Module 5 - Keller's ARCS Model

Two years ago, our district implemented a new website that, among other things, provided each teachers with space to create a classroom webpage. These classroom pages were created to be edited in-browser in an effort to make it easy to use. The district administration, to provide a consistent appearance, required all teachers to have a minimum amount of information on their pages. In other words, using the new technology was mandatory.

I was put in charge of training the staff to add content to the classroom pages. While all teachers were able to create a page and add the minimum content, very few teachers continue to use or update their classroom pages at this point in time. Using Keller’s ARCS Model for audience analysis as presented by Driscoll (2005) would have made it possible for me to more effectively motivate and inspire my colleagues to implement the technology.

Attention – My audience’s attention level was high. The training had been scheduled and announced weeks before, and the staff new that they would be required to create a page. Having a clear objective and knowing that they would have time to create their pages before they left the training session motivated them to focus and complete the task at hand; whether they agreed with the new technology or not.

Relevance – The perceived relevance of the training was low. Most of the tech-savvy teachers already had existing classroom pages through another medium, and many of the remaining staff members saw little use for a classroom webpage. In retrospect, I should have started the training by having some of the teachers who already had classroom pages share the benefits they have seen in its implementation. This would have piqued the interest of most of the remaining staff and opened their eyes to the relevance of the presentation. I could have also suggested to those teachers with existing pages that the new website would serve as yet another point of access to the sites they had already created.

Confidence – The confidence level of my audience was varied. As stated earlier, the technological know-how of our staff covers the spectrum. However, I could have used the experience of the knowledgeable staff to aid in the instruction of the less tech-savvy staff members by effectively grouping the trainees. Having someone confident with technology working closely to some of the struggling staff members could have reduced anxiety and increased confidence.

Satisfaction Potential – This aspect was likewise variable. Again, by leaning on the tech-savvy teachers on staff, less satisfied audience members may have been more willing to implement the technology effectively.  Knowing that classroom websites were already in use in the district and that several “mentors” were available to help would have made staff members more likely to view the training and potential outcomes in a positive light.

Adam

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


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