Technostress
Technostress and the Influence on Instructional Technology Use
The constant connection, disruption, distraction, and need to learn new technology, or technostress, can make faculty feel overwhelmed, tired, or disengaged, impacting their ability to teach. As institutions continue to spend resources on growing technology portfolios, we wanted to know how the feeling of technostress impacted faculty’s use of instructional technology. We surveyed instructors and found their use of instructional technology was partially influenced by technostress. Overall, we find that most instructors had a low-level of technostress and will learn how to use technology if they perceive its usefulness. Implications show instructors learn new technologies when they believe it will make their work easier. Institutions should continually work to build a technology-rich culture to support their instructors.
%
of instructors said they had felt or do feel burned out from teaching
Only 7% of instructors felt technology led to laziness and freeriding
Time and energy
Instructors had positive explanations for how technology changed their teaching effectivenses but still expressed concern about the amount of time and effort instructional technology can take.
Technology does not make teaching more difficult
Nearly half (47%) of instructors disagreed that technology makes the profession of teaching more difficult.
Exploring the Links between Technology and Burnout
Overwhelmed, overworked, and overly tired: Instructional Technology Influence on Faculty Burnout
Tehniyet Azam & Sarah Zipf
Faculty are feeling burned out. They are tired, overworked, and overwhelmed, which impacts their teaching, and is unlikely to be solved by more instructional technology. How instructional technology influences feelings of burnout is important to study, not only for the wellbeing of instructors, but also for critical decision making about training and technology adoption. We conducted interviews with 12 full-time faculty members to examine their experiences using instructional technology and the influence it has with feelings of burnout. Using Job Demands-Resource Theory as a framework, we find faculty often lack the time and energy needed to engage with new instructional technologies. Faculty described burnout as overwhelming exhaustion, disengagement, and depression-like symptoms, often caused by administrative workloads, student demands, and teaching responsibilities. Data show that while instructional technology could be a resource, the process of adopting new tools frequently led to feelings of being overwhelmed. The study emphasizes the importance of institutional support in the form of time, training, and resources to aid technology adoption. Additionally, personal recovery strategies play a critical role in managing burnout. These findings offer insights for higher education institutions, suggesting better support mechanisms to help faculty integrate technology while addressing the causes of burnout.
Technology as a demand
Technology is often viewed as a demand rather than a resource, partly becuase technology changes how students interact with faculty, which used to serve as a resource.
Technology as a stressor
While technology can enhance teaching, it often adds to faculty workload and stress
Impact on faculty
Institutions need to recognize that introducing new technology requires more than just financial investment; it also demands a commitment to the well-being of faculty, such as sufficient time for training, creating opportunities for peer support, and ensuring that the technology itself is user-friendly and relevant to the educators’ needs.
“Just when I get comfortable with a tool, they change it, and I have to relearn everything.”
Tehniyet Azam, CCSP
PhD candidate, College of Education
Chuhao Wu
PhD candidate, College of IST
Sarah T. Zipf, Ph.D.
Researcher, Teaching and Learning with Technology