Confess ions o f a Technologist

40 F aculty development professionals have much in common with guerilla warriors — not the bad guys who wreak havoc, but the “irregular” forces for change (see the sidebar “Definitions”). Faculty development professionals should consider adopting at least some guerilla tactics and strategies to facilitate change in higher education. They can use these tactics to promote the integration of technology in the teaching and learning process. With more than eleven years’ experience in university teaching, five years of instructional technology consulting, and six years in faculty development, predominantly in technology integration, I’ve seen what does and doesn’t work in diffusing innovations. My observations come from community colleges, private liberal arts institutions, and major research universities. All share common challenges in integrating technology to improve teaching and learning. Unfortunately, many impediments hinder effective use of technologybased teaching tools. They remain mired under generations of tradition, a situation exacerbated by a lack of information and understanding among faculty. Faculty development professionals, charged with promoting the use of a variety of instructional technologies, might not notice the resemblance between their task and that of some rather unlikely “colleagues.” In this article, I’ll describe the characteristics of guerilla warriors and explain their tactics. Then I’ll discuss how these tactics can be successfully adopted by faculty development specialists intending to effect change among faculty members teaching in the higher education environment.