Strategies for ChangeEncouraging the Use, Support and Adoption

of Digital Resources and Repositories

Susie Henderson, Florida Distance Learning ConsortiumMiko Pattie, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education

Marie Lasseter, University System of Georgia

August 11, 2009Vancouver, British Columbia

Topics

• Adoption of digital resources & repositories• Barriers related to using and sharing digital

content/repositories– Faculty– Organizational Support

• Discussion – panel and audience– Strategies for overcoming the barriers

Panel and Audience Discussion

What successful or non-successful strategies have you used to –

• Encourage faculty use and adoption of OER/repositories?

• Gain organizational/institutional support?

What We Know About Change

• It’s DIFFICULT!• Time consuming• Most of us resist it• The only thing constant is CHANGE• Technology adoption requires behavioral

changes

Rogers Diffusion Theory

Spectrum of Users of Digital Resources

Non-User to Inexperienced-Novice To Highly Proficient and Advanced

Opening Up Education Edited by Toru Liyoshi and M.S. Vijay Kumar (CC)ISBN 978-0-262-03371-8

Include unique materials or teaching methods

What’s important in Adoption Decisions?

• Age?• Individual opinions?• Attitudes?• Type of Institution?• Discipline?• Answer – All have effect• Individual opinions and attitudes may be most

important factors*

– Harley, D. Why understanding the use and users of open education matters. In T. Liyoshi & V. Kumar (Eds.), Opening up education (pp.197-211). Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262033712chap13.pdf

Four Universal Barriers to Faculty Adoption of Technology

• Lack of:– Institutional support– Financial support– Time– Knowledge

• Affective Factors have long been known to influence learning, and this is true for ALL learners, faculty included. – Rethinking, Restructuring and Reforming Faculty Technology Development

Why Faculty Say They Do NOT Use Digital Resources.

• Do NOT support personal teaching approaches/pedagogies

• Lack of time• Difficult to use – find, manage, maintain, and

reuse them in new contexts• Technology may be a distraction to students– Undermine/compete with crucial skills of

argumentative writing, critical reading of long texts, and oral argument

– Harley, D. Why understanding the use and users of open education matters. In T. Liyoshi & V. Kumar (Eds.), Opening up education (pp.197-211). Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262033712chap13.pdf

Why Faculty Say They Do NOT Use Digital Resources.

• Availability, reliability and expense of equipment

• Lack of support for a variety of tasks• Challenges to integrate digital resources into

teaching• Many prefer to maintain and manage

personal collections• Efficacy and interoperability of tools

– Harley, D. Why understanding the use and users of open education matters. In T. Liyoshi & V. Kumar (Eds.), Opening up education (pp.197-211). Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262033712chap13.pdf

Organizational/Institutional Support

• Top Down or Ground Up? Both!• Must have institutional/organizational support

and buy-in for project• Faculty use and support of repository is key

factor for administrative support and funding• Faculty are target audience and key stakeholders,

but not the only ones• Demonstrating need, use and benefits of

repository is critical

Who are our stakeholders?

Panel and Audience Discussion

What successful or non-successful strategies have you used to –

• Encourage faculty use and adoption of OER resources and repositories?

• Gain organizational and institutional support?

Contact Information

• Susie Henderson, Florida Distance Learning Consortium, shenderson@distancelearn.org

• Miko Pattie, Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, miko.pattie@ky.gov

• Marie Lasseter, University System of Georgia, Marie.Lasseter@usg.edu