Module 5 ARCS and Technology

Basic technology skills change all the time. Recently e-readers or tablet readers came on the market. While not everyone has jumped into the market, recent sales figures indicate early adoption of the devices is quite successful. Sales in 2010 reached over five million units. This figure is Kindle specific. There are many other manufacturers in the reader market. So, the skills to operate these devices are or soon will be part of the minimum technology skills already mentioned.


I purchased an e-reader for school. Several colleagues asked for a demonstration, and upon seeing me use the reader decided to venture into the market. This eventually came back to haunt me! These colleagues had what can only be described as a miserable experience. The reader needed configuration, software downloads, installation of different programs, and needless to say these devices are not out of the box ready to use. Now these are technology teachers, and are quite bright. I would not think these people would need assistance. I queried: Did you read the instructions? No, it did not come with any, was the reply! I will digress here and merely state there is a learning curve, these colleagues are not gadget oriented, but possess texting skills and computer skills. These colleagues became discouraged. I took it upon myself to provide training and assistance.

I will outline this situation in brief. These colleagues possess advanced computer skills, possess what I would consider strong self-efficacy, and are early adopters who purchased these devices last year when this particular device was introduced into the market. Initially these colleagues were quite excited, but as time wore on became disenchanted. I demonstrated how to configure the device to receive Wi-Fi signals. I explained the user manual was online and needed to be downloaded. Finally I demonstrated the features of the device, i.e. VOD, movies, books, and email features of the reader. Over time the colleagues enjoyed the device, but now I wonder how could I have approached this same scenario utilizing Keller’s ARCS model?

Keller’s ARCS model (Driscoll, 2005) starts with attention, and I had a captive audience. Attention was a non-issue. Next I need to focus on relevance so retention of knowledge or skills would take place. This should utilize cognitive function and try to make the knowledge personal. Obviously the colleagues were interested for their own personal reasons. This was another area where I really did not have to work hard. How to gain confidence is the issue with this device. The colleagues for lack of a better term, failed in their attempts to learn how to use the device. So, I would model the methods of how to set up the Wi-Fi, and the various other tasks the reader could do. I believe I covered this quite well. Lastly, satisfaction potential was initiated through personal interface with the reader. The device had many future uses the colleagues saw potential in such as e-mail and editing Microsoft Office documents.

While this might not be a prime example of how to handle the situation, ARCS would have worked, and I have no doubt my self-efficacy level will rise the more I utilize ARCS.

Reference

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.