Explaining the Acceptance of Blended E-learning ---From the Perspectives of Student and Instructor

• Main Authors: Wei-lun Huang, 黃偉倫
• Other Authors: Chun-hsiung Liao
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/27047188729049047155

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 交通管理學系碩博士班 === 96 === The well developed information technology infrastructure provides a suitable background for the E-learning in educational institutions in Taiwan. Blended E-learning combines the characteristics of asynchronous teaching and traditional classroom teaching method. It has the effectiveness of the classroom with the flexibility and any-time nature of asynchronous E-learning system. Essentially, understanding students’ and instructors’ perceptions toward blended E-learning is a crucial issue for enhancing teaching and learning performance. The study is to analyze the influential factors of the acceptance of the blended E-learning in a research-oriented and integrated university in Taiwan. Two extended technology acceptance models from the perspectives of student and instructor are established. A 30-item survey questionnaire is developed to analyze students’ acceptance with 269 effective samples in order to indentify the relationships among community adaptability, computer and Internet self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and behavioral intention. In addition, a 35-item survey questionnaire is developed to analyze instructors’ acceptance with 200 effective samples in order to indentify the relationship between computer and Internet self-efficacy, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and behavioral intention. The methodologies used are factor analysis, reliability and validity analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results of this thesis are summarized in the two models. In the student model, perceived usefulness is positively influenced by perceived ease of use, revealing if using E-learning system in courses is clear and easy, students perceive this learning method improves their learning performance and is useful. Both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use positively influence attitude toward blended E-learning, indicating that students perceive blended E-learning is good and beneficial for them, only if using E-learning system is easy and improves their learning performance in courses. Perceived ease of use and attitude are the two factors which directly and positively influence students’ behavioral intention toward blended E-learning. Interesting, perceived ease of use has the highest influence on behavioral intention, contradicting the result in the literature in which attitude perception was shown to have the highest influence on behavioral intention than other perceptions. To promote students’ participation in the courses of blended E-learning, perceived ease of use is the most importantly influential factor. Therefore, using E-learning system is easy in courses would make students be more likely to take courses with blended E-learning. In contrast, the direct relationship between perceived usefulness and behavioral intention is non-significant, implying perceived usefulness influences behavioral intention toward blended E-learning only indirectly through attitude. Computer and Internet self-efficacy directly and positively influences students’ perceived ease of use of blended E-learning, indicating that if students operate E-learning system to post/exchange messages or download course materials by the skillful computer and Internet ability, they can easily access information and service in the system and thus, perceive more ease of use of taking blended E-learning courses. Community adaptability is positively related to students’ perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, respectively. It reveals that if students could interact between students and instructor to solve questions and share information of courses through the various functions of the E-learning system, then they feel easy and without much effort to use the system in courses and perceive as well the usefulness of blended E-learning. Next, the instructor model also has some findings. Perceived usefulness is positively influenced by perceived ease of use, revealing if using E-learning system in courses is clear and easy, instructors perceive this teaching method improves their teaching performance and is useful. Both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use positively influence attitude toward blended E-learning, indicating that instructors perceive blended E-learning is good and beneficial and have positive perception of it, if using E-learning system is easy and improves their teaching performance in courses. Perceived ease of use and attitude are the two factors which directly and positively influence instructors’ behavioral intention toward blended E-learning. In line with the well-known result in the literature, attitude perception has the highest influence on instructors’ behavioral intention toward blended E-learning than other perceptions. To promote instructors offering courses of blended E-learning, attitude and perceived ease of use are the importantly influential factors. Noticeably, the direct relationship between perceived usefulness and behavioral intention is non-significant, but perceived usefulness influences behavioral intention toward blended E-learning only indirectly through attitude. Finally, computer and Internet self-efficacy directly and positively influences instructors’ perceived ease of use of blended E-learning, indicating that if instructors can use E-learning system to post/exchange messages or upload course materials with the skillful computer and Internet ability, they comfortably modify information and service in the system and thus, feel easy and without much effort for offering courses of blended E-learning.