Implementing Technological Change at Schools: The Impact of Online Communication with Families on Teacher Interactions through Learning Management System

Abstract

The integration of a Learning Management System (LMS) in K-12 opens new possibilities for online interaction among teachers, students, and parents. This paper examines the implementation of an LMS called Mashov (meaning feedback in Hebrew, as well as the acronym of Immediacy, Transparency, and Supervision) in ten Israeli secondary schools during the years 20072009. Consistent with the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (Rogers, 2003), a log analysis showed a significant increase of interactions among school staff, measured as (1) the number of logins into the system, (2) the percentage of data concerning lesson topics and events entered by teachers into the system, and (3) the number of messages sent to colleagues through the system during each year. Consistent with the approach of implementing changes at schools by expanding circles of interaction and taking into consideration all stakeholders (Fuchs, 1995), schools that used the Mashov family application, which allows teacher-student and teacher-parent online interactions, significantly enhanced the amount of interactivity among teachers, compared to schools that used the system for staff interactions only. The findings suggest that students and parents are important stakeholders, whose active involvement increases exchange of pedagogical information and promote interaction among teachers. Therefore, including families in implementing technological change plays an important role in the successful adoption of new technologies at schools.