Developing Beginning Technological Knowledge
A few of the pre-service teachers in this study, however, had an idea of how technology
connects to student learning. Question 2 on the Likert scale survey asked, “Did the Timeliner
software help you to stay more engaged in learning the social studies content?” The question
was designed to measure the participants’ engagement of the content through the utilization of
the Timeliner software. Of the 23 participants, all responded positively to this question. Almost
70% or 16 participants selected “to a great extent” and 7 participants or 30% selected
“somewhat.” The participants’ responses to Question 3 on the Likert survey were equally
positive. Question 3 asked, “Did you learn more about events surrounding the Civil War
because of Timeliner?” More than 82%, or 19 of the 23 participants selected, “Yes, to a great
extent” whereas 16% or 4 participants selected, “Yes, to some extent.” When asked, the
participants had a difficult time explaining why Timeliner helped them learn more about the
United States Civil War or how Timeliner kept them engaged in the social studies content.
When participants were asked to comment on either question during the large group interview or
on the comment section of the Likert scale survey, one participant responded by saying, “The
technology was cool!” Another participant explained, “Timeliner provided the freedom to search
what I wanted, but enough focus that I could stay on task without getting bored.” The responses
revealed how pre-service teachers valued educational technology, but were unclear or could not
verbalize how the educational technology engages the learner. The responses were nebulous and
centered on the “coolness factor” or how educational technology provided freedom from
boredom.