My colleagues perceive me as a resource when it comes to implementing technology into the classroom. When teachers have problems with their online blackboard classrooms called Canvas they seek assistance from me. On Friday, another teacher asked me to help a student who was attempting to upload a document, but couldn’t attach the PDF because (I determined) the teacher hadn’t made the settings of the assignment to be able to attach a PDF. The teacher that sent the student asked me to contact the original teacher to explain that they had not enabled the correct settings. The original teacher was not receptive to my feedback. It was almost like she refused to read what I’d written because it would indicate that she had made a mistake. She had indicated that it was a student error (to so many different students, parents and teachers) that she had a vested interest in continuing the party line.
In this instance, using Keller’s ARCS model I think the best way to reach this particular person would be to ‘Generate Satisfaction’ by using positive consequences, like verbal praise, in order to help her feel that this is a worthy activity (Driscoll, 2005, p. 331). I could applaud her use of Canvas and tell her how much more students are learning because of her decision. I could share with her my experiences that are similar to hers- where I had difficulty or problems with Canvas. For example, at first it was hard because none of the Mac based documents (like Pages or Keynote) were up loadable to Canvas and I spent a lot of time expecting students to attach their documents, but they were not able to do this and everyone was frustrated.
I think we all, as teachers, wish to do what is best for our students, but sometimes we get frustrated by the technologies and all of the logistics that are involved in this process.
Resources:
http://www.learning-theories.com/kellers-arcs-model-of-motivational-design.html
References:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.).Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
JeannieFrazierBlog- The Next Generation of Distance Education 