At first, I found the game intimidating with all of its instructions, but I was relieved that everything was written out in simple language and tips were given as needed. The game was reminiscent of Risk or other strategy games. My first attempt I tried to get everyone on the staff as involved as possible in the integration. This became overwhelming quickly, as some of the diffusion techniques are for just one person. This attempt resulted in 5 adopters, including the principal.
My second attempt, I targeted key players (principal, secretary, janitor and chairpersons) and this resulted in 8 adopters, some of whom I did not directly interact with, but relied on their connections (instrumentalism). This technique was much more manageable, I was able to focus ‘resources’ more effectively. The one issue with this strategy was trying to get the principal on board, as he was the proverbial gatekeeper to some of the diffusion techniques.
During this game, I had to sit back and think about how this would work in the real world, do you target everyone and hope it gets supported or do you find the lynchpins and focus on them? I try to do this in my own teaching, focusing on those who have the connections, teach the courses and will assist in the diffusion of the technology. I will continue to do this for my Activity.
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