TEACHING

A TECHNOLOGY Threering.com

Teaching a Technology - Threering.com

Amy Armstrong
Comps
University of Oklahoma


Introduction

As a part of the Intro to Teaching with Technology class, I had to create a
small professional development for teachers. The professional development
consisted of a screencast showing how to set up the class as well as a handout. The
project was created as a face-to-face session.

Immediately following the project, I was required to do a reflection on the
project. After reading my reflection today and realizing I have not used Threering
since I did this project, I came to the conclusion I need to change my instruction or
the tool. Just as my education taught me skills to be applied in broader terms, my
professional development needs to be something people can apply to their
classroom. Giving participants options in what they implement can allow for
autonomy among the teachers (Reeve, 2006). Specifically with my instruction of
Threering, there are things I would change. Then, there are things I would change to
the whole scope of the project.

Summary of Participant Feedback

The teachers were appreciative of the training but did not leave fired-up to
use Threering. For the most part the participants needed to be taught how to use
the other technologies before completing the interactive portions of the training.
This frustrated participants before they even reached the task at hand. Having
access to the video when they left was positive and beneficial. After a year I checked
back in with the participants and found that none of them were using Threering.

Reflection & Changes

There are two directions I would go to change this training. The first
direction includes simply making a few changes to the training as it stands. Taking
the training of Threering and evaluating it, I can see an issue with the instructional
design of the task. Realizing the importance of the task analysis has caused me to
evaluate all tasks required of teachers as we complete the professional
development. When learners lack competence with technology before we get to the
actually setting up Threering, it can stunt their learning capabilities (Ryan & Deci,
2000). My teachers were uncomfortable using the first app of Skitch and they
became frustrated before we actually got to the task I was trying to teach. Teacher
confidence with technology is one of Ertmers defined roadblocks for teachers
integrating technology (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur,
2012). To keep this from happening, I would completely remove the other
technology interactive activities from the training. Teachers could create a self-
portrait on paper with a description of what they do. We could take a picture with
the camera on the iPad and upload it to Threering. Had I completed a task analysis
before the workshop, I might have addressed this problem and realized I was asking

TEACHING A TECHNOLOGY Threering.com

people to do something that required a prerequisite skill. To avoid problems like

this one from occurring again, I can apply my task analysis abilities.


Recently, I had a conversation with a teacher at school who had parents
requesting to see more work sent home. Her dilemma was that most of the work
was done on the iPad. It was at this point she saw the need for a digital portfolio to
which parents had access. Teachers have to see value in the technology they are
learning (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, & Sendurur, 2012). Many
teachers are not at a point in which they see a need for student work to be
showcased online or stored in a digital portfolio. If they do not see the need, it will
be difficult to hook them in learning (Reeve, 2006).

Using my knowledge of motivation and the power of communicating
rationales to learners, I would change the whole presentation of Threering. Instead
of spending the entire time teaching how to use Threering, I would begin with a
stronger rationale for digital portfolios. The teachers would leave with an
understanding of how parents could be engaged once again in student work but see
it all online. Teachers belief in a technology is another leading proponent in getting
them to use the technology (Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, Sadik, Sendurur, &
Sendurur, 2012). After creating and building a platform for the use of a digital
portfolio, I would show teachers Threering along with another platform used to
showcase student work online. People need to feel like they have autonomy in the
program they use (Jang, Deci, & Reeve, 2010). Different schools have different
setups and the resources to make one platform work better over another. Along
with Threering, I would show the teachers Seesaw. With both presentations, I
would make sure teachers had a video (similar to Threering) so teachers could
refresh their memory as they set up later or switched platforms. Each platform
would be shown with a list of pros and cons.

Conclusion

My learning over the past few years definitely leads to changes within this
project. If someone wanted me to specifically teach Threering, I would only change
a couple items about the presentation itself. On the other hand, changing the
direction of the presentation and allowing teachers the autonomy to choose a
program is a huge shift. My time in the Masters Program at OU has lead me to
realize it is not about the program I teach but about the value teachers see in the
program. Because of this mind shift, I feel I can better reach teachers and help to
foster technology integration.

TEACHING A TECHNOLOGY Threering.com

References

Ertmer, P. A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T., Sadik, O., Sendurur, E., & Sendurur, P.
(2012). Teacher Beliefs and Technology Integration Practices: A Critical
Relationship. Computers & Education , 59, 423-435.
Jang, H., Deci, E. L., & Reeve, J. (2010). Engaging Students in Learning Activities: It is
not Autonomy Support or Structure but Autonomy Support and Structure.
Journal of Education Psychology , 102 (3), 588-600.
Reeve, J. (2006). Teachers as Facilitators: What Autonomy-Supportive Teachers Do
and Why Their Students Benefit. The Elementary School Journal , 106 (3).
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of
Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American
Psychologist , 55 (1), 68-78.