Giving up technology and social media: why university lecturers stop using technology in teaching

Abstract

University lecturers use a wide range of technologies when teaching and there has been much research into how particular technologies are adopted. However, there are also many technologies that, despite early promise, are no longer being used in university teaching and have been abandoned by institutions or individuals.This paper presents the results of a qualitative investigation into why university lecturers stop using technology. It used detailed episodic narrative interviews to explore the experiences of lecturers using technology in their teaching at three UK universities. While the data provides examples of technologies that were discarded as they became out-dated and were replaced by new devices, this was not the only reason that technologies are rejected. The data also demonstrated that even relatively up-to-date or innovative technologies or practices (e.g. the use of Facebook) may be abandoned.The paper discusses the participants' experiences of ceasing to use technology and demonstrates the importance of context in decisions about using technology and social media in teaching.The paper argues that studies of technology adoption should be accompanied by research that re-visits the sites of these studies to consider how the implementation of technology continues over time and how it comes to an end.

Social media: Insights for medical education from instructor perceptions and usage

“…Practical barriers eclipse perceived value and restrict usage Findings presented here support previous work which has identified that practical barriers can prevent academics from maximising the advantages of SoMe in their teaching (Manca & Ranieri, 2016a, 2016bRogers-Estable, 2014;Shelton, 2016). While SoMe are considered valuable by educators, there is a shortfall between the proportion of educators who perceive value in SoMe in L&T ( Figure 3A) and those who are actually using it ( Figure 3B).…”

“…This highlights the existence of factors that can limit SoMe usage in L&T and also the importance of disseminating the value of SoMe, not only through specific academic conferences and journals and but also through more general sources and practical teaching courses. For example, in terms of time availability, peer-peer SoMe discussions have been described as more effective than those facilitated by the lecturer (Shelton, 2016), a simple practical consideration which may provide an advantage to educators by allowing them to reduce their time involvement in the SoMe-mediated learning process. Some solutions to further barriers described here (Table 2, Figure 4B, 4C) could be addressed through educator training in a workshop situation.…”

“…A key driver behind the abandonment of technologies is their replacement by newer technology (Shelton, 2016). However, if the functionality and student engagement in VLEs is sufficient from the educator perspective as described in the comments above, then they may see no need to change their usage of such technologies to include alternative SoMe-based platforms.…”

“…Such barriers may have resulted in educators not taking up this approach, (Bothma & Cant, 2011) while others may have abandoned the use of SoMe having previously, with varying degrees of success, utilised SoMe in their educational practice (Shelton, 2016). Alternatively, there may be a greater awareness or value associated with Keenan I, Slater J, Matthan J MedEdPublish https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2018.0000027.1 academic usage of SoMe with respect to networking, dissemination and even career progression (Cabrera, 2016;Donelan, 2016;Fuller & Allen, 2016;Manca & Ranieri, 2016b), which again is suggested by findings here ( Figure 3B).…”

“…It has been proposed that there is a 'digital disconnect' between the initial enthusiasm for uptake of new technologies and the eventual educational value they possess (Selwyn, 2007(Selwyn, , 2010 and so it is possible that many educators who previously used SoMe have now ceased to do so. Educators may discontinue using technologies including SoMe if such tools are not accompanied by research informing the decisions surrounding the adoption and implementation of such technology, particularly within specific contexts (Shelton, 2016) and may be influenced by the discipline being taught (Manca & Ranieri, 2016a).…”