Module 5 Blog Posting
Motivation for using New Technologies
As the technology coordinator at my school, I have had many opportunities to encourage colleagues to try new technologies. Usually I am the first to have professional development on the new technology, but many of my colleagues seem to see them as something more to do to add to their work loads. Our school staff works in teams with career teachers, mentors and lead teachers. Part of the process requires that teachers share graded student work data, catagorize it and give prescriptions for improvement. It was my idea that the teachers do this on a collaborative wiki to give the team a means to collectively see the student work data, comment on it, and collaboratively categorize it and write targeted prescriptions for improvement. Initially, it seemed like a good idea. Everyone agreed in principle. Then the technology of uploading the documents, actually commenting, catagorizing and writing prescriptions became very difficult, I guess, because there arose many excuses for not doing it. What I thought would be a useful, time-saving process became overwhelming, a reason for avoidance, and fell completely flat. I heard everything from not having time to do it, to not understanding how to upload the document to the wiki, to having "different kids" to simply not wanting to do it.
If I were to use Keller's ARCS model to motivate my colleagues, my approach would have been different. According to Keller, getting the teachers' attention through media, or a question like "Wouldn't you like to be able to do this collaboratively while sitting in your own homes?" may have aroused their curiosity and garnered their enthusiam for working together without staying after school or coming early. Introducing the wiki by showing them a mock up or example would have been a novel way of getting their attention as well. Showing the team how collaborating on line would be relevant to achieving the goal and making the work load easier for everyone would be my next step. Since this would be an on-going process, using this method would insure that everyone completed the task on time and with a high degree of competence. When bringing the idea to the team, I did sense a lack of confidence in their abilities to learn the process and the sustainability of their interest because of their lack of skill. Giving the team professional development to the extent needed to give them the impetus to learn and become self-motivated to keep learning would be a true task. However, the satisfaction of achieving the goal of using on line collaboration to complete a team project is something I believe would build relationships and afford us all personal satisfaction. Motivating reluctant colleagues is something of an art as well as a science. Sustaining good relationships while pushing them toward something new and unfamiliar must be done with a bit of artistry, humor and skill.
References:
Driscoll, M.P.(2005) Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston:Pearson Education,Inc.
John Keller's Official ARCS Model. Retrieved May 10,2010 from http://www.arcsmodel.com/home.htm
Using John Keller's ARCS model to motivate online learners. Retrieved May 10.2010 from http://onlignment.com/2009/09/using-john-kellers-arcs-model-to-motivate-online-learners/
LaVerne,
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain. I have also experienced an easy task receiving multiple complaints by co-workers. Why are people so resistant to change when it comes to technology? Technology is a vital learning tool that can be very beneficial to the younger generation because it provides multiple means of information.
Nikisha
Hey All!
ReplyDeleteTo add to Nikisha's comment, I think the main reason teachers resist change is because the value and goals of the technology are not compatible with their existing perceptions. Remember reading Rogers' "Diffusion of Innovations," and he discussed the impact of this issue on adopting new technologies. Along with relative advantage, compatibility blocks integration because traditional teachers fail to recognize and believe the value of technology. They have experienced success using methods that are not entirely relevant to today's classroom, but they seem to carry influence.
For example, my very traditional team member had all of her students (0/76) pass the CRCT, and her nickname is "Copy Queen." Okay, I am known for using technology, small groups, and active learning, but I had 8/32 students fail. How can we account for this?
All I can figure is that traditional is still demonstrating effectiveness on standardized testing. What do you think?
I didn't mean to get off topic LaVerne, because your topic of data is vitally important. We do this to with progress monitoring and behavior assessments. This is critical in developing the right lessons for students. It is a great idea to adopt wikis in this case, but I would make sure it was a secure one for student privacy laws.
I think we have learned that online collaboration is the best! I will miss you guys next semester!
LaVerne,
ReplyDeleteYour final comment is wonderfully stated and perfectly applicable to so many work-place decisions. "Sustaining good relationships while pushing them toward something new and unfamiliar must be done with a bit of artistry, humor and skill." Yes, indeed! I am not convinced that Keller's motivational steps explain the process any better than your succinct sentence!
I also concur that any new initiative, even one that has the potential be time-saving, is often perceived as adding to the work load. I can hear the grumbling, "Oh, no! Not another thing to do... I can barely get my own work done!" The trouble is, I sometimes see their point. For instance, some days I spend my entire planning period initiating and responding to e-mail. Prior to our online communication, I ran to the office to check my mail box for any communications, then spent the remaining 50 minutes preparing for class and grading assignments. Granted, we are all much better informed, but at a certain cost.
In response to Marci:
ReplyDeleteRegarding the achievement test scores disparity: Don't despair. There are too many variables to make any conclusions at this point. Remember, the CRT test rewards students who are adept at worksheet-type activities. Students who are well-versed in low-level forced-choice questions generally perform better because they are familiar with the testing format, not because they necessarily have a higher knowledge-base. The skill sets in two different classrooms are each valuable in their own right, but the CRT is limited in its potential to measure them.