Barriers to Adopting Technology for Teaching and Learning

Introduction

There is little disagreement among scholars that technology has opened up numerous innovative possibilities for delivering information and providing platforms for effective communication (Nwulu, E., 2018). For teachers, however, the extension of the gains of computer-mediated learning systems to enhance teaching and learning is moderated by human and non-human interactions prevalent in the educational system as currently constituted. Progressive governments and stakeholders in education continue to provide educational technology affordances such as Internet, computers, smart boards and other devices in the attempt to enhance the teaching and learning process. However, in the absence of a tested technology integration framework(s) that models how teachers’ attitudes and concerns inform technology use in their classrooms, such investments fail to maximize the intended returns. Teaching and learning does not happen in a vacuum. There are multiple opinions, and practices in the teaching and learning space. Some perceive teaching and learning as a veritable public good that empowers citizens to social mobility and accountability vital to orderly roles in society (Nwulu, E., 2018). Others argue that teaching and learning is a life-long individual responsibility necessary for survival in an ever-emerging complex existence (Nwulu, E., 2018). Behind each notion of the purpose of teaching and learning strides a guiding philosophy, a mission or vision that infuses all facets of the teaching and learning system.

The deliberate integration of technology into teaching and learning has come full circle in the 21^st century with potential to enhance and fast track the learning and teaching trajectory. Teaching and learning has a symbiotic relationship with technology in both historical and emerging contexts that continue to thrive. From teaching machines to the programed instruction model that began about the 1960’s which morphed unto mainframes in the 1970s, and PC’s in the 1980’s, technology continues to innovate ways to simplify otherwise, complex concepts in education. The introduction of the Internet became vital in the development of many other instructional models driven by two intense and opposite philosophies: Behaviorism and Cognitivist that include other models tucked safely within the continuum.