Higher Education and Learning Technologies an Organisational Perspective

The uptake and diffusion of the use of learning technologies in UK Higher Education is an instance of the adoption of change. There has been considerable research into the ways in which the uptake and diffusion of innovation can bring about change processes. This work has identified the importance of barriers and drivers to change as a part of the process. Areas of study have included general instances, those specific to technology and those relevant to the use of learning technology in higher education. It has also been shown that a Higher Education institution’s organisational structure may itself inhibit or constrain the way in which the institution can respond to external changes and adopt new practices. This study reviews the development and growth in the use of learning technologies. It sets these activities in the context of changes in computing in education and psychology from a UK and a US perspective. The study analyses an extensive survey of the use of learning technology at the University of Southampton, suggesting that institutional approaches are associated with organisational models and may amplify or dampen the known barriers and drivers for change. A study of experiences across a range of UK Higher Education Institutions provides further evidence for this argument