UNIVERSITY TEACHERS PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE ADOPTION AND USE OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THEIR INSTRUCTION: A RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE

This paper examines the perceptions of university teachers towards the adoption and use of educational technology in their instruction. The rationale behind this adoption is that these educational innovations will improve students' motivation, will enhance their comprehension, and also will foster collaboration between peers in a classroom. The infusion of educational technology on college and university campuses for faculty use does not always result in its successful integration into either instruction, nor does it mean that the quality of education has improved. To address these issues, universities infusing technology in instruction must change their focus and rather than asking whether or not technology should be used for instruction, the focus should be on how to successfully adopt and diffuse technology for instruction to increase or improve their ability to educate using technology. The framework proposed in this paper combines the empirical data from research with the theoretical factors from the literature to create a structured process that identifies the issues to technology adoption in instruction. We use the basic principles of adoption and diffusion theory as a means to understand and explain how university teachers react when an innovation is introduced into their work environment. An empirical survey in a random selected sample of 72 university teachers who teach in several Greek Higher Education Institutions was conducted. A research questionnaire, applying a suggested modification of Technology Acceptance Model was instrumented. Also, descriptive mixed methods approach was used to develop a multivariate conceptual framework to understand the relationship between the issues and the barriers to adopting these educational technologies. Findings suggest that there is a relationship between the Higher Education Institutions maturity level of technology adoption and the level of acceptance from the teachers' point of view. This research might represent a solid background for further research into the development of a systematic process or approach for managing the adoption of technology in instruction at an institute of higher education. We conclude by considering various ways of reducing the effect of the identified barriers to support implementation of educational technologies in the university.