"Testing Roger's Diffusion of Innovation Concepts"

What similar research has been done on students as the adopters?

Abstract: "Our exploratory study investigated Roger’s diffusion of innovation framework (Rogers 2003) that in an academic setting. We hypothesized that the adoption of software and hardware will be influenced by the faculty member’s perceptions of its (1) relative advantage, (2) compatibility with current teaching methods and technologies, (3) complexities, (4) trialability, (5) observability, and (6) variables reflecting the nature of the social system including reward structures, technical support, and demographic categorical data. We surveyed faculty (n = 306) in liberal arts and sciences departments using a mail survey using the total design method and obtained a 56% response rate. Perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, observability, and years teaching at the university produced an R2 of .202 for the adoption of hardware. Perceived relative advantage, perceived compatibility, observability, rewards, years teaching at the university, and percentage of time devoted to research produced an R2 of .30."

Zimmerman, D. and Yohon, T. , 2008-05-22 "Testing Roger's Diffusion of Innovation Concepts: Faculty Adoption of Information Technology for Teaching" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, TBA, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Online <PDF>. 2008-12-10 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p231093_index.html

Diffusion of Innovations & Online Courses

Diffusion of innovations was one of the key topics that I studied while I was working on my Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico. Diffusion of innovations is the study of how new ideas/technologies spread throughout a group of people. Everett Rogers, the man who literally wrote the book on the topic, was my UNM advisor, my mentor. (I wrote about his role in intercultural communication study -- see this article.)

Right now my particular DOI research interest is in the diffusion of online courses. I've taught online courses in the past, but teaching a course this semester has rekindled that interest. I've also been talking about this topic with Dr. Mamie Johnson, a friend and colleague at NSU.

Some specific RQs of interest:

• What leads a student to adopt (enroll in) an online course?
• What factors leads a student to continue taking online courses?