Open AccessJournal Article
Modeling computer usage intentions of tertiary students in a developing country through the Technology Acceptance Model
Eben Afari,Akwasi Achampong +1 more
TLDR
This study reveals that the age and level/year of tertiary students as well as prior experience of computer usage have no significant influence on perceived usefulness of a computer, and both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use had a significant effect on the attitude of students towards their computer usage.Abstract:
This study aims to examine the computer usage intentions of Ghanaian Tertiary Students. The Technology Acceptance Model was adopted as the theoretical framework to ascertain whether it could help explain behavioral intentions of individuals to accept and use technology. Factor analysis was used to assess the construct validity of the initial research model and to uncover any additional factors influencing students' behavioral intentions. Multiple Linear Regression analysis was done to determine the extent to which dependent variables were predicted by independent variables. T-tests were used for test of significance. This study reveals that the age and level/year of tertiary students as well as prior experience of computer usage have no significant influence on perceived usefulness of a computer. Experience however significantly influenced perceived ease of use whilst age and level/year of students did not. The study also indicates that both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use had a significant effect on the attitude of students towards their computer usage. Interestingly, only perceived usefulness significantly influenced the students' intention to use the computer. Thus fundamental changes may have to be made to the Technology Acceptance Model if it is to be applied to a developing country such as Ghana. This research was limited to one particular university. The study did not consider data on actual computer usage. Further research would have to consider these factors. The findings of this research and the model developed provide a basis for individuals who have to make a decision concerning computer usage of tertiary students in a developing country. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Computer usage has increased in various tertiary institutions. Various computer types such as laptops, desktop computers, and palmtop computers are now available to tertiary students. Students can thus make use of Computer Based Tutorials (CBTs); store large volumes of books (e-books) quickly submit their assignments to their lecturers through the internet as well as download lecture notes from the internet. Other tools available to students include instant messaging, emailing, search engines for research, web-based resources, access to library catalogues, and graduate degree programs online. Web-based learning technologies are increasing on college campuses as developers have created easy-to-use courseware applications such as E-campus (used by Regent University College Ghana) and KEWL(Used by the University of Ghana). Two trends are evident with regards to educators identifying incentives for integrating computers in their teaching. These are student accomplishment, rather than educator external rewards; and the ability of students to use computers as a tool for their own purposes. At an increasing number of universities, computers are gradually becoming a requirement for incoming students in preparation for their career success. Employers value extensive experience with Information Technology and are expecting their higher education graduates to be computer literate (RoIa, 2002). Previous researchers have shown that laptop computers in the classroom can lead to positive educational outcomes (Finn and Inman, 2004). The focus of this study is on the computer usage intentions of students in tertiary institutions in Ghana. Modern trends require that students use the computer a lot in their studies. Very little is known about computer usage intentions of Ghanaian tertiary students. There is therefore the need for empirical research on the intentions of computer usage among tertiary students. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main objective of the study is to investigate the behavioral intentions of computer usage among Ghanaian Tertiary students using a single institution as a case study. This may help to explain the key factors affecting the decision of students to use computers in their study. …read more
Citations
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Using the UTAUT model to analyze students' ICT adoption
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employed the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model to determine the strength of predictors for students' intention to accept and use ICT for learning and research.
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Students’ perceptions on incorporating e-learning into teaching and learning at the University of Ghana
TL;DR: In this paper, a study based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) examines students' perceptions on incorporating e-learning into teaching and learning at the University of Ghana.
Journal ArticleDOI
Does it matter being innovative: Teachers’ technology acceptance
Mazman Akar,Sacide Güzin +1 more
TL;DR: Perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of highly innovative teachers were found to be significantly higher than their low level counterparts and the results of structural equation model showed that personal innovativeness was influential in the technology acceptance of teachers.
References
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Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User
TL;DR: Regression analyses suggest that perceived ease of use may actually be a causal antecdent to perceived usefulness, as opposed to a parallel, direct determinant of system usage.
Journal ArticleDOI
Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed and validated new scales for two specific variables, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, which are hypothesized to be fundamental determinants of user acceptance.
Journal ArticleDOI
User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models
TL;DR: In this article, the authors address the ability to predict peoples' computer acceptance from a measure of their intentions, and explain their intentions in terms of their attitudes, subjective norms, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and related variables.
Journal ArticleDOI
Multivariate Data Analysis
TL;DR: This book deals with probability distributions, discrete and continuous densities, distribution functions, bivariate distributions, means, variances, covariance, correlation, and some random process material.
Journal ArticleDOI
A Theoretical Extension of the Technology Acceptance Model: Four Longitudinal Field Studies
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed and tested a theoretical extension of the TAM model that explains perceived usefulness and usage intentions in terms of social influence and cognitive instrumental processes, which was tested using longitudinal data collected regarding four different systems at four organizations (N = 156), two involving voluntary usage and two involving mandatory usage.
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