The use of new technology in higher education: From unlearning to wiki use appropriation in a French business school: A case study

It is widely agreed that the development of new technology in higher education is of particular importance. Yet, with a few exceptions, little is known about the conditions of appropriation by learners in this specific context. This paper attempts to address the relationship between the appropriation of new technology and the process of unlearning. We investigate why and how the actions modifying old knowledge can favour the use of collaborative and virtual technology. The framework of the paper is built on a review of Giddens's theory of structuration and learning theories, with particular focus on the concept of unlearning (Nystrom and Starbuck 1984). Unlearning is defined as the questioning and destruction process of knowledge, logic and patterns established, in order to propose new responses and behaviours. The empirical study proposes the analysis of the process appropriation of wiki technology by 300 students in a French business school ["Euromed Marseille"] in their workgroup sessions. We use a case study methodology (Eisenhardt 1989, Yin 1990) based on a qualitative investigation (Miles and Huberman 1984) and a combination of different collection. The results show that unlearning of traditional workgroup methods clearly facilitates appropriation of wiki technology. In other words, the unlearning-learning process appears to be essential to create virtual collective knowledge. Furthermore, this research provides some evidence about the factors that influence the speed of unlearning - deviant behaviours and tensions within groups, weak ties among group members, various expertise and visions, flexible collaboration... Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for research and practice, and also make recommendations to encourage unlearning opportunities in the process of new technology appropriation.