Factors Affecting the Use of Smart Mobile Examination Platforms by Universities’ Postgraduate Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Empirical Study

Abstract

Recent years have seen an increasingly widespread use of online learning technologies. This has prompted universities to make huge investments in technology to augment their position in the face of extensive competition and to enhance their students’ learning experience and efficiency. Numerous studies have been carried out regarding the use of online and mobile phone learning platforms. However, there are very few studies focusing on how university students will accept and adopt smartphones as a new platform for taking examinations. Many reasons, but most recently and importantly the COVID-19 pandemic, have prompted educational institutions to move toward using both online and mobile learning techniques. This study is a pioneer in examining the intention to use mobile exam platforms and the prerequisites of such intention. The purpose of this study is to expand the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by including four additional constructs: namely, content quality, service quality, information quality, and system quality. A self-survey method was prepared and carried out to obtain the necessary basic data. In total, 566 students from universities in the United Arab Emirates took part in this survey. Smart PLS was used to test the study constructs and the structural model. Results showed that all study hypotheses are supported and confirmed the effect of the TAM extension factors within the UAE higher education setting. These outcomes suggest that the policymakers and education developers should consider mobile exam platforms as a new assessment platform and a possible technological solution, especially when considering the distance learning concept. It is good to bear in mind that this study is initial and designed to explore using smartphones as a new platform for student examinations. Furthermore, mixed-method research is needed to check the effectiveness and the suitability of using the examination platforms, especially for postgraduate higher educational levels.

The Effectiveness of Online Platforms after the Pandemic: Will Face-to-Face Classes Affect Students’ Perception of Their Behavioural Intention (BIU) to Use Online Platforms?

“…The information quality will be affected by such types of improvement, leading to a positive and significant impact on students' perception. The current result is in agreement with previous studies that stated that information quality is considered significant if it satisfies users' needs [116][117][118]. Both the system quality and information quality of online learning platforms have a significant effect on the intention to use an online learning platform.…”

Factors That Affect E-Learning Platforms after the Spread of COVID-19: Post Acceptance Study

“…Firstly, it has been found out that all the variables are influential and are related to the independent variable. This result supports the TAM in the literature where the two constructs of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have been confirmed as having a positive effect on the acceptance of technology [14,41,[119][120][121][122][123][124]. In a study by [125], the variable of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness are considered as having a strong effect on the acceptance of Zoon as an e-learning platform, and they have a positive correlation with self-efficacy.…”

“…University students have been shifted to a completely different environment where many challenges have to be met [8,9]. Understanding students' challenges can help in forming the required mechanism to assess students' understanding, achievement and success during the second wave of COVID-19 [10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Obstacles to Applying Electronic Exams amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploratory Study in the Palestinian Universities in Gaza

“…Approximately half of all learners worldwide do not have access to a computer, and 40% do not have internet access at home [2]. Although mobile learning [26,27], in particular, could offer low-income countries a cheaper option for providing higher education, financial constraints in these countries are coupled with poor infrastructure, while individual learners may not be able to afford mobile devices compatible with university education delivery systems. For inclusive education systems, the situation of students with a disability also needs to be considered [24], while using digital delivery of education also has implications for gender equity [28].…”