Adopt or adapt?

The rhetoric and reality of the diffusion of innovation in changing, technology-enhanced learning environments

Abstract

This article reports on a study undertaken at a regional Australian university during a period of major organisational change that included the implementation of a number of core educational technology systems. The research sought to understand how to improve the implementation and uptake of new technology within a changing institutional learning environment. The findings challenge the existing model of the Diffusion of innovation and the early-to-late adopter paradigm of technology by exploring aspects of individual adaptability and response to change. It is proposed that the model of the adoption of innovation move on from a focus on ‘adopt’, to a focus on ‘adapt’. The adoption and uptake of innovation and technology at an institutional level is related to the adaptability of individuals to change in general while the institution itself can play a significant role in increasing individuals’ adaptability. The metaphor of the Osmosis of innovation is introduced to reconceptualise how agents of change can approach innovation and more specifically the introduction of educational technology.