End-User Acceptance of a Learning Management System

End-User Acceptance of a Learning Management System in Two Hybrid Large-Sized Introductory Undergraduate Courses: A Case Study

This correlational study explored student acceptance and attitude towards the use of the WebCT learning management system (LMS) at the University of Central Florida.  The purpose was to gain a better understanding of student acceptance of WebCT in relation to their final grade.

With the growth of online education, a priority of educational institutions has been to develop and implement software application systems to aid student self-efficacy, attitude, and usability in terms of web-based computer learning.  The significance of this study was to answer two main questions, student acceptance of the WebCT LMS and the attitude of students’ with this type of instructional resource.  The article discusses the importance for the university to understand the need to make informed decisions when developing and implementing an IT project like WebCT.  The study researched 469 students from two large entry level Psychology and Engineering courses.  Both courses were hybrid courses and data was collected using two online questionnaires early and late in the course.  The data was spread across six instruments ranging from 1) usability, 2) attitude, 3) computer self-efficacy, 4) subjective norms, 5) system use, and 6) student demographics.  From the structural equation modeling of the Technology Acceptance Modeling approach, the university was able to forecast success for the WebCT program once the courses are transformed from a hybrid to a web-based course.  I like how the university through this study attempted to identify a course management system that was beneficial and could be implemented successfully for both student acceptance and usability.  A limiting factor of the study was the use of only quantitative data without any qualitative student feedback.  The study leaves opportunities for future studies in terms on longitudinal data collection.

References:

Cheng-Chang “Sam” Pangunter, G. (2005). End-user acceptance of a learning management system in two hybrid large-sized introductory undergraduate courses: A case study. Journal Of Educational Technology Systems, 33(4), 355-365.

Source:
Texas A&M University – Commerce, Gee Library

• End-User Acceptance of a Learning Management System in Two Hybrid Large-Sized Introductory Undergraduate Courses: A Case Study