As institutions of higher education begin offering courses of instruction online, faculty who are reluctant to use computer-mediated communication technologies are often the weakest element in what could be successful programs. Students taking distance courses from accredited universities too frequently encounter professors who make it clear that they know little about communications technologies and do not wish to spend time learning to use the technologies that support computer mediated communications. This paper presents a different model for faculty development programs and describes the outcomes of its first year of implementation in one department.
Few colleges reward use of technology, or even distance teaching, with tenure and promotion awards.
For many faculty, learning to use new technologies to support distance teaching and learning is a time-consuming undertaking for which no immediate gain is apparent. Since academic faculty represent the largest investment made by the university, it seems reasonable to plan faculty development programs that maximize faculty effectiveness by adapting to the workload, psychological, and social needs of faculty. The Paradoxical Disjunction Model shows differences between the focus of technology support personnel and actual concerns of faculty related to the adoption of new technologies for distance education. Faculty's efficient use of time is maximized and social status concerns are minimized by having training sessions in their own offices instead of a public central location. When faculty members learns on the same equipment that will be used for daily work, generalization of training to performance domains is maximized.