Drivers and Barriers to the Uptake of Learning Technologies: Staff Experiences in a Research-Led University

Abstract

This chapter discusses key findings from three focus group discussions held with practitioners in a higher education institution about their experiences of using learning technologies to support student learning. Focus groups were organised in March 2004 to further explore staff responses to a 2003 campus-wide survey, which gave a general overview of learning technology use among teaching staff. The chapter will examine the key issues that staff raised during the focus group discussions, including the barriers to and implications of introducing and implementing learning technologies into different subject disciplines within a research-led institution. The question of whether or not the use of learning technologies enhances, or has the potential to enhance, the teaching and learning experience is also discussed, as well as the lessons that staff have learnt from this use.