I think the stage of moving the later adopters is very difficult, and also very delicate. If the early adopters jump on board, and keep going, and the later adopters don’t “adopt” then you end up with a schism in your faculty.

Dr. Rogers’ model is very applicable. I think you are correct that teachers have excellent “complexity” radar, and that many tools that have excellent classroom applications don’t pass that “radar” so to speak.

Our students’ ways of learning are changing dramatically from our own. We need to be having a dialogue about that in our schools.
Teachers or administrators will not see the “perceived need” of web 2.0 technologies and interactivity if they don’t understand those changes.

I think fear of change is an issue here as well. I’d be interested this week in seeing some resources on how leaders help others deal with change. What kinds of environment can school leaders create that facilitate change? And how can we create an environment that supports the early adopters and the reluctant learners as well?

Just last August, we issued laptop computers and initiated 15 hours of professional development on basic skills and technology integration to over 800 teachers and administrators.

This was not an optional program. Every certified teacher and administrator is participating. I used the entire school year before starting the project to bridge the gap between a “forced” initiative and a “self selected” initiative.

The perceived characteristics helped me assess the status of individuals and groups as to the impending laptop initiative. I could then spend some extra time with those that were struggling with certain aspects of their perceptions to the initiative.

Our initial data indicate the majority of our staff have fully adopted the laptop and the training as an integral part of their professional life. We “cracked” the 16% laggard barrier and, after 10 months, only have about 6% left that would still be considered laggards using Rogers’ definition.

I have been lurking here for quite some time and couldn’t resist commenting after seeing a reference to Rogers! It is practical and actionable when used to help an organization through complex change.

http://tinyurl.com/ytgu8u
http://tinyurl.com/ynwz8w

Scott has declared this to be Change Week over at Dangerously Irrelevant. He plans to post a variety of ideas and reflections on that topic and how it affects education.
Change and education? Not exactly two words that go together well.
He has a litt…