Blocks to the effective use of information technology in higher education

This paper reports on the outcome of a seminar addressing issues in the exploitation of IT in teaching within Universities in the U.K. The seminar brought together experts with a range of experience in the use of educational technology, and focused on educational and organisational issues rather than on technical ones. Three surveys of the views of University lecturers on the use of computers in teaching, and the associated problems, are reported, followed by discussion of educational and organisational routes to lowering some of the existing barriers to more effective applications of educational technology.