Introduction and objectives

Change with digital technologies in education (#OERuCDTE)
Theories of change: Personal context	Introduction and objectives  |  The innovation  |  Concerns-based models  |  Technology acceptance models
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Original prototype of the $35 Aakash Tablet

Personal context in the arena of change

“	Computers aren't magic. Teachers are magic. They can get results with or without the tool.	”
—Craig Barrett

One laptop per child (OLPC) initiative

The development of new communication technologies is of particular interest in education given the potential for changing the way we teach and learn.

Think about the historical impact of the printed book, radio, television, personal computers, the Internet and mobile devices on education. Some technologies have changed the way we teach and learn, whereas others have had very little impact notwithstanding the associated predications of change and radical improvement.

Simple technology devices can have a major impact in unexpected ways. The overhead projector was a significant invention because the teachers could face the learners making eye contact rather than working with their backs facing the class when writing on the chalkboard. In contrast, in the 1920's radio was predicted to change education in material ways. The November 1924 issue of Science and Invention suggested that with radio "home work will now be a great joy to the kiddies and lesson will be learned with much greater facility". In Australia, however, the School of the Air was instrumental in using radio to deliver education to the outback.

This raises the question:

Why do some technologies change the way we teach and learn, while others don't?

In this unit we shift our focus to the personal context within the arena of change which includes the innovation and the people directly involved, namely the educator and the students. We will investigate theories and models which aim to explain how technology is adopted in the classroom. To do this we need to consider the characteristics of the innovation itself and how people interact with new technologies. In this unit we will provide stimulus resources covering the major models and theories related to the personal context (see below) and you are encouraged to widen your search to include research literature relevant to your own research topic.

Objectives

In this unit you will: Study Rogers' attributes of the innovation, Review the concerns-based models of technology adoption, and Review the technology acceptance models.

Resources

Theory	Stimulus open access resources
Rogers innovation diffusion theory	Wikipedia article on diffusion of innovations Robinson, L. (2009). A summary of Diffusion of Innovations published by Enabling Change. Sahin, I. (2006). Detailed review of Rogers' diffusion of innovations theory and educational technology-related studies based on Rogers' theory. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 5(2): 14-23. More in the Innovation tab above
Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM)	CBAM video resources published by the American Institutes of Research in the USA Overview of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model published by the National Academies in the USA. Evans, L. and Chauvin, S. (1993). Faculty Developers as Change Facilitators: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model. To Improve the Academy. Paper 278. (Hosted by The DigitalCommons, University of Nebraska - Lincoln) More in the Concerns based tab above
Learning Adoption Trajectory (LAT)	Sherry, L., & Gibson, D. (2002). The path to teacher leadership in educational technology. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education
Technology Acceptance Models	Wikipedia article on the technology acceptance model Ronnie H., Shroff, R.H., Deneen, C.C. & Ng, E.M.W. (2011). Analysis of the technology acceptance model in examining students’ behavioural intention to use an e-portfolio system, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 27(4), 600-618. More in the Technology acceptance models tab above, but note that Venkatesh has not continued to work with TAM or later models so be extra critical!