Adoption of Technology Enhanced Learning in Higher Education: Influences of Institutional Policies and Practices

This work reports the findings of a study of the influences of organizational structures, cultures, pedagogies, and reward systems in a traditional university for their influences on faculty adoption of technology enhanced learning into teaching practice. The study was undertaken in a research-oriented Canadian university. Eight case studies of faculty experiences in a five-year (2000-2005), government-funded, technology enhanced learning (TEL) initiative are reported. Participants' perspectives of the influences of university policies and practices on the success of TEL initiatives are examined. The roles of instructional designers and media developers in supporting faculty in TEL development projects are explored. Project management models are discussed. Theoretical implications for organizational change in research-oriented universities to support faculty adoption of TEL are posited.