For Sustainable Application of Mobile Learning: An Extended UTAUT Model to Examine the Effect of Technical Factors on the Usage of Mobile Devices as a Learning Tool

Abstract

Mobile devices have become an important tool in higher education. Although mobile devices have several benefits for students, the use of these devices is still very limited among students. This low percentage of usage could be attributed to several reasons, both technical and non-technical. Therefore, there is a need to conduct more research in order to understand the necessary factors that would lead to enhanced student usage, thus achieving sustainable mobile learning. In order to achieve that, our study proposes a model by employing the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) to investigate the necessary factors that influence intention to use mobile learning among university students. To evaluate the proposed model, structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to analyze data collected from 612 students. The results indicated that factors, such as device connectivity, device compatibility, device memory, device performance, network coverage, and network speed have a significant and positive influence on students’ intention to use mobile learning. This research provides important recommendations for university decision makers and developers on understanding the necessary factors for adopting mobile learning and reflect the students’ requirements.

Adopting xRM in Higher Education: E-Services Outside the Classroom

“…The results show that there is significant relationship between effort expectancy and students' behavioral intention. This is congruent with similar studies [8,11,63], whereas effort expectancy was the most influential determinant of behavioral intention in the context of e-learning [7]. Years of experience have taught us that medical students often show some sort of computer anxiety, especially those who had not previously undergone formal computer courses [82].…”

“…Opposite to the findings of many UTAUT2 based studies [2,[5][6][7][8]12,63], analysis of the first hypothesis that we proposed showed that there is no significant relationship between performance expectancy and students' behavioral intention. Interestingly, our finding was the same as in a study that had a similar focus (using the UTAUT2 model to analyze students' ICT adoption) conducted by Attuquayefio and Addo [13].…”

“…Many researchers have used the UTAUT model to conduct studies that explore a variety of subjects in a wide range of different environments [52]. Regarding the higher education context, previous studies have mostly used UTAUT/UTAUT2 to explore the acceptance and usage of mobile technologies, regarding learning and the applying of mobile devices in a learning environment [5,6,22,[53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63]. No study to date has either explored or evaluated the acceptance and usage by students of academic xRM e-services that serve them outside the classroom.…”

Exploring the Factors Affecting Mobile Learning for Sustainability in Higher Education

“…Furthermore, this model supports the sustainability of mobile learning by understanding the factors affecting students' intention to use Mlearning before applying this type of education to ensure its success and continuity. It is used to increase the learning motivation among students, enhance students' engagement and increase the sustainability of learning in an effectively way [38].…”

Mobile Phone Buying Decisions among Young Adults: An Empirical Study of Influencing Factors

“…One of the tremendous improvements relating to communication technology is the development of mobile phones, which are evidence of the rapid change in technological advancements [1]. Remarkable developments in mobile technology and applications have encouraged people to use them in their day-to-day life [2,3]. In recent years, the mobile phone has evolved from essentially an interpersonal communication device to a multimedia machine [4].…”