Dvorak Keyboard diffusion rejection... will it happen with Web 2.0?
Created in 1932, the Dvorak Keyboard was meant to replace the current QWERTY system. The Dvorak Keyboard system was superior to the QWERTY system yet, it has not caught on as one would have thought it would. Although the Dvorak Keyboard has caught on in some work environments
(especially with computer programmers), it is still not as widely used
and accepted as the QWERTY system. The reason? According to Everett Rogers, the Dvorak Keyboard was a failed diffusion.
Rogers in "Diffusion of Innovations" provides an outline for diffusion and dissemination. A diffusion occurs when an innovation is communicated through channels and adopted over time into a social system. A dissemination is a diffusion that is directed and managed. When providing a diffusion of an innovation, one must think critically about how the innovation, communication channels, time, and social system will affect the adoption of the innovation. If an innovation is rejected, it usually can be traced back to a problem with one of these four categories. With the Dvorak Keyboard, the manufacturers, sales outlets, typing teachers, and typists contributed to the slow diffusion of the keyboard system. They are considered "laggards" because they refused to use the system. They made a decision to not sell keyboards with the Dvorak Keyboard. Because such a small percentage of the population made the decision for all of the consumers, it is considered an authority innovation decision.
As we discuss Web 2.0 technologies and how we can incorporate them into the classroom, the following questions come to my mind: Will the Dvorak Keyboard diffusion rejection happen again? Will there be a Web 2.0 technology that will take forever to adopt because K-12 school administrators refuse to adopt it?
In many innovation decisions, school administrators play similar roles to what the manufacturers and sales outlets did for the Dvorak Keyboard. In terms of the K-12 school community, the social system is defined by the decisions that a small percentage of the community makes. School administrators make authority innovation decisions all the time. Because of this fact, I believe that the answer to the above questions is yes. I can only make a guess as to which technologies will take a long time to adopt. Based on the fact that many internet sites are still not available in classrooms, I think any technology that is dependent on the web (social networks, multi-user domains, and massively multi-player online role playing games, etc.) will not make an impact on education for many many years. Your thoughts?
Rogers in "Diffusion of Innovations" provides an outline for diffusion and dissemination. A diffusion occurs when an innovation is communicated through channels and adopted over time into a social system. A dissemination is a diffusion that is directed and managed. When providing a diffusion of an innovation, one must think critically about how the innovation, communication channels, time, and social system will affect the adoption of the innovation. If an innovation is rejected, it usually can be traced back to a problem with one of these four categories. With the Dvorak Keyboard, the manufacturers, sales outlets, typing teachers, and typists contributed to the slow diffusion of the keyboard system. They are considered "laggards" because they refused to use the system. They made a decision to not sell keyboards with the Dvorak Keyboard. Because such a small percentage of the population made the decision for all of the consumers, it is considered an authority innovation decision.
As we discuss Web 2.0 technologies and how we can incorporate them into the classroom, the following questions come to my mind: Will the Dvorak Keyboard diffusion rejection happen again? Will there be a Web 2.0 technology that will take forever to adopt because K-12 school administrators refuse to adopt it?
In many innovation decisions, school administrators play similar roles to what the manufacturers and sales outlets did for the Dvorak Keyboard. In terms of the K-12 school community, the social system is defined by the decisions that a small percentage of the community makes. School administrators make authority innovation decisions all the time. Because of this fact, I believe that the answer to the above questions is yes. I can only make a guess as to which technologies will take a long time to adopt. Based on the fact that many internet sites are still not available in classrooms, I think any technology that is dependent on the web (social networks, multi-user domains, and massively multi-player online role playing games, etc.) will not make an impact on education for many many years. Your thoughts?
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