Domestication of a laptop on a wireless university campus: A case study

Abstract

This study reports how university students domesticate their personal laptops at the beginning of studies on a wireless campus. The aim was to examine how students integrate the laptop into their personal education experience, what sort of processes were experienced to render the laptop useful and meaningful, and how gender and IT proficiency influenced this process. Qualitative interview data with twenty students (identified and selected by quantitative survey) was analysed using the grounded theory approach during which a multi-aspect domestication process was identified. Results highlight the importance of a structured way of organising laptop initiatives in universities. It is important that students have the kind of support available that best suits their needs. Pedagogically, successful domestication enables students to integrate the computer into their learning experience. However, we argue that successful domestication allows the artefact to become more than just a tool for learning, but also an integral part of an individual's existing media environment. In effect, comfort of use and IT capability is regarded as only one way of expressing successful domestication. This article adds to the growing number of studies using domestication as an analytical and theoretical framework and considers the phenomenon in an under-researched area.

Effective Adoption of Tablets in Post-Secondary Education: Recommendations Based on a Trial of iPads in University Classes

“…They determined that proposing a single learning model for all disciplines is not optimal; it should be the subject matter of the courses that determines how best to integrate the technology. Furthermore, Vuojärvi, Isomäki, and Hynes (2010) explored the relative ease/difficulty that students in laptop mandated programs had in integrating the laptop into their personal and academic lives; they found that students who had a higher proficiency with information technology, and especially those who had prior experience with the software used in class, were quicker to adopt the laptop as both a learning tool and a personal tool. However, our focus was on the integration of tablet technology.…”

Student Perceptions of Using Tablet Technology in Post-Secondary Classes / Perceptions des étudiants quant à l’utilisation des tablettes électroniques dans les classes universitaires

“…Lauricella and Kay (2010) reported that students perceived the laptops to be helpful for many academic tasks including note-taking and organization which assisted their academic progress. Vuojärvi, Isomäki, and Hynes (2010) explored how students in laptop-mandated programs integrated the laptop into their personal and academic lives, finding that students who had a higher proficiency with information technology, and especially those who had prior experience with the software used in their classes more easily adopted the laptop as a learning tool.…”

Closing the Digital Divide in Low-Income Urban Communities: A Domestication Approach

“…The teenagers were now ICT specialists and would invite their friends for some computer literacy lessons. Vuojärvi, Isomäki, and Hynes (2010) suggest that "successful domestication comes about when the technology is successfully embedded within the daily routine and habits" (p. 261). The diversity in the number of activities that the members of Household 18 were involved in provides the evidence of successful domestication of the ICT resources.…”