Beyond technology use: a people-centred approach to reconceptualising the adoption of learning technologies

Abstract

Research into the adoption of learning technologies has identified predictive factors of individual adoption. However, this research largely assumes technology adoption-as-use, which, I argue, is technology-centric and disregards the role of teachers and their teaching practice. Following a people-centred approach, I sought to focus on teachers’ experiences during technology adoption and in doing so contribute to the notion of adoption-as-process. I undertook interpretive phenomenology research, conducting semi-structured interviews with a group of seven academic teachers in a New Zealand university where a new learning management system (LMS) was implemented following an institutional-wide LMS review. I analysed the interview data using a reflexive thematic analysis method. The findings indicate that technology adoption is more than technology use; it is laden with emotional experiences, learning experiences, experiences of inability to perform and experiences of incongruence in the teaching space. To facilitate appropriate individual adoption, the study calls for future research to focus on adoption-as-process and institutional practice to address emotional responses, enable learning in safe and authentic environments, scaffold performance, and align existing policies and practices with new technologies.