A Systematic Appropriation of Social Technologies for Educational Activities: Empirical Study of Australian Lecturers

The use of Online Social Networking (OSN) for teaching and learning is a phenomenon observed in many countries today. However, how academics use and appropriate social technologies in higher education is still not well understood. In particular, the systematic appropriation processes of the social technologies have not been discussed much in the literature. This paper offers an empirical study concerning the way lecturers appropriate social technologies based on interviews with fourteen lecturers in seven Australian universities. The findings discovered two appropriation approaches, namely systematic-procedural and non-systematic-ad hoc process. There are also two key reasons for using social technologies: as content for the course, and as the core teaching and learning tool. Further, for student learning, the social technologies are used either as a medium for coursework or for supporting informal communication. This research provides new insights into a methodological and systematic appropriation of social technologies from which higher education may benefit.