New Technologies

A situation I can think of in which I have encouraged people to use a new technology occurred in my high school two years ago when our district purchased Smart boards. The initial use of a Smart board in a classroom can be overwhelming and extremely time consuming. Some colleagues didn’t see the point in changing what was already working in their classroom. Some didn’t want to invest extra time to prepare lessons to use on the Smart board or to spend time training to become more comfortable with its use. Some were disappointed in their inability to make lessons work the way they intended. Their attitudes ranged from resentment towards administration for making them use a Smart board to frustration for not having enough training to make it work effectively in their classrooms. They definitely lacked confidence and they needed to see the value of investing their time.
There are a couple of things I could do using Keller’s ARCS model to help motivate my colleagues to encourage success. As an attention getter activity, I might demonstrate its usefulness at a department meeting by inviting colleagues to show model lessons that make use of some of the interacting features. In order to establish relevance, I would show my colleagues how it has drastically changed my teaching. I would model for them some of the techniques I currently use and show them how implementing its use has been worth it. I would also show them how different software such as the geometer sketchpad and the graphing calculator; both tools that they are familiar with can be easily used in their classrooms, without any cumbersome overhead projector. I would also show them how the use of the Smart board allows for creativity and choice in their lesson design. Next, in following with Keller’s ARCS model, I would help set up a strategic plan to help grow confidence in its use. I think that teachers who try a new technology need to have active support at all times so that they don’t feel defeated. I would also show them ways to download ready made lessons from teacher supported web sites and set up a teacher wiki for the colleagues in our department to share their lessons. I would explain to them that although it is a big learning curve, eventually storing files for later use would save time in the long run. Lastly to promote satisfaction, I would encourage our administration to conduct a hands-on training for teachers to be better prepared and five them opportunities to prepare sample lessons, try different features and ask questions from an expert.


I commented on Joshua's blog
http://shermanlearningtheoryandedtech.blogspot.com/

and on Jerri Anne's blog: http://jeriannking.blogspot.com


References:

Keller, J. (2011). ARCS Model of Motivational design (Keller) at Learning-Theories.com.
Retrieved from http://www.learning-theories.com/kellers-arcs-model-of-motivational-design.html