The first year experience as the context of use

The Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is implementing a new Learning Management System (LMS). Successful scaffolding via an LMS requires in-depth knowledge about how students perceive and use the content and the system.According to the Situated Action-approach, however, human activity and thinking is based on a "swarm of contingencies”. Thus, nothing can be understood without first understanding its context (Button & Sharrock, 2009, p. 78).This implies that careful design of content and flows in the LMS will fall short of supporting student learning, if teachers fail to understand the contingencies surrounding the students’ use of the LMS, which might impair their focus and understanding.In order to increase our knowledge of students’ use of the LMS an initial qualitative study was carried out. In particular, the aim was to start exploring the context of use: The first year experience, motivation, work pressure, and coherence in order to see which aspects might influence the students’ use of the LMS and their learning process.This preliminary study did reveal that the students experience a significant amount of confusion and stress. Especially the overwhelming transition from being a high-school student to the more independent life of a university student seemed to take a toll on the students. This paper presents and discusses these findings and suggests how they will influence our further study and use of the LMS.