Implementations, change management and evaluation: A case study of the centre for excellence in teaching and learning in reusable learning objects

Abstract

This paper describes an e-learning project in the area of reusable learning objects (RLOs) that has attempted to bring about technological and cultural change across three diverse universities. The three partner universities in the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in Reusable Learning Objects (RLO-CETL) are London Metropolitan University (LMU), the Universities of Cambridge (CAM) and Nottingham (NOTT). The goal of our study was to gain an improved understanding of the following question: what are the cultural differences across three organisations in the management of people and change? The work described in this paper draws on an institutional change model and grounded theory to provide a framework for the qualitative analysis of data from practitioners from the three partner sites. A key facet of our change model is the notion of the tipping point; this is a point at which enough individuals in a system have adopted an innovation so that the innovation’s further rate of adoption becomes selfsustaining. It appears that key pockets in some of the partner sites have hit the tipping point. Various other findings are presented on the basis of our qualitative analysis, which draw out the cultural differences across the three sites. The paper concludes by asserting that the qualitative analysis has raised various issues, which are worthy of further research, particularly the under-researched role of students as key change agents.