that K-5 classrooms would also experience many of the same benefits. K-5 classrooms would each have to use very different tools but there is definitely a benefit to familiarizing these students with technology. With that being said, there is room for technology in these classrooms while still keeping the focus on traditional instruction.

The fact that these digital tools allow students to create material for a broad audience is definitely one of the more important benefits of their implementation. I feel that students will feel that their work has more significance as it is not just being created for their teacher. In addition, this would solidify the idea that your work should be stand-alone in that any person who comes in contact with it should be able to understand it -- a skill that is incredibly important in the science community.