According to M. C. Clayton, H., J. Eyring (2011) traditions are important at the University and researches „must understand not only current realities, especially the threat of competitive disruption, but also how universities have evolved over the past several hundred years. Even more than most organizations, traditional universities are products of their history“ (Clayton, Eyring, 2011). Contemporary higher education is changing under the influence of many factors, among which the advancement of technologies has an important role. When the business world is rapidly changing and using continuously developing ICT, according to A.L.Davidson and D.Waddington (2010), universities are establishments technologically resistant to the admission of new paradigms. Admission policy of innovations plays a significant role at universities, i.e. may slow the growth and changes as well as may accelerate them. One of the key obstacles related to the successful implementation of ICT at a lot of European universities is the fact that the managerial do not support and determine relevant ICT priorities (Rutkauskiene, Pociute, Targamadze and Stricka, 2006).
According to A. Ausra (2005), today, for the first time in history, information and scientific knowledge is becoming not only the means of development for the modern society, but the key product of its economic activities.
Nowadays there have grown up so called net generation or digital natives – the youth born in 1980s and later (Lenhart, Madden, Hitlin, 2005; Brill, Park, 2008; Bennett, Maton, Kervin, 2008; Jones, 2010; Thomas, 2011). They are modern students who spend most time of their life online. Modern web technologies enter daily life and broaden the boundaries of the latter one (Talbot, 2007). ‘Digital natives’ are willing to apply modern technologies of web in all fields of life and certainly at university.
When evaluating the efficiency of virtual collaboration, communication and teamwork environment (VCCTE), interests of all the actors of the learning and teaching process (students, teachers and administration) must be taken into account, these interests being rather different. Also, specific needs of individual study subjects, experience in ICT use, financial capabilities of the institution and other factors have to be taken into account.
Case-by-case analysis of separate ICT-supported ideas implementations in the traditional university shows, that successful applications do exist, but there are not many of them and in most cases they are operating in rather closed environments and are not being replicated. One possible explanation could be given by applying the qualitative diffusion model, that was initially described by Everett Rogers, and then interpreted by G. A. Moore [12] for the diffusion of IT innovations in the corporate market .
The main goal of the whole research is using the Moore diffusion model to investigate VCCTE in the context of the traditional university.
Problem question of the research: Innovation as a chalenge for the traditional University: slow the growth of changes or accelerate them?
The subject of the research is VCCTE in the technologically resistant university.
The research aim Reveal the students, teachers and administration's approach to VCCTE at the University
