Five reasons for the reluctance of academic faculty to employ a web-enhanced teaching

Many far-reaching expectations have been echoed in the last decade as to the huge impact that the information and communication technologies might have on the academy and on the conventional ways in which professors teach and students learn. There has been a widespread belief that the new technologies will transform teaching and learning processes from being highly teacher-dominated to student-centered. However, many studies point to the fact that the applications of the advanced technologies in higher education settings worldwide are currently quite limited in the teaching domain. This chapter analyzes five major reasons for the reluctance of academic faculty to utilize the wide spectrum of possibilities embedded in a web-enhanced teaching: (1) Unbundling of the professional responsibility; (2) Work overload and burnout; (3) Lack of ongoing support systems; (4) Add-on functions rather than substitution; (5) Intellectual property concerns. It is of tremendous importance to comprehend the reasons underlying the reluctance of academic faculty to adopt a web-enhanced teaching in order to tackle the existing obstacles and pave the way for harnessing the immense possibilities offered by the advanced technologies for the benefit of both students and teachers in higher education institutions. The chapter concludes with some recommendations for respective higher education mangers of how to enhance the effective use of the digital technologies in academia.