ABSTRACT
In this chapter a theoretical framework is developed for the study of the societal introduction of educational multimedia. It is argued that a change in perspective on what precisely constitutes this introduction will support a better understanding of the perceived processes of change. Social studies of technologies have proved to be useful as explanatory framework for how processes of (socio-technical) change can be understood. A short introduction in the basics of these theories (under the heading of “social shaping of technology”) is followed by the development of an evaluation framework for a proper analysis of the introduction of educational multimedia. Innofusion is the leading concept to cover this introduction process. This concept is heading a framework that entails three – mutually interchangeable – concepts: appropriation, configuration and translation. Then, we elaborate upon the concept of social learning. We introduce two interpretations of social learning: an analytical interpretation (that builds upon the social shaping approach) and an action-oriented or pro-active interpretation (that is related to constructive technology assessment). We introduce two empirical manifestations of social learning: the mode of experimentation and the mode of control. Having analysed the respective cases with respect to the presence of both modes, we pay attention to the identification of success and failure, and to the constitutive elements of good practices.
