Design of an Extended Educational Technology Acceptance Model (EETAM)

Abstract

Educational technologies provide students with opportunities to learn remotely or on campus, to access learning materials, engage with interactive learning activities and to interact and communicate with the class. Student use may vary depending on several different factors, and technology acceptance models are well-suited to investigate these factors and how they may influence student behaviour. Because of their popularity and utility, many different models exist and there is no apparent pattern in terms of structure and included factors, and only a minority include factors relevant to education and learning. The primary aim of this research was to form a robust and comprehensive technology acceptance model specifically suited to educational technologies and test it in the field. This was achieved using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, thematic analysis, and structural equation modelling. The results demonstrated that the final proposed model was statistically sound and measured the majority of the variance of student behavioural intent. It also demonstrated the potential impact that student comfort and well-being may have on formation of student intentions. There was confirmation that the cognitive engagement construct improved the power of the proposed model, which suggested that students think that a technology is useful if it is also engaging. There were further indications that instructor attributes, feedback, and class interaction and communication are also influential, though further confirmation is required in more controlled settings. A final extended educational technology acceptance model is presented here with strong theoretical and statistical justification in response to the perceived heterogeneity and lack of specificity to education in contemporary technology acceptance research.