Abstract:

The importance of technology and the role it plays in society could not be overstated. We have all witnessed the increased technological sophistication of society and technology has become an inevitable part of daily life. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, faculty and students conducted virtual classes through online meeting platforms such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. However, notwithstanding the exceptional COVID-19 pandemic situation which prompted essentially all stakeholders in an academic institution to embrace teaching technology solutions, some technology adoption models tell us that adoption does not occur as a matter of course and without debate. Discussion seems even more appropriate today since recently emerging Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms such as ChatGPT, Bard AI, LLaMA, Caktus, Cognii, Knewton’s Alta and others present an opportunity for reflection on current teaching practices. New opportunities and ways could be considered for incorporating some AI technologies when they are appropriate for the task at hand, result in higher-order thinking skills, and use a student-centered learning approach while not compromising students’ ability to pursue the highest standards of academic integrity. Consequently, faculty adoption of various technologies, and the dynamics and potential disruption of technology needs to be better understood as well as the optimal use of an organization’s cyberinfrastructure.

This research paper primarily involves proposing appropriate models of technology adoption and their components which could be used to build a Framework for understanding how business faculty decide to integrate technology into the teaching process. It also outlines the viewpoints of other stakeholders in an academic institution since they are complex organizations. Many examinations of technology adoption subscribe to the doctrine of technological determinism whereas this paper considers the larger social, political, and economic circumstances that surround adoption. These are important considerations since the knowledge economy requires new types of learners and new technologies are changing modes of learning such as personalized learning systems. It is also significant since academic institutions sometimes have difficulty controlling costs and soliciting faculty participation while encouraging the use of new instructional technologies. In addition, there often is a gap between envisioning technological use and actual implementation. Moreover, learner-centered education aims to enhance classroom teaching with the use of technology to promote active and collaborative education and increase student and faculty interaction. Lastly, adoption of technology by instructors is expected to have a great impact on the quality of the teaching and learning experience. This arguably will influence the preparation of students for an increasingly technological knowledge economy. The outcome of the paper is to propose a qualitative, exploratory case study that uncovers the perceptions of business faculty members of the factors that facilitate technology integration into their instruction while considering various stakeholders in the institution. This exploration could be undertaken to include elements of the framework and the models described, as well as the dynamics and potential disruption of technology, and the preparation of students.

Keywords:

Adoption of technology, active and collaborative education, AI technologies, Bard AI, ChatGPT, cyberinfrastructure, knowledge economy, student-centered learning.