Predicting Virtual Learning Environment Adoption: A Case Study

This study investigates the significance of Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory with regard to the use of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) at the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB). The focus is on different adoption types and characteristics of users. Rogers’ DOI theory is applied to investigate the influence of five predictors (relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, trialability and observability) and their significance in the perception of academic staff at the RUB in relation to the probability of VLE adoption. These predictors are attributes of the VLE that determine the rate of adoption by various adopter group memberships (Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, Laggards). Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were deployed to analyse adopter group memberships and predictor significance in VLE adoption and use. The results revealed varying attitudes towards VLE adoption by academic staff at RUB. Few predictors were consistent with previous research on VLE adoption. There were also significant differences from previous research on predictors such as the deviation in adopter frequency from that predicted by Rogers DOI theory. Therefore, it can be concluded that it is misleading to rely on the DOI theory in the way it is currently operationalised for predicting VLE use. INTRODUCTION The diffusion and adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have created an opportunity for universities to complement traditional face-to-face classroom teaching. Moreover, adoption and effective utilisation of ICT in education have become an acknowledged issue of strategic importance in educational institutions around the world (Jebeile &Reeve, 2003).The diffusion of innovations is happening across the globe, and has resulted in adoption or rejection, depending upon the users’ perception of the innovations. The adoption of innovations in higher education can be explained through Rogers' theory of the Diffusion of Innovations (sometimes DOI) (Rogers, 2003). Rogers’s theory is widely used as a framework for technology adoption and is composed by a number of factors that influence the motivation of users to facilitate the rate of adoption (Sahin, 2006). For instance, VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments), which are the focus of this paper is a technology which practitioners need to advertise, internally promote and disseminate, and Rogers’ DOI theory can be very helpful in this regard. Rogers (2003) states that the rate of adoption by various adopters (teaching faculty) depends on the factors or characteristics of a given innovation, which in our case is VLEs. Jebeile & Reeve (2008) outlined that after the evaluation of those factors/characteristics, it enables education administrators to plan and design educational technology and infrastructures. This adds strategic importance to the evaluation by practitioners of various types of faculty, to determine their readiness, adoption powers and DOI factors in order to provide institutional management with knowledge and adequate monitoring instruments, supporting improved planning. This can be highly useful for targeting training, addressing characteristics of ICT tools, etc. Previous research (e.g. Al-Ali, 2007; Keesee & Shepard, 2011;Kilmon & Fagan, 2007; Zayim et al., 2006; Naveh, Tubin & Pliskin, 2006) has studied VLE adoption from a DOI perspective, but still as isolated case studies. Graham, Woodfield& Harrison (2013) use DOI for VLEs, but concentrate not on the predictors, but on the process. By providing comparative results of Keesee & Shepard’s instrument for educational technology, the present study strengthens the area of knowledge of Diffusion and Innovation in this specific context. Generally, research has placed quite low value on replication compared to reporting novel findings. However, this need to be moderated with the recent results of Open Science Collaboration (2015), showing that less than 40% of established findings in psychology can be replicated. This study addresses this need in the context of Diffusion of Innovations, and in particular within Virtual Learning Environments. However, it is not a study that merely verifies earlier literature; rather, it demonstrates that for VLE, DOI theory may still be precarious. Furthermore, none of the aforementioned case studies were carried out in a developing country. This study contributes to this research area by analysing an interesting case, Royal University of Bhutan. It is the only major university of the country, and its activities are widely dispersed. TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology – January 2016, volume 15 issue 1