Categories for barriers to adoption of instructional technologies

Although higher education has spent millions of dollars on instructional technologies, often higher education administration complains that instructors are not adopting them. Without a full understanding of possible barriers, higher education institutes are hard-pressed to develop either appropriate goals or sound strategies for the adoption of instructional technology. A review of the literature on barriers to instructor adoption found conflicting results, in which some issues present more of a barrier than others. These range from a lack of definition of successful adoption (how many adopting instructors are enough?) to inadequate or inappropriate professional development (meeting differing instructors’ needs) to resistance (based on self-efficacy, beliefs in pedagogy, etc.). Five categories are described based on literature researched: technology, process, administration, environment, and faculty. Within each of these categories is a description, based on the literature, of each barrier. A fish-bone diagram displaying the categories and barriers within them is presented. This review of the literature provides a framework for further research in methods for minimizing the impact of each barrier. The framework of categories of barriers presented here provides institutions with a starting point to approach adoption of instructional technology with a plan to mitigate and minimize as many barriers as possible, giving adoption a better chance of success.