Implementation strategies for educational intranet resources

Abstract

Recent events in UK Higher Education have caused university schools to look toward alternative means of enhancing and monitoring the quality of the service they provide. One approach utilises networked learning and teaching resources, in particular intranets. Two Schools at the University of Brighton commenced independent implementation of intranets at similar times. The subjects of the case studies are the School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences Intranet (SPI) and the Business School Intranet (BSI). This paper describes the two alternative strategies for intranet implementation, demonstrates the differing degrees of staff and student utilisation of these learning and teaching assets, identifies barriers to success within each and proposes solutions to address them. The paper proposes a unified strategy for effective intranet implementation and suggests measures to manage organisational resistance to change.

Relative ranking of conditions that facilitate innovation implementation in the USA

“…Where it appears both groups value this condition when implementing a technology innovation, those in K-12 settings consider the condition more important than do those in higher education and business settings. These findings support earlier research on implementation of technologies in K-12 settings (e.g., Bauder, 1993;Dalton, 1989;Ebersole & Vorndam, 2003;Herson, et al, 2000;Ravitz, 1999). Individual group comparisons for the condition participation indicated a significant difference between the K-12 group and the business group (p < .05).…”

“…This may explain the difference between the scores and importance that the K-12 and higher education placed on resources. This result supports previous research on technology innovations in academic settings that indicated resources were a critical component to implementation (e.g., Bauder 1993;Dalton, 1989;Ebersole & Vorndam 2003;Herson, et al, 2000;Ravitz, 1999;Rogers, 2000).…”

“…Others have citied concepts similar to dissatisfaction with the status quo (e.g. Herson et al, 2000;Pajo & Wallace, 2001;Vrakking, 1995).…”

“…Other researchers have linked knowledge and skills or training to successful implementation (e.g. Benson & Palaskas, 2006;Dalton, 1989;Dhanarajan, 2001;Ebersole & Vorndam, 2003;Herson et al, 2000;Okumus, 2001;Pajo & Wallace, 2001).…”

“…The RIPPLES model includes participation as part of the "people" component through its suggestion that faculty be a part of the decision making processes when it comes to technology implementation (Surry, Ensminger & Haab, 2005). Others stress participation by intended users or employees during innovation or change design as well (Dirks et al, 1996;Herson et al, 2000;Meyers et al, 1999;Sims & Sims, 2002;Smith & Mourier, 1999).…”