Managing Technological
Change
Chapter 4
Matt Dockery
Introduction

Daryl P. Ely was the first to emphasize the environmental conditions
that promote change.

Broadest and most far reaching study.

Pioneering study of change in libraries in 1976.

Refined over the years, now includes educational technology.

Research suggests the environment for the innovation is equally
important in the change success.

“The goal is to attain each of these eight conditions during
implementation.”
The Eight Conditions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo
Knowledge and Skills Exist
Resources are Available
Time is Available
Rewards or Incentives Exist for Participants
Participation is Expected and Encouraged
Commitment by Those Who are Involved
Leadership is Evident
Dissatisfaction with the Status
Quo

“Only person who likes change is a wet baby”

Participants must perceive the status quo to be less than comfortable.

There are a wide range of possible causes for dissatisfaction.

Diagnostic perspective – More than a number, bad textbooks, test
scores, who is dissatisfied?

Marketing perspective – Understanding dissatisfaction can help
innovation.

Examples.
Knowledge and Skills Exist

“People may believe that changes are in order, but
without the specific knowledge and skills to bring
about change the individual is helpless.”

Often overlooked is educational change.

Common cause is perceived lack of training.

Undertake change to ensure that effective training
is provided.
Resources are Available

“Resources are broadly defined as those tools
and other relevant materials that are accessible
to assist learner to acquire learning objectives.”

Big ticket items – Computers, salaries, training,
facilities.

Those working on change must make sure
resources are available.
Time is Available

“Implementers must have time to learn, adapt, integrate,
and reflect on what they are doing.”

Those expected to adopt change need time for developing
and redeveloping materials.

Some employees may resist change if they believe they
will not be compensated for the additional time.

Or may refuse to invest time resulting in a poor change.
Rewards or Incentives Exist for
Participants

Regardless of whether the reward is intrinsic or
extrinsic, or whether it is seen as the result of
the cause of innovation use, it should be there in
some form.

Tenured teacher may not see the need to change
if they produce good test scores, unless there is
a linked reward to change.
Participation is Expected and
Encouraged

“This means shared decision making, communication among
all parties involved, and representation where individual
participation is difficult.”

Buy in to the process with time, effort, and ideas
contributes to a sense of ownership in the innovation.

Recognize leaders, formally and informally.

General participation should be expected, failure to make
expectations clear lead to neglect of innovations.
Commitment by Those Who are
Involved

“An unqualified go-ahead and vocal support for the
innovation by key players and other stakeholders is
necessary.”

Expectation and Encouragement.

All familiar with the “flavor of the month”, the innovation
that occurs every few years.

Change requires effort. Endorsement at all levels is a must.
Leadership is Evident

Cognitive impact of leadership may be summed up
according to the change framework.

Also have affective influences, whether they are official
supervisors, role models, mentors, or advisors.

They provide individuals with inspiration and
encouragement throughout the change process.

“Change is a process, not an event.”
Other Studies

Before Ely, such as the Volume II of the Rand Change
Agent Study in 1975, largely ignored organization,
structure and motivation. Got people thinking about
change.
Examples of modified Ely research projects
1. Haryono’s 1990 investigation of higher education
improvement programs in Indonesia.
2. Newton’s 1992 study of the implementation of whole
language teaching methods.
3. Read in 1993 and Bauder in 1994 incorporated Ely’s
conditions into advanced quantitative inquiries.
Other Studies -
continued

Some studies use different labels but
derive from Ely’s conditions.

Using Ely’s conditions in conjunction with
other models may provide fertile ground
for future inquiry.
In Conclusion

Ely pioneered the investigation of environmental
condition and their influence on the change
process.

The phrase “conditions of change” has come to
represent this method of inquiry.

Research supports both qualitative and
quantitative.

Review 8 Conditions.
Strong/Weak Points

Strong Points – Basic Framework, Provides
Steps for Change Process, Great
Reference.

Weak Points – Too general, can be
Updated and Changed, how to get from
one step to the next.
My Reaction

These eight conditions are so simple, yet so difficult as well. Each
step is a logical progression from one to the next. The hard part is
the actual application of each part.

Dissatisfaction with the status quo and resources available seem to
be the most obvious. There are always unhappy people in a work
environment, and the resources may not always be available that
automatically shuts the project down. The most obvious is rewards
and incentives, I know everyone would like to be compensated! The
most important is leadership. Great leadership leads to great
innovations in all aspects of life. I feel this is the most important part
of Ely’s conditions.

Ely came up with a great framework that has been adapted and
changed over the years that people have significantly used as a
reference. Most change models should refer to this.
References

Ellsworth, J. B. (2000). Surviving change: A survey of educational
change models. Syracuse, NY: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information &
Technology

Ely, D. P. (1990). Conditions that facilitate the implementation of
educational technology innovations. Journal of Research on
Computing in Education, 23 (2), 298-305.

Ely, D. P. (1999). New perspectives on the implementation of

http://www.ericdigests.org/2001-2/survey.html

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwitr/features/leaders/ely.html (Ely
Biography)
educational technology innovation.