Abstract:

During the last decades, digital technologies has become an increasingly important part of our private and professional life. Consequently, researchers have been occupied with understanding the conditions under witch digital technologies are accepted or rejected. Theoretical frameworks such as the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (ref) and the UTAUT model (ref) have tried to address these issues primarily with a factorial approach. In the beginning of societal digitalization, the objects of adoption were fairly simple and one-dimensional (e.g. digital watches, calculators and word processors) and with limited impact on the society, but gradually digitalization became more complex thereby challenging and evolving what it means to be a citizen, a professional and an individual.

In this paper we argue that we need an analytical shift in order to understand contemporary digitalization of society. A shift from focusing on the adoption of digital artefacts to a focus on adoption of digitalized practices. For instance, when someone purchase a smart phone – the interesting thing to understand is not if it is perceived as useful or easy to use, but rather to understand what digital practices that develops as a consequence. Furthermore, new digital practices are not depending on singular artefacts or software. Instead, a digital practice relies on a dynamic socio-material ensemble of activities (ref).

Our argumentation draws on data collected in three projects on the digitalization of higher education with complementary focus:
(i) students’ use of IT,
(ii) teachers’ use of IT, and
(iii) emerging digital practices in higher education.

Data consists of questionnaires, interviews and IT-use-log data.

Our analysis reveals how the digitalized student, that utilize their personal IT into their “student practice” adopts practices regarding:
• coordination and collaboration of learning.
• administration of studies.
• extracurricular interests.

Similarly, teachers adopt to a range of digital practices affecting how they:
• conduct instructional design and preparations for work.
• collaborate with peers and experts inside and outside their university.
• asses and evaluate students’ performances.

Perhaps more interesting, we also find evidence of digital practices that challenged the traditional student-teacher relationship:
• students becoming co-creators of instructional design.
• work-integrated learning, where professional challenges became resources for education.
• students and teachers becoming “prosumers” of open educational resources.

In conclusion, we argue that a theoretical shift from focusing on the adoption of digital artefacts, to a focus on the adoption of digitalized practices can further our understanding of the digitalization of society in general, and the the digitalization of education in particular.

Keywords:

IT adoption, Higher Education.