The Technology Acceptance Model and the Concerns Based Adoption Model show that critically thinking about and questioning new technology use is something that we as educators should embrace
“Teacher, what is Class Notebook? How do I use it?” one of my late admission students had asked as I went over course expectations with him one-on-one. The conversation had taken place well into the second week of my low-intermediate English for Academic Purposes course.
I paused briefly to think about my answer. “To tell you the truth, I’m not a fan of it. We probably won’t be using it as much.”
With that statement I had made my decision. I was not going to use Class Notebook even though the Microsoft application had become a recommended tool for our online classes. Although I did spend time familiarizing myself with the app, there were reasons why I had opted not to use it in my class.
#1. I didn’t find it all that useful.
Davis (1989), who is credited for proposing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), explains that when it comes to perceived usefulness, “people tend to use or not use an application to the extent they believe it will help them perform their job better” (p. 320).
After nearly two weeks into teaching, I found that incorporating Class Notebook into my daily instruction became more of an afterthought. In fact, I found that I was creating more work because I was adding content into the notebook that was already accessible via the digital documents distributed to the class. The whole process was proving redundant and, therefore, did not help me teach better.
#2. Setting it up took a lot of time.
Seeing as it was my first time teaching the course, I had to become familiar with not only the content but also the app set-up for class use. I consulted other teachers who were using Class Notebook, but they had taught the course before, so their content had already been embedded in the pages. I, on the other hand, would have to undergo a lot of trial (and error, no doubt) to create the notebook, which would house content that was already available in a useable format.To me, it didn’t seem like the app would be easy and simple to use right away. Davis (1989) calls this “perceived ease of use” (p. 320) and that although a piece of technology proves useful, it may still be difficult to operate. As a first-time user of this app and as someone who would have to lead a whole class through its functions, I had to carefully consider whether “the performance benefits of usage are outweighed by the effort of using the application” (Davis, 1989, p. 320).
The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (American Institutes for Research, 2010) has seven stages of concern which assess the perceptions and challenges of those who are making the changes in their workflow. In this case, it is the educator who must implement this technology and who must modify their instruction method. Thus, the issue of “perceived ease of use” (Davis, 1989) relates to the third stage of concern in this particular model in which the user questions how much time would be involved in preparing to teach with the novel method.
Clearly, these variables influenced my decision not to use Class Notebook at the time. I considered it to be a sound decision because even without the new technology, I felt I was able to deliver an interactive and collaborative learning experience by using existing tools with which students were already familiar.
Instead of duplicating content on to Class Notebook, I used an editable Word document that already had the lessons and worksheets. The students had their own copy for homework, but the class copy was shared with everyone. During class, students who wanted to share their answers could directly type on the class copy for everyone to see. I found that this system worked well because it kept things consistent and simple. Firstly, the students were familiar with the format, and secondly, they didn’t have to worry about accessing another tool. I thought this was an important consideration as my students had lower language proficiencies, and I did not want to add another layer of complication.
Although it is unclear why Class Notebook became the tool of choice in my environment, I am using it now for another course and do see its benefits. However, the difference this time is that I had become familiar with the app because of my brief foray into it from the previous course.
With that statement I had made my decision. I was not going to use Class Notebook even though the Microsoft application had become a recommended tool for our online classes. Although I did spend time familiarizing myself with the app, there were reasons why I had opted not to use it in my class.
#1. I didn’t find it all that useful.
Davis (1989), who is credited for proposing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), explains that when it comes to perceived usefulness, “people tend to use or not use an application to the extent they believe it will help them perform their job better” (p. 320).
After nearly two weeks into teaching, I found that incorporating Class Notebook into my daily instruction became more of an afterthought. In fact, I found that I was creating more work because I was adding content into the notebook that was already accessible via the digital documents distributed to the class. The whole process was proving redundant and, therefore, did not help me teach better.
#2. Setting it up took a lot of time.
Seeing as it was my first time teaching the course, I had to become familiar with not only the content but also the app set-up for class use. I consulted other teachers who were using Class Notebook, but they had taught the course before, so their content had already been embedded in the pages. I, on the other hand, would have to undergo a lot of trial (and error, no doubt) to create the notebook, which would house content that was already available in a useable format.To me, it didn’t seem like the app would be easy and simple to use right away. Davis (1989) calls this “perceived ease of use” (p. 320) and that although a piece of technology proves useful, it may still be difficult to operate. As a first-time user of this app and as someone who would have to lead a whole class through its functions, I had to carefully consider whether “the performance benefits of usage are outweighed by the effort of using the application” (Davis, 1989, p. 320).
The Concerns-Based Adoption Model (American Institutes for Research, 2010) has seven stages of concern which assess the perceptions and challenges of those who are making the changes in their workflow. In this case, it is the educator who must implement this technology and who must modify their instruction method. Thus, the issue of “perceived ease of use” (Davis, 1989) relates to the third stage of concern in this particular model in which the user questions how much time would be involved in preparing to teach with the novel method.
Clearly, these variables influenced my decision not to use Class Notebook at the time. I considered it to be a sound decision because even without the new technology, I felt I was able to deliver an interactive and collaborative learning experience by using existing tools with which students were already familiar.
Instead of duplicating content on to Class Notebook, I used an editable Word document that already had the lessons and worksheets. The students had their own copy for homework, but the class copy was shared with everyone. During class, students who wanted to share their answers could directly type on the class copy for everyone to see. I found that this system worked well because it kept things consistent and simple. Firstly, the students were familiar with the format, and secondly, they didn’t have to worry about accessing another tool. I thought this was an important consideration as my students had lower language proficiencies, and I did not want to add another layer of complication.
Although it is unclear why Class Notebook became the tool of choice in my environment, I am using it now for another course and do see its benefits. However, the difference this time is that I had become familiar with the app because of my brief foray into it from the previous course.
