Unfitting, uncomfortable, unacademic: a sociological reading of an interactive mobile phone app in university lectures

Scholarly literature on education technology uptake has been dominated by
technological determinist readings of students
’
technology use. However, in
recent years there has been a move by sociologists of education to highlight
how the contexts in which educational technologies are introduced are not
tabula rasa
but socially and culturally complex. This study approaches technology
as a social construct, arguing that students
construct
discursive meaning of, rather
than simply
respond to
, technologies for learning. The study explores students
’
constructions of a mobile learning app that was introduced into lectures during a
year-long university course. Students largely rejected the app, constructing it as
unfitting for the context, a socially unco
mfortable experience and an unacademic
way of learning. The paper highlights the limitations of technological
determinism and closes by arguing for readings of educational technologies that
pay close attention to students
’
voices.