adopter. In addition, the teachers’ attitudes regarding
the integration of technology in higher education
were widely varied. When the study’s context is
taken into account, the results of this study are rather
surprising: not all the teachers who developed pilot
courses utilising ICT during the network project are
active supporters of ICT in teaching.
In this study, Everett Rogers’ innovation
diffusion theory (2003) was utilised to reflect the
logic of data-driven categories in a more conceptual
way. In line with this theory, we identified a
dominant characteristic of each of the five different
roles within the social context. If the aim of
educational development in higher education is
wider diffusion of innovations concerning the
digitisation of teaching in an evolving university
community, these different roles in the integration of
learning technologies need to be identified and
exploited.
The findings of this study can be used by
teachers to assess their role in educational reform
and categorise their perceptions of ICT. However,
deeper knowledge about the various roles, including
the beliefs behind the conceptions, is needed. Also,
ways to support university teachers’ transition
between the different stages of innovation (in
Rogers’ diffusion model) should be developed. We
propose that these kinds of tools offer opportunities
to support and speed up the diffusion of modern
learning technologies in educational organisations.
A limitation of this study is that our analysis of
teachers’ conceptions is based on a rather small
amount of data (n=14). Sandberg (2000) suggests
that around 20 informants would be a sufficient
amount in order to reach the saturation in
phenomenographical studies. Additionally, the data
in this study were collected from reflective writings,
which may not have reached all the potential
respondents. Further research should thematically
interview all the teachers that participated in the
multidisciplinary project to develop digital learning
environments. This will offer an opportunity for
these teachers to identify and evaluate their
conceptions and thus obtain deeper knowledge about
them. In addition, it is important to further study
possible changes in teachers’ conceptions during the
network project and the effect of various network
activities on their attitudes regarding ICT.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors express their gratitude to the University
of Jyväskylä for supporting the development of
teaching in higher education.
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