Variable 5 Perceptions regarding Technological

Neither of the university staff members, Mark or John, was perturbed by the technological complexity associated with IWBs. Both accepted the speed with which technology advances, as well as the need to keep learning; John in particular had enjoyed learning new technologies in the past. Primary school teacher, Diane, was also not concerned with the technological complexity of IWBs because she had developed an appreciation for them early on in her teaching career and was proactive in learning all she could about them.

Pre-service teachers had varying perceptions of the technological complexity of IWBs. Annie had overcome perceptions of IWB technological complexity by being proactive in seeking and undertaking professional learning in their use. Katie indicated that her perception of the complex nature of IWBs stemmed from her lack of professional learning and inexperience with IWBs and thought that there were probably many teachers in the same situation. Alice echoed this concern after discussions with one of her very experienced professional experience teacher colleagues explained that her avoidance of using the IWB in her classroom was due to it being too technically difficult due to a lack of education in its use. Marge had experienced and observed frustration with using an IWB due to a lack of professional learning and the consequent inability to trouble-shoot problems, noting that in this situation people tend to think, “Nope, too hard, I don’t want to do it” (2:84). Similarly, Jill thought that rather than struggling to learn how to use an IWB she would be more inclined to use technologies she was familiar with, such as Apple TV and iPads.

5.5.6 Variable 6 - Facilitating Conditions for using IWBs

Diane, the primary school teacher interviewee, had received ongoing encouragement from her school to use the IWB in her classroom. An IWB was installed in all teachers’ classrooms and the principal actively encouraged staff to share or show

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________________________________________________________________________ 157 examples of how they were using them, as well as new ways of using it that they had discovered. Professional learning had been provided when the IWBs were installed and ongoing IT support was available. Although Diane had not had access to peripheral items at the time of her interview, she had discussed plans with the IT support staff to link her iPad to her IWB.

Neither Mark nor John had received professional learning in the use of an IWB during their time teaching at UTAS. Mark did not think that the UTAS actively encouraged him to use an IWB in his teaching and he had not seen any other staff members using one. John was unsure whether the university actively encouraged his IWB use, but noted that he had not had the opportunity to use one because although there was an IWB on campus, it was not located where he taught. Hence, he felt it was inequitable as some staff had access to an IWB whilst others did not. He was not aware of any peripheral items available to him for use on an IWB, though appreciated the potential of additional devices. Mark noted that a workshop had been planned on the use of IWBs, but it did not work out as planned. Instead, some professional learning had been offered but the time it was available limited the number of staff able to attend. He had also experienced technological difficulties when he had attempted to use an IWB at UTAS, but felt that IT support was readily available provided enough advance notice was given. Mark also felt that it would be difficult to formalise which courses would include the teaching of IWB skills and that it would be necessary to consider equity for distance students who may not have access.

Education in the use of IWBs was not a compulsory part of the teacher education course at UTAS; only one pre-service teacher had received IWB education and this was attained whilst on professional experience. All 18 pre-service interviewees had seen an IWB in an educational setting. Twelve of the 18 pre-service interviewees had observed an IWB being used either during their teacher education course or whilst on professional experience. Only two pre-service teachers had used an IWB at UTAS during their teacher education course, with this use limited to interacting with a PowerPoint presentation, and only four had used an IWB whilst on professional experience. Three pre-service teachers, Robyn, Susan and Emily, had seen a peripheral item used in conjunction with an IWB, these being a microscope, a hovercam and an iPad respectively. Harry felt that the variety of different types of

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________________________________________________________________________ 158 software programs used on the IWBs he saw during his professional experiences was problematic.

All 18 pre-service teachers had observed issues with IWB use. The inability and lack of available assistance to trouble-shoot basic technical issues such as calibrating the IWB and pen, or being unable to connect the computer, IWB and projector, were very common problems. Poor skills and/or ineffectual or no use by colleague teachers during professional experience due to lack of ability was another very common issue. Slow internet speeds, blocked websites, and little or no support in fixing problems like a blown data projector light bulb, cabling issues, or adjusting the data projector focus were also reported. Emily noted that smaller schools have little access to IT support so “if you need help with your whiteboard then you may have to pack it away for a month as the support person only comes up once a fortnight” (3:144-146).