EdTech is ever evolving and is ever present in our post-digital age. As technology evolves, there is a continued pressure to adapt and develop skills and digital literacies in order to take advantage of the new opportunities. These innovative platforms have been designed to include a range of technical, social and cognitive affordances and signifiers. Yet there are those educators (and even students) that stubbornly refuse, resist or reject new innovations. According to Everett Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation curve, these “Laggards” will only adopt new technology when virtually forced to. We might make certain assumptions or judgements about the aptitudes or attitudes of these “Tech-Laggards" in education. We might even write them off as hopeless and beyond help. However, is it the fault of the Laggard or the fault of the engineers? Are the innovators and early adopters completely blameless? How important is the context? This session will encourage participants to analyse these preconceptions, as well as other potential underlying causes and reasons for Laggard-like behaviour. These will include complementary innovations, differentiation requirements, intended audiences, post-digital misconceptions, and technology development rates.
Claire Phillips