TPK vs TPACK

Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) is the knowledge of how technologies can be used in a general teaching context. TPK may involve an understanding of how technology can be used to support teaching strategies and methods that can be used in any content area. Some examples in chemistry might include:

• A teacher who knows basic rules for how to present information clearly using PowerPoint, and other Office tools.
  
• A teacher who knows how to manage a classroom that has pH probes, logger-pro, and titration equipment for each of the students.
• A teacher who has her students create a class website to record for parents and students what they are learning in class.

Each of these examples demonstrates a teacher’s ability to use technology to help with general teaching strategies that are not specific to teaching chemistry.

Technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) is the knowledge of how to use technology to support content-specific pedagogical methods and strategies. Some examples in chemistry might include:

• A teacher who designs a titration lab using the technologies available to help students see how the titration curve and the pH relate.
  
• A teacher who uses chem draw to help students visualize molecular interactions by modeling representations of them.
• A teacher who uses Virtual Chem Lab to allow students to explore in a lab, while not having to worry about the liability of such potential problems, while still allowing students to go through the scientific method of thinking through problems.

Each of these examples shows an appropriate integration of technology and pedagogy, these activities are based on a very specific content area, and require teachers to target specific pedagogy strategies.