Adoption of educational technology ten years after setting strategic goals: A Canadian university case

Through surveys, focus groups and interviews, this study examines technology adoption at a large Canadian university ten years after setting a strategic plan, explores the interplay between instructors' concepts of teaching and use of technology, and searches for the best solutions to help them use technology more effectively. Results showed that whilst 90% of respondents were using computers in teaching, there is still much to do in helping them to increase the effectiveness of their use of technology. While the university reward system needs to offer better recognition of the scholarship of using computers, rationales for technology adoption and successful cases demonstrating the effectiveness of technology integration are essential to encourage and improve the use of computers. Professional development needs to move beyond technical workshops to include pedagogy oriented mentorship amongst practitioners.

[1]  Karen S. Nantz,et al.  Lecturing with Technology , 1998 .

[2]  Van B. Weigel.  Deep Learning for a Digital Age: Technology's Untapped Potential to Enrich Higher Education , 2001 .

[3]  Terry Anderson,et al.  Faculty Adoption of Teaching and Learning Technologies: Contrasting Earlier Adopters and Mainstream Faculty , 2017 .

[4]  Willian Geoghegan,et al.  Whatever Happened to Instructional Technology , 1994 .

[5]  Dawn Michele Jacobsen.  Adoption patterns and characteristics of faculty who integrate computer technology for teaching and learning in higher education , 1998 .

[6]  Samuel Ebersole,et al.  Adoption of Computer-Based Instructional Methodologies: A Case Study , 2002 .

[7]  Melissa M. Groves,et al.  Instructional Technology Adoption in Higher Education: An Action Research Case Study , 2000 .

[8]  Thomas C. Reeves,et al.  Storms clouds on the digital education horizon , 2003, ASCILITE.

[9]  Carole A. Barone,et al.  Technology-enhanced teaching and learning : leading and supporting the transformation on your campus , 2001 .

[10]  D. Kember.  A reconceptualisation of the research into university academics' conceptions of teaching , 1997 .

[11]  E. Rogers.  Diffusion of Innovations , 1962 .

[12]  N. Adams.  Educational Computing Concerns of Postsecondary Faculty , 2002 .

[13]  Xornam S. Apedoe,et al.  The Interplay of Teaching Conceptions and a Course Management System Among Award-Winning University Professors , 2009 .

[14]  Kevin Oliver.  Recommendations for student tools in online course management systems , 2001, J. Comput. High. Educ..

[15]  P. Twining.  Oversold and underused: computers in the classroom , 2002 .

[16]  Norma Nocente,et al.  Enhancing Conceptual Learning Through Computer-Based Applets: The Effectiveness and Implications , 2005 .

[17]  Wilhelmina C. Savenye,et al.  Technology in the Classroom: The Teacher's New Role and Resistance to It , 1993 .

[18]  Michael J. Jacobson,et al.  A Profile of Computer Use among the University of Illinois Humanities Faculty , 1987 .

[19]  Thomas C. Reeves,et al.  Instructional and social dimensions of class web pages , 1999, J. Comput. High. Educ..

[20]  Jeanette Martin,et al.  Not Yet Comfortable in the Classroom: A Study of Academic Computing at Three Land-Grant Universities , 1993 .