Domestication of e-learning technologies:

A preliminary conceptual framework

Laurence Habib

Definitions

• Domesticate: 1) a) to make or settle as a member of a household; to cause to be at home; to naturalize.

• Domesticate: 1) b) to make to be or to feel ‘at home’, to familiarize.

Oxford English Dictionary

Producer

Re-seller

Regulatory bodies

Advertising company

ConsumerPersonal sphere

Domestic sphere

DESIGN

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MARKETING

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MARKETING

Other consumers or potential consumers

RULES AND REGULATIONS

RULES AND

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SAPPROPRIATION

OBJECTIFICATION INCORPORATIONC

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Commodification

                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Commodification

1) Design and marketing of a product: building an identity for the product

2) ‘Construction’ of the product by its potential or actual consumers (as they imagine it, desire it, weigh its potential utility, etc.)

Design

1) Creating the artefact: the object is fashioned functionally and aesthetically

2) Constructing the user: images of eventual users are incorporated in the fabric of the object

3) Catching the consumer: understanding the complex cultural space within which the customers make their decisions

Appropriation

The product is bought.

It is brought into the home or other private cultural spaces.

It is made acceptable and familiar.

Conversion

• Consumers – signal to others their participation in the consumption

and innovation process– display of ownership– display of competence– conversation, gossip

– provide feedback to producers, regulators, etc.– directly – indirectly

• Producers, regulators, advertisers, vendors may or may not alter their product or services

MasteryObjectification

IncorporationCustomization/Tailoring

Integration

Appropriation

Objectification

• The product finds a place and a ‘space’ in the ‘domestic geography’ of the consumer.

• ‘Career’ or ‘life’ of objects: – The place the product is given reflects its status– Other objects may be displaced or removed,

which also affects or reflects their status– Acceleration of obsolescence

Incorporation

The product– is given a function (sometimes unintended by

the designer) and a meaning– is fitted into a pattern of use of domestic time

• Enters into existing activities• Brings in new activities• May generate conflicts or anxieties

Producer

Re-seller

Regulatory bodies

Advertising company

User

Personal sphere

Domestic sphere

DESIGN

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Other users or potential users

RULES AND REGULATIONS

RULES AND

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INDIVIDUAL APPROPRIATION

OBJECTIFICATION INCORPORATION

INSTITUTIONAL APPROPRIATION

INSTITU

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Learning institution

INST

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ONCUSTOMIZATION/TAILORING MASTERY

OBJECTIFICATION INCORPORATION CUSTOMIZATION/TAILORING

MASTERY

Institu-tional level

Faculty/Depart-

ment level

Group level

Indivi-dual level

e.g. The institution organises training for super-users, IT support staff, central system administrators

e.g. The faculty/department organises training for super-users, system administrators, user-support staff

e.g. A group of users with similar needs participates in a training/coaching programme tailored to those needs

e.g. Individual users are trained and coached to achieve a level of knowledge that is appropriate to their needs

e.g. The institution provides a server computer for the application, space on the internal webpage, etc.

e.g. The faculty/department provides new software and hardware if needed, rooms for the training sessions, etc.

e.g. The group develops rules and norms to integrate the e-learning application (e.g. sharing of printers, projectors, audio-visual resources, etc.)

e.g. Users integrate the application in their ’physical’ and ’digital’ spaces, in the office and/or at home

e.g. The institution provides time for training, coaching, user support, development of course material using the e-learning application, etc.

e.g. The faculty/department provides time for training, coaching, user support, development of course material using the e-learning application, etc.

e.g. The institution orders from the e-learning application supplier the modules that are expected to be used

e.g. The group develops new routines around the use of the e-learning application

e.g. Users integrate the application in the their routine at work and/or at home

e.g. The faculty/department may provide guidelines and/or a templates for the development of course material using the e-learning application

e.g. The group may decide to limit the use of the application to some modules, and/or to add features of their own to the system

e.g. Users create a structure for their course and choose the pedagogical methods to be used (forum, chat, collaborative writing, etc.)

Organizational/institutional appropriation

will depend on a series of factors, including:– Compatibility (to what extent the LMS is compatible

with the other systems currently used within the organization),

– Dependence (to what extent the LMS depends on a particular operative system),

– Competence (competence available in-house and/or outside the organization, financial boundaries that restrict the building of in-house competence or the hiring of external help).

Diffusion of Innovation Theory

• Technological innovation is communicated through particular channels, over time, among the members of a social system.

• Innovation-decision process: – knowledge (exposure to its existence, and

understanding of its functions)– persuasion (the forming of a favourable attitude to it)– decision (commitment to its adoption)– implementation (putting it to use)– confirmation (reinforcement based on positive

outcomes from it)

DoI: Characteristics of an innovation

• Relative advantage (the degree to which it is perceived to be better than what it supersedes)

• Compatibility (consistency with existing values, past experiences and needs)

• Complexity (difficulty of understanding and use)• Trialability (the degree to which it can be

experimented with on a limited basis)• Observability (the visibility of its results)

Five Stages of Adoption

• Awareness: the individual is exposed to the innovation but lacks complete information about it

• Interest: the individual becomes interested in the new idea and seeks additional information about it

• Evaluation: the individual mentally applies the innovation to his present and anticipated future situation, and then decides whether or not to try it

• Trial: the individual makes full use of the innovation• Adoption: the individual decides to continue the full

use of the innovation

DoI: Adopter categories

• Innovators (venturesome)

• Early adopters (respectable)

• Early majority (deliberate)

• Late majority (sceptical)

• Laggards (traditional)

Characteristics of Innovators

• Venturesome, with a desire for the rash, the daring, and the risky

• Substantial financial resources to absorb possible loss from an unprofitable innovation

• Able to understand and apply complex technical knowledge

• Able to cope with a high degree of uncertainty about an innovation.

Characteristics of Early Adopters

• Integrated part of the local social system• Greatest degree of opinion leadership in

most systems• Serve as role model for other members or

society• Respected by peers• Successful

Characteristics of the Early Majority

• Interact frequently with peers

• Seldom hold positions of opinion leadership

• Deliberate before adopting a new idea

Characteristics of the Late Majority

• Pressure from peers

• Economic necessity

• Sceptical

• Cautious

Characteristics of the Laggards

• Possess no opinion leadership

• Isolated

• Point of reference in the past

• Suspicious of innovations

• Innovation-decision process is lengthy

• Limited resources

DoI: Roles in the innovation process

• Opinion leaders (have relatively frequent informal influence over the behaviour of others);

• Change agents (influence innovation decisions positively, by mediating between the change agency and the relevant social system);

• Change aides (complement the change agent, by having more intensive contact with clients, and who have less competence credibility but more safety or trustworthiness credibility).