Mobile learning technology acceptance in Saudi Arabian higher education: an extended framework and A mixed-method study

This article reports a two-phase study with (1) an extended framework on mobile learning technology acceptance, and (2) a mixed-method research investigating college students on the use and embracement of mobile learning technology acceptance in Saudi Arabia. The research extended the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) framework with constructs particularly concerning mobile learning technology. The sequential mixed-method study investigated college students’ mobile learning technology acceptance in Saudi Arabia, and also validated the extended framework with empirical data. A total of 1203 eligible college students, 591 male and 612 females, participated in the online survey, and 15 of them also participated in individual interviews afterward. A wide range of social media and social networking sites were used to recruit participants and collect data. The study found that variables like Learning Expectancy (LE), Effort Expectancy (EE), Social Influence (SI), and characteristics of mobile learning were significant predictors of students’ intentions to use mobile learning technologies, regardless of the moderating effects of gender, age, and eLearning experience. Social influence was the only construct that was found as moderated by gender, where men showed a stronger behavioral intention to use mobile learning technology than women. Facilitating Conditions (FC) and Self-Management of Mobile Learning (SMML) in this study were not significant in predicting students’ behavioral intention or their use behavior of mobile learning technology acceptance.

[1]  Dale Goodhue,et al.  Task-Technology Fit and Individual Performance , 1995, MIS Q..

[2]  Camille Grange,et al.  The Utility of Using Social Media Networks for Data Collection in Survey Research , 2013, ICIS.

[3]  Wen-Hong Chiu,et al.  Exploring acceptance of technology-based service innovations: A perspective of social learning theory , 2010, 2010 7th International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management.

[4]  Rahima Aissani,et al.  Motives for the Use of Twitter by Arab Youth , 2018 .

[5]  Robin Lee Donaldson,et al.  Student Acceptance of Mobile Learning , 2011 .

[6]  Tiago Oliveira,et al.  International Journal of Information Management , 2014 .

[7]  Edgar Erdfelder,et al.  G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences , 2007, Behavior research methods.

[8]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  Technology Acceptance Model 3 and a Research Agenda on Interventions , 2008, Decis. Sci..

[9]  Lorenz Graf-Vlachy,et al.  Social Influence in Technology Adoption Research: A Literature Review and Research Agenda , 2017, ECIS.

[10]  Sally Rao Hill,et al.  A Conceptual Framework and Propositions for the Acceptance of Mobile Services , 2007, J. Theor. Appl. Electron. Commer. Res..

[11]  Radovan Vrana.  Acceptance of mobile technologies and m-learning in higher education learning: An explorative study at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Zagreb , 2018, 2018 41st International Convention on Information and Communication Technology, Electronics and Microelectronics (MIPRO).

[12]  Gordon B. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Information Technology: Toward a Unified View , 2003, MIS Q..

[13]  Luís Francisco Mendes Gabriel Pedro,et al.  A critical review of mobile learning integration in formal educational contexts , 2018, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education.

[14]  Yogesh Kumar Dwivedi,et al.  Re-examining the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT): Towards a Revised Theoretical Model , 2017, Information Systems Frontiers.

[15]  Nurazean Maarop,et al.  A Review of Technology Acceptance Studies in the Field of Education , 2014 .

[16]  Arumugam Raman,et al.  Technology Acceptance on Smart Board among Teachers in Terengganu Using UTAUT Model , 2014 .

[17]  Iyabo Mabawonku,et al.  Influence of Performance Expectancy and Facilitating Conditions on use of Digital Library by Engineering Lecturers in universities in South-west, Nigeria , 2018 .

[18]  Karen L. Murphy,et al.  Towards Identifying Factors Underlying Readiness for Online Learning: An Exploratory Study , 2003 .

[19]  Musaed Alhussein,et al.  Modeling Learners' Readiness to Adopt Mobile Learning: A Perspective from a GCC Higher Education Institution , 2016, Mob. Inf. Syst..

[20]  John W. Creswell,et al.  Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches , 2010 .

[21]  Arumugam Raman,et al.  Usage of Learning Management System (Moodle) among Postgraduate Students: UTAUT Model , 2014 .

[22]  O. Petrovic,et al.  Development of technology acceptance research for mobile services , 2010, The 33rd International Convention MIPRO.

[23]  S. Attuquayefio,et al.  Using the UTAUT model to analyze students' ICT adoption , 2014 .

[24]  Viswanath Venkatesh,et al.  Consumer Acceptance and Use of Information Technology: Extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology , 2012, MIS Q..

[25]  Chris Higgins,et al.  Charismatic leadership and user acceptance of information technology , 2007, Eur. J. Inf. Syst..

[26]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .

[27]  Hyunjin Lim,et al.  Investigating the Determinants of Mobile Learning Acceptance in Korea Using UTAUT2 , 2013, ICSLE.

[28]  Sanaa Askool,et al.  The Use of Social Media in Arab Countries: A Case of Saudi Arabia , 2012, WEBIST.

[29]  Mark Moran,et al.  Students' Acceptance of Tablet PCs and Implications for Educational Institutions , 2011, J. Educ. Technol. Soc..

[30]  Ying Zhao,et al.  Influence Factors of Technology Acceptance Model in Mobile Learning , 2010, 2010 Fourth International Conference on Genetic and Evolutionary Computing.

[31]  Ibrahim Arpaci,et al.  A comparative study of the effects of cultural differences on the adoption of mobile learning , 2015, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[32]  Stine Victoria Stakkestad,et al.  The Effects of technology on students’ academic performance rollout of individual laptops in norwegian upper secondary schools , 2017 .

[33]  Noorminshah A. Iahad,et al.  The history of UTAUT model and its impact on ICT acceptance and usage by academicians , 2012, Education and Information Technologies.

[34]  W. Ma.  Implementation strategies and the technology acceptance model: Is "ease of use" really useful or easy to use in implementation? , 2003 .

[35]  Ricardo de Sena Abrahão,et al.  Intention of adoption of mobile payment: An analysis in the light of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) , 2016 .

[36]  Mohammed Al Masarweh.  Evaluating M-Learning in Saudi Arabia Universities using Concerns-Based Adoption Model Level of use Framework , 2018 .

[37]  Elhadj Benkhelifa,et al.  A Systematic Literature Review on Mobile Learning in Saudi Arabia , 2017, 2017 IEEE/ACS 14th International Conference on Computer Systems and Applications (AICCSA).

[38]  E. Rogers.  Diffusion of Innovations , 1962 .

[39]  T. Teo,et al.  Interactive Whiteboard Acceptance: Applicability of the UTAUT Model to Student Teachers , 2013 .

[40]  Leena Ahmad Alfarani.  Influences on the adoption of mobile learning in saudi women teachers in higher education , 2014 .

[41]  Fathima Sakeena Narayanasamy,et al.  Adaptation of Mobile Learning in Higher Educational Institutions of Saudi Arabia , 2013 .

[42]  David Eichelberger,et al.  Handbook Of Psychological Testing , 2016 .

[43]  Enas Al-Lozi,et al.  Get Ready to Mobile Learning : Examining Factors Affecting College Students' Behavioral Intentions to Use M-Learning in Saudi Arabia = الاستعداد للتعلم الإلكتروني باستخدام الأجهزة النقالة : العوامل المؤثرة في نية طلاب الجامعات لاستخدام التعلم الإلكتروني في المملكة العربية السعودية , 2014 .

[44]  XANTHIDIS DIMITRIOS.  Investigating the attitude of the average Saudi towards the Social Media , 2014 .

[45]  Hsiao-hui Hsu,et al.  The Acceptance of Moodle: An Empirical Study Based on UTAUT , 2012 .

[46]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies , 2000, Management Science.

[47]  Mehmet A. Orgun,et al.  Cybersecurity and privacy issues for socially integrated mobile healthcare applications operating in a multi-cloud environment , 2019, Health Informatics J..

[48]  M. Seliaman,et al.  Mobile Learning Adoption in Saudi Arabia , 2012 .

[49]  Yi-Shun Wang,et al.  Investigating the determinants and age and gender differences in the acceptance of mobile learning , 2009, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[50]  Aytaç Göğüş,et al.  Educational technology acceptance across national and professional cultures: a European study , 2013 .

[51]  Hanan Aifan,et al.  SAUDI STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO SUPPORT LEARNING , 2015 .

[52]  I. Qureshi,et al.  M-learning adoption: A perspective from a developing country , 2012 .