At the school in which I work, one of the technological resources used for instruction is the Interwrite pad. Many of the teachers embraced the value of its capabilities while others remained set in their ways and refrained from using the device. Although we were given professional development opportunities by administration, many still chose not to use the device. I however had no qualms in using the device because I had previous experience with many technological mechanisms and welcomed new ones to try. Because of my background, I knew that many of these devices were user-friendly and could rarely be broken through use. This was one of the major concerns with the teachers who chose not to incorporate the device into their instruction. Another major concern was change. Using the device in their instruction would disrupt their current routine and many of them were comfortable with their teaching methods. Additionally, they did not want to seem incompetent in front of their students if by chance something went wrong at the time of instruction.
If I were to use Keller’s ARCS model, to help change the motivation of these teachers to encourage success, I would first show them how the interwrite pad has helped me to free up some of my time and make the class instruction flow smoother. I would explain how it also helps with classroom management for various reasons like, you are able to move around the classroom and the visual usually keeps students’ attention to the instruction. I would then try to show them how it can be applied in their own classroom no matter what subject area they teach. Giving them examples in their own subject would enhance relevance. To build their confidence, I would let them experiment with the device and show them no matter what they do, there would be a way to undo their error. This would show them how user friendly the device is and make them feel at ease when using it. To make it all stick, I would provide them with cheat sheets to allow them resources to remember particular things they would like to do with the device within their instruction.
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
This is interesting, exactly what is a Interwrite Pad, how does is work, and how could it help you during instruction?
ReplyDeleteAn Interwrite pad is a technological device that allows you to do everything you would do on a whiteboard while away from the board. You could be in any part of the classroom and write on the board. It also allows you to operate your computer while away from the computer and have everything you do project on to the board in front of the classroom. It is actually like a high tech document camera with a whole lot of bells and whistle. It is really very useful. I believe there is similar technology that goes by different names an example that may be close is a Promethean board.
ReplyDelete