The aim of this study is to develop ways to support teacher students´ skills and knowledge for the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in the teaching of geography. Nowadays, teachers need diverse knowledge and skills for teaching with ICT and these have been described by Koehler and Mishra (2005) in the TPACK model. According to Koehler and Mishra (2005, 2009) the main components in the TPACK model are content knowledge (CK), pedagogical knowledge (PK) and technological knowledge (TK). TPACK can be seen as a mixture of these components, offering the knowledge needed for supporting students’ learning of specific content and using ICT in a pedagogically meaningful way (Koehler & Mishra 2005). It is also important to notice that the teachers´ TPACK is influenced by contextual factors, such culture, socioeconomic status and the school organization. (Harris, Mishra, & Koehler, 2009). 

Many studies have revealed deficiencies in teachers’ knowledge and abilities concerning the use of ICT for teaching (e.g. Shuldman 2004; Swan & Hofer 2011), therefore research has focused on the development of teachers´ TPACK and the factors that could promote its development (e.g. Harris & Hofer 2011; Jang 2010). This study also aims to support teacher students’ TPACK by constructing teaching intervention for geography instruction.

The context of this study was intervention on a geography course in which teacher students studied spatial perception and it´s construction in geography instruction. The intervention was based on sociocultural views about learning. According to the sociocultural theory, learning can be seen as an appropriation and externalization of cultural tools. (e.g. Engeström 2009; Vygotsky 1978; Wells 1999; Wertsch 1985; 1991). Cultural tools are improved from one generation to the next and new tools are developed for helping to make sense of things both individually and socially. For example, social software with its different applications (e.g. blogs and maps) are new innovations which can be used as thinking tools, as part of the learning process. In this intervention we built a learning environment in which the students used Google Maps as a thinking tool for sharing their ideas and interpretations for co-constructing knowledge.

The use of cultural tools is learned in both social and individual learning processes which are inherently connected to each other. In the social learning processes we get to know the cultural tools and appropriate their use. Learning occurs on two dimensions: between people and within individuals (e.g. Engeström 2009; Vygotsky 1978; Wells 1999; Wertsch 1985; 1991). Based on this theory of learning, we organized the learning environment in order to offer the students opportunities to use Google maps together with their peers in their co-construction processes. 

The main research questions are: 1) How did intervention affect the students´ TPACK? 2) How did the students experience the use of Google maps? 3) How did the students describe their learning processes?

Engeström, Y. (2009). Toward an activity-theoretical reconceptualization. In K. Illeris (Eds.), Contemporary Theories of Learning. London: Routledge. Harris, J.B., & Hofer, M.J. (2011). Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) in Action: A Descriptive study of secondary teachers´ curriculum-based, technology-related instructional planning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 43 (3), 211–229. Harris, J. B., Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. (2009). Teachers´ technological pedagogical content knowledge and learning activity types: Curriculum-based technology integration reframed. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 41 (4), 393–416. Jang, S.-J. (2010). Integrating the interactive whiteboard and peer coaching to develop the TPACK of secondary science teachers. Computers & Education, 55 (4), 1744–1751. Koehler, M.J., & Mishra, P. (2005). What happens when teachers design educational technology? The development of technological pedagogical content knowledge. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 32 (2), 131–152. Koehler, M.J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological content knowledge? Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9 (1), 60–70. Shuldman, M. (2004). Superintendent conceptions of institutional conditions that impact teacher technology integration. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 36 (4), 319–343). Swan, K., & Hofer, M. (2011). In search of technological pedagogical content knowledge: Teachers´ initial foray into podcasting in economics. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 44 (1), 75–98. Vygotsky, L.S. (1978). Mind in Society. The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wells, G. (1999). Dialogic Inquiry. Toward a Sociocultural Practice and Theory of Education. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Wertsch, J.V. (1985). Vygotsky and the Social Formation of Mind. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wertsch, J.V. (1991). Voices of the Mind. A Sociocultural Approach to Mediated Action. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.