Facilitating Adoption of Technology in Higher Education

In recent decades, higher education institutions have seen an influx of advances in technology. Advances in personal computing, classroom technologies, and the Internet have made inroads into the teaching, research, and service aspects of higher education. In the past few years, colleges and universities have invested heavily in infrastructure to support the adoption and use of technology (Green, 1999). Despite the investments on technology and technology support in higher education, many argue that technology is not being effectively integrated into teaching and learning (Geoghegan, 1994; Green, 1999). According to a report on technology use on U.S. college campuses, one of the most important issues facing higher education is assisting faculty with "integrating information technology into instruction" (Green, 2007). Computing technology may have increased efficiencies, but examples of instructional technologies that have truly "penetrated the curriculum," that aid in "illustration and explanation," or as tools for "analysis and synthesis" of information, are few and far between (Geoghegan, 1994). Oftentimes, information and educational technology professionals are called on to facilitate faculty use of technology. Technology professionals undoubtedly must work to address the many barriers that stand in the way of effective use by faculty of technology for teaching. This article will outline the most commonly cited barriers to technology use by faculty in higher education, present Rogers' diffusion of innovations model as a framework for understanding technology adoption, and provide vide some practical tips for encouraging use of technology by faculty. While this article focuses on educational technology in general, the barriers, diffusion model, and tips discussed in this article are relevant to any application of educational technology, including distance education.