FRAMING EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION: THE ROLE OF LANGUAGE IN IMPLEMENTING NEW EDUCATIONAL IDEAS

In the course of the development and implementation of new features and functionalities for learning management systems, emphasis usually is put on the technological and didactic aspects. However, successfully implementing new educational ideas is not a trivial task and needs to be approached strategically. To accomplish acceptance of ideas in an organization and to motivate the intended users to make use of specific features and designs, innovations need to become meaningful for them. With regard to the fact that social meaning is predominantly created and conveyed through communication, this paper argues that persuading users to accept innovations requires modes of communication that enable the addressees to make sense of the new ideas and "embed" them in their already existing repertoires. How new designs and features are labelled, framed, contextualized and situated in order to evoke viable interpretations for users, plays a crucial role in facilitating appropriation and acceptance of innovations by the different target groups. In this line, the paper will present a number of communicational key questions/challenges that need to be tackled with regard to the framing of pedagogical and didactic innovations in e-learning. 1. Balancing precision and ambiguity 2. Addressing diverse groups of stakeholders 3. Matching language and organizational culture 4. Finding an acceptable level of "newness" The paper will not only explain these challenges in detail, but also suggest ways of overcoming them, by providing concrete examples. It aims to contribute to the vast literature on implementing educational change by highlighting the importance of careful language design during the development and implementation process.