International Journal of Education and Development using ICT

International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 15, No. 1 (2019)

Technology innovation diffusion at the University of Botswana: A comparative literature survey

Seitebaleng Susan Dintoe

Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify factors that influence adoption and diffusion of information and communication technology in developing countries through a thorough review of past and current literature, focusing on the case of University of Botswana. Despite the value in adoption and diffusion of technology innovation in the developing world, universities are faced with problems, and studies show that generally, use of accessible and available technology implementation is not successful. The Rogers (2003) concepts social systems, compatibility of technology and early adopters and factors, are complex. This includes organizational characteristics focusing on policies, faculty support through professional development and training, time, beliefs, and workload. The article concluded that (a) the social system (university administration) develops policies, which accounts for little when the technology plan is not concrete for implementation, (b) technology is not compatible with faculty traditional teaching practices, and (c) university administration does not consider understanding the faculty (early adopters) in context. The study suggests that developing countries need to understand the faculty as early adopters from a bottom-up approach instead of top-down, and should not base success on outcomes, but rather, strategies based on the context.

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