Factors impacting on the adoption and use of web-supported teaching by academic staff

Abstract

In 2002-03 the University of Adelaide funded a study into factors impacting on the adoption and use of web-supported teaching in this research intensive University. The University was committed to continuing face-to-face teaching, aided by websupported teaching. The study included the beliefs and values about web-supported teaching and learning among three groups of University of Adelaide teaching staff: • those who had never used web-supported teaching • those who had adopted the University centrally supported Learning Management System (MyUni) • those who had adopted other web-based learning systems or platforms The reflections of these groups on what would be required to develop their use of MyUni and, for users of other systems, to migrate their courses to MyUni, were encompassed. For those who had used web-supported teaching their observations in relation to the impact of web-supported teaching on their students and on their own teaching were canvassed. Interviews and a survey were conducted. The findings were that more staff valued computers in higher education than were using them, and more staff valued web-based learning in higher education than were adopting it. The principal reasons given were time and workload and staff conceptions of University teaching.