How to avoid ‘Christmas Tree’ innovations: introducing and sustaining the use of learning platforms in schools

This paper reports the results of a study investigating teacher stakeholder views of the range of leadership factors that influenced their use during the first two years of a new Virtual Learning Environment (Firefly) in a comprehensive school in London. The research was broadened to include ten schools in total. Implications are identified as well as suggestions for further research. According to much of the research reviewed, maximising the benefits of a VLE is dependent on how teachers perceive innovations in general. However, some evidence was found that leaders do have an impact on the take-up of technology in schools. The determination of the overall school leader to bring transformation and modernity to the school was found to have an effect on the uptake of initiatives that are expensive and risky in the sense that they rely on new skills and knowledge that do not at first seem relevant to some teachers. The process also involves risk because of the pace of technological change. This research aims to bring together the two factors: teacher perception and leadership of change. The aim is to help school leaders ensure successful take-up and sustaining of use so that innovations, that they introduce, are not short-lived. Key questions within the evaluation survey draw on theories of leadership and on findings from the literature review about technology acceptance. The research is summarised in a visual representation of how leaders can leverage their influence, both with the initial introduction and the sustaining of the technology, to avoid the ‘Christmas Tree’ innovation effect: in other words, a purely ornamental technology that quickly goes out of date or fails to serve its primary purpose of improving learning (Bryk, 1992, p. 7)