British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 43 No 1 2012 71–84

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2010.01142.x

Student attitudes towards and use of ICT in course study, work

and social activity: A technology acceptance model approach _1142 71..84

Rob Edmunds, Mary Thorpe and Grainne Conole

Dr Robert Edmunds is a researcher within the Human Factors group at the University of Cranfield, UK. Mary Thorpe
is Professor of Educational Technology and Gráinne Conole is Professor of eLearning, both at the Institute of
Educational Technology, the Open University, England. Address for correspondence: Professor Mary Thorpe, The
Institute of Educational Technology, the Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK. Email:
m.s.thorpe@open.ac.uk

Abstract
The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) in higher edu-
cation has been explored largely in relation to student experience of coursework and
university life. Students’ lives and experience beyond the university have been largely
unexplored. Research into student experience of ICT used a validated model—the tech-
nology acceptance model—to explore the influence of work and social/leisure contexts as
well as course study, on attitudes towards and take up of technology. The results suggest
that usefulness and ease of use are key dimensions of students’ attitudes towards tech-
nology in all three contexts but that ICT is perceived most positively in the context of work
and technology use at work is an important driver for technology use in other areas.

Introduction
Educational leaders and governments have for more than a decade promoted the desirability of
increased use of information and communication technology (ICT) in students’ experience of
study at university. This was one of the emphases in the 1997 Dearing Report in the UK, which
recommended that ‘all higher education institutions in the UK should have in place overarching
communications and information strategies by 1999/2000’ (Dearing, 1997, p. 23).With the
growth of the Web since then, and particularly the development of highly efficient search engines
and social networking tools, entrants to university have increased their personal use of ICT, year
on year (Caruso & Kvavik, 2005; Kennedy, Judd, Churchward, Gray & Krause, 2008). The impact
of ICT on study and learning practices has generated research seeking to identify both the extent
of ICT usage and the effects this is having on student experience at university more broadly
(Conole, De Laat, Dillon & Darby, 2008).
The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC, UK Higher Education Funding Council) has
funded two phases of enquiry into a holistic view of learners’ experience of ICT, focusing on the
social as well as study aspects of this experience. One of the studies funded by the JISC phase 2
Learner Experiences of eLearning Programme (JISC, 2006 to 2009), broadened this approach
and focused on the work as well as study and leisure contexts of students. The project studied
students on six work-related Open University courses where the practices learned are relevant to
specific employment contexts. Almost all students were in employment as well as studying part-
time. While all the courses require students to use technology, a key aim of the research was to
explore the possible effects of a students’ current work context on their attitudes towards and take
up of ICT. A survey developed to explore this as part of the research, provides the focus for this
paper.
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta. Published by Blackwell Publishing, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford
OX4 2DQ, UK and 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA.
72 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 43 No 1 2012

A review of the literature identified a body of work on the technology acceptance model (TAM),
which has identified ease of use and perceived usefulness as key factors in take up of technologies
within the work place. The present survey adapted the TAM questionnaire in order to explore
technology acceptance through a comparison of work, study and leisure contexts.

The technology acceptance model

One of the most well-known models investigating resistance to new technologies in the workplace
was developed by Davis (1989) in the technology acceptance model (TAM). In its simplest 1989
form, Davis devised a scale that produced measures on two factors, ease of use and perceived
usefulness. Scores on these two subscales have been shown to correlate with the use/acceptance
of technology, particularly in information systems (Davis, 1989).
The TAM takes forward the idea that an individual’s actions can be predicted from a number of
known variables, which constitute two factors: perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness.
Perceived ease of use is defined by Davis (1989) to be the degree to which an individual believes
that a particular system would be free of effort, while perceived usefulness is the degree to which
an individual believes that a particular system will enhance job performance. Both these two
constructs achieved a reliability measure of Cronbach’s alpha (Cronbach, 1951) greater than
0.90 in two successive studies (Davis, 1989), suggesting high internal reliability within each
scale. Correlations between the subscales and actual system use in Figure 1, suggest a causal
pattern where perceived ease of use predicts perceived usefulness, which in turn predicts use.
Additionally, usefulness is more strongly linked to Usage than Ease of Use is linked to Usage. This
suggests users will put up with some difficulty in use, if the system provides some critical function.

Perceived Ease Perceived System Usage/user

of Use Usefulness Acceptance

Figure 1: Model suggesting causal direction of influence on technology acceptance (Davis, 1989)

Both subscales also correlated significantly with reported indicators of technology use for those
systems under investigation. This specification of the link between self-report and usage is encour-
aging and the TAM is a good instrument to understand how people come to accept technology
and continue in its use. The widespread use of the TAM also suggests it is applicable to many areas
of use, such as education and social applications of technology. However, the interaction between
technology and its acceptance for use is multifaceted and so the TAM with just its two constructs
of ease of use and usefulness may not capture all the components necessary to predict user
acceptance.

Investigating learning with the TAM

Roca and Gagne (2008) investigated the use of e-learning using an integration of TAM and
self-determination theory (SDT). SDT focuses on the three motivational needs of autonomy,
competence and relatedness. Autonomy concerns the individual feeling in control of their own
actions, competence is effectiveness of the individual in the environment and relatedness is the
need to feel connected to others, such as teammates or teachers (Deci & Ryan, 1985). SDT
therefore reflects perceptions that arise from the individual’s interactions with the environment
in which technology is used. To the combination of TAM and SDT was also added the construct of
playfulness, which is about enjoyment in using the system.
Their combined TAM/SDT model suggests that perceived autonomy, perceived competence and
perceived relatedness exert a direct effect on perceived usefulness and perceived playfulness,
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
 Exploring student perceptions of ICT in three contexts 73

which jointly with perceived ease of use are the most important influences upon e-learning
regarding continuance of intention and use. While this theory uses yet another motivational
model it highlights the utility of the TAM when applied to a learning situation along with other
relevant mediating variables. While the complexity of the SDT approach meant that it was
impractical to use in the context of this study, questions were added to the TAM in order to
incorporate a measure of student motivation and sense of competence in relation to the context
of ICT use.
There have been a number of revisions to the TAM (see Venkatesh & Davis, 2000; Venkatesh,
Davis & Morris, 2007) and also a number of alternative models of user acceptance of technology
such as the motivational model (Vallerand, 1997) the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991)
and innovation diffusion theory (Rogers, 1995) to name three. There have also been attempts to
combine a number of theories into a single useful model (see Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis,
2003). However, the simplicity of the original TAM (Davis, 1989) is still appealing. This is
supported by its use as part of wider scales in a number of domains (see Bruner & Kumar,
2005 (consumer research), Lee, 2008 (online learning), Padilla-Mele’ndez et al., 2008
(e-collaboration), Yi, Jackson, Park & Probst, 2006 [PDAs]). The TAM is well validated and can
form the basis of a short questionnaire with face validity for the person asked to fill it out.
Importantly it has been subjected to factor analysis techniques and results in two understandable
subscales that can be used to measure acceptance without trying to determine the meaning of
responses to a large number of separate questions. As can be seen from the literature reviewed,
the core concepts of ease of use and functionality prove to be a successful basis for a number of
revised models. This suggests these two factors are particularly valid in an understanding of
technology use. It should be noted however, that the TAM has not been widely used to investigate
the use of technology for social and leisure use (though use of the internet has been studied, for
example Fenech, 1998), and the research reported here will investigate the model’s applicability
to this domain.
Encouraged by this research, we incorporated questions from the TAM into the survey of a sample
of students studying six work-related courses, and in addition, added questions to investigate
motivational reasons for use. Motivational factors seem to be valid additions to the TAM in the
research outlined. The importance of motivational factors has also been highlighted by Jones and
Issroff (2007), who suggest motivational factors such as Control (over goals), Ownership, Fun,
Continuity between contexts and Communication are worth investigating in the use of mobile
devices. We have adapted items from these factors and tailored them to be relevant for the three
areas of course study, work and leisure.
The focus of this survey strand of the research was to investigate students’ perceptions of ICT and
how this impacts within and across the domains of study, work and leisure.

Method
Students and courses
The survey was administered to 73% of students studying the six courses listed below (no student
can be asked to take part in more than two research projects in a given year, and hence are
excluded if they have already been sampled in other surveys). These were all Open University
courses and the students were all resident in the UK. 421 students responded out of the 1209
surveyed, giving a response rate of 34.8%. Of those that answered the question, 239 indicated
female, 181 indicated male, age ranged between 19 and 59 with a mean of 37.62 and a standard
deviation of 8.97. Online surveys have widely varying response rates, but of 161 surveys at the
Open University in 2009, 17% had a response rate of 50% or higher, while the majority were well
below this and some below 20%.
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
74 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 43 No 1 2012

Technology (Tech) Cisco networking

Provides knowledge and skills needed to configure a LAN/WAN using Cisco equipment. Students
can go on to gain the industry-recognised certification through the CCNA examination. Students
study the CCNA program using an online curriculum provided by Cisco, and most study is online.
There are four compulsory day schools focusing on skills development and team working, with
preparation using simulation tools, four formative online assessments, three tutor-marked
assignments and an examination.
(CISCO online Academy, providing interactive course materials, labs and quizzes and summative online
assessment, offline simulation also provided in the ‘packet tracer’ tool)

Computing (Comp) Software requirements for business systems

Masters level course focusing on requirements engineering. Students use a computer for a major
proportion of the study time, downloading articles, software and assignments from the course
website. There are three assignments and an examination. Students are also provided with a
software requirements tool for use in recording requirements. Students are also invited to use the
Moodle Personal Journal tool.
(Moodle wiki, requirements recording tool, online resources, online tutor-group forums)

Engineering (MEng) Team engineering

Requires students to work in small teams on addressing an engineering problem in depth. There
is a compulsory residential weekend at the beginning and end of the course and students work
collaboratively with their team and their tutor, using FlashMeeting, conferencing and individual
and team blogs. Students identify the resources they require using the Internet and e-Library, and
course materials focus on group working, project management and the project brief.
(FlashMeeting video conferencing, Moodle wiki, online tutor-group forums)

Social Work (SocW 1) Foundations for social work practice

Compulsory level 1 component of the Degree in Social Work. Students must be sponsored by their
employing agency. Assessment is via five tutor-marked, three computer-marked and an end of
course assessment. There are eight tutor-led compulsory workshops and practice is verified. ICT
skills delivered online, based on the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL).
(Online resources, online ICT activities, CD-ROMS, online tutor-group forums)

Social Work (SocW 2) Applied social work practice

Students must be sponsored by their employing agency and working in a practice context, and
have passed all level 1 courses. Students undertake a practice learning opportunity of 100 days
as part of the course, supervised by a practice assessor. Required to build ICT skills using ECDL
requirements. Tutors run a series of eight tutorials that are obligatory. Students also complete
interactive computer marked assignments, which use audio and animation.
(Online resources, online ICT activities, CD-ROMS, online tutor-group forums)

Business Studies (Biz) Business organisations and their environments

The course is designed to develop personal and professional practice in business. It is practically
based and grounded in the student’s own experience of business organisations, whether as an
employee, customer or stakeholder. Students learn by sharing experience, analysing it in new
ways and widening the experience they already have. Assessment is through six e-TMAs and a
final examination, there are no compulsory day/residential schools.
(Moodle ePortfolio, Moodle wiki, online resources, online tutor-group forums)
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
 Exploring student perceptions of ICT in three contexts 75

Questionnaire design and method of data analysis

The questionnaire asks students the same set of questions with sections covering usefulness, ease
of use and motivation in using ICT, first in relation to course study (Part A), then to work (Part B)
and then in relation to social/leisure activities (Part C). This resulted in 19 questions for part A,
and 20 for each of part B and part C, where an additional question was added to ask if ICT was
a useful ‘tool’. The wording of questions was identical except where adjustments were required to
suit the context. This enables us to compare the impact of each of these contexts on perceptions
and use of technology and to reflect on the relationships between them. Finally, we have not
targeted one technology, rather we have asked about ICT overall. ICT was used as the generic term
to cover all types of information and communication technologies. The term ICT is regularly used
by the Open University in its communication with students, but it was also defined within the
questionnaire. For each question students responded on a scale of 1–5, ranging from agree
strongly to disagree strongly (this follows the format used by Davis, 1989). Items from the ques-
tionnaire are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
The responses to the survey were subjected to factor analysis to identify the constructs underlying
each scale for course, work and social use of ICT. The number of factors to extract was determined
by parallel analysis of 1000 random correlation matrices using the program written by O’Connor
(2000). Principle axis analysis was used to extract the relevant number of factors, and these were
submitted to oblique rotation using a quartimin procedure to achieve simple structure. Loadings
greater than 0.30 in size were regarded as important for interpreting the factors.The items yielding
salient loadings of this magnitude on each factor were taken to define a subscale, and each student
was assigned scores on each subscale by calculating the mean of their responses to its constituent
items. The reliability of each subscale was estimated using Cronbach’s (1951) coefficient alpha.
In addition to the TAM, students were also asked questions about their use of online learning and
communication tools, software and hardware; each scored on a three-point scale for ‘don’t use’,

Table 1: Factor loadings for study use of ICT

Factor

Questionnaire item 1 Usefulness 2 Ease of use

Learning is made easier by using ICT 0.821 -0.017

I use ICT because it allows me to learn wherever I need to 0.821 0.172
ICT makes me a more effective learner 0.798 -0.035
I can learn and cover material more quickly through the use of ICT 0.796 -0.017
I use ICT because it allows me to have all the information I need for my 0.741 0.094
studies in different locations
I use ICT because it makes study activities more personal and my own 0.737 -0.052
ICT generally increases my learning performance 0.724 -0.076
I use ICT because it gives me control over things I want to do in my studies 0.702 -0.137
ICT allows me to produce more in the time I have 0.672 -0.126
I use ICT because it is enjoyable to use while studying 0.640 -0.178
ICT is useful as a learning tool 0.637 -0.129
I use ICT because it allows me to communicate and work with others 0.463 0.043
during the course
I use ICT because it is relevant to my studies 0.330 -0.276
I use ICT because it is a requirement of the award -0.112 0.045
I find ICT easy to learn to use on my course -0.026 -0.917
ICT is generally easy to use on my course 0.005 -0.865
I find it easy to become skillful in using ICT on my course 0.009 -0.857
I can control ICT and make it do what I want on my course 0.086 -0.718
I find ICT flexible to interact with on my course 0.283 -0.567
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
76 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 43 No 1 2012

‘use occasionally’ and ‘use frequently’. This was intended to give us some idea of overall ICT use
in each domain of interest and also allow some validation of the TAM score by allowing a
comparison between perceived usefulness and actual technology use.

Data analysis and results

ICT and study
The first scale analysed investigates the students’ use of ICT in relation to course study activities.
Following parallel analysis it was determined that two factors should be extracted. Table 1 shows
the factor loadings on each of these. Loadings greater than 0.30 are shown in bold. A cut-off of
0.30 was chosen as a salient factor loading instead of 0.4 or 0.5 in order to fully explore the items
that had an association with the factors, even at a relatively weak level. To develop the scales
further for the purposes covered here, a 0.5 cut-off would be advisable. Overall, though, the factor
analysis indicates good construct reliability.
As can be seen from table 1, the questions load onto two factors in a way that still suggests
usefulness and ease of use. The motivational items we added load onto the usefulness factor. It
seems then that the students interpreted the motivation items as the usefulness of ICT. Motivation
to use ICT in this domain may reflect the technology’s inherent usefulness. The mean scores for
each of these two subscales, usefulness and ease of use, were calculated; each subscale was found
to yield values of coefficient alpha of 0.934.and 0.920 respectively, both of which would be
regarded as satisfactory accepting conventional criteria and suggests good internal reliability for
the scales.

Usefulness
5.00 Ease of Use

4.00
Mean response - Scale 1-5

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
Tech Comp Biz SocW 1 SocW 2 MEng

Figure 2: ICT in the course context: mean response rate for each of the two subscales split by the course of study

© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.

 Exploring student perceptions of ICT in three contexts 77

The students’ perceived Usefulness and Ease of Use for ICT are illustrated in Figure 2 for each
course surveyed. The two subscales were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) with course as
the between subjects independent variable. For this analysis, 377 participants responded to
all the items in both scales. This revealed a significant effect of Course for Usefulness
F(5,371) = 3.89, p < 0.01 and Ease of Use F(5,371) = 13.72, p < 0.01. Post-hoc tests (Tukey HSD)
found that for Usefulness the Tech Course scored significantly higher than SocW 2 (p < 0.01). For
Ease of Use Tech students responded significantly higher than both SocW 1 and SocW 2 students
(p < 0.01 in both cases). Also, responses for the Biz Course were significantly different to both SocW
1 and SocW 2 (p < 0.01 in both cases).This suggests that students on SocW 2 generally find ICT less
useful in their studies than those on the Tech course. Additionally, students on both SocW 1 and
SocW 2 find ICT less easy to use for their studies than students on either Tech or Biz. Course related
differences such as these are a valuable feature of the survey results in that they signal areas where
more support for students is likely to be required. The significant difference among students taking
different courses is evidence of discriminative validity for the scales.
It is encouraging that the technology acceptance model as adapted to a study setting still captures
factors for usefulness and ease of use. The motivational items added did not form a third factor but
helped to define the Usefulness dimension of the original scale, and reliability (see the alpha
coefficient values listed above) is also comparable to the original use by Davis (1989).
ICT and work
A similar analysis was carried out for part B of the questionnaire. Parallel analysis to determine
the number of factors to extract this time suggests three factors are important within the data.
Table 2 displays the factor loadings for each of the extracted factors.

Table 2: Factor loadings for work use of ICT

Factor

Questionnaire item 1 Usefulness 2 Ease of Use 3 Motivation

ICT generally increases my performance at work 0.769 -0.057 0.106

ICT is useful for learning at work 0.672 -0.072 0.200
ICT allows me to produce more in the time I have during work 0.817 -0.083 0.065
Work is made easier by using ICT 0.778 0.064 0.036
ICT makes me more effective at work 0.822 0.028 0.048
I can cover material more quickly through the use of ICT at work 0.678 0.003 0.113
ICT is useful as a tool at work 0.785 0.071 -0.071
I find ICT easy to learn to use at work 0.111 0.811 -0.129
I find it easy to become skilful in using ICT for my work 0.147 0.761 -0.076
ICT is generally easy to use at work 0.048 0.809 0.044
I can control ICT and make it do what I want at work -0.082 0.733 0.301
I find ICT flexible to interact with at work -0.064 0.755 0.181
I use ICT because it gives me control over things I want to do at 0.301 0.286 0.425
work
I use ICT because it makes work activities more personal and my 0.070 0.162 0.685
own
I use ICT because it allows me to communicate and work with 0.524 0.054 0.074
others during work
I use ICT because it is enjoyable to use at work 0.150 0.191 0.513
I use ICT because it allows me to learn wherever I need to at work 0.225 0.053 0.618
I use ICT because it allows me to have all the information I need 0.245 0.130 0.385
for my work in different locations
I use ICT because it is a requirement of my work 0.389 0.125 -0.199
I use ICT because it is relevant to my work 0.474 0.281 -0.115

© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.

78 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 43 No 1 2012

While some of the motivational items still load on the Usefulness factor, five of these motivational
questions now load on the third extracted factor. These five items concern control, personalisa-
tion, choosing location and enjoyment in the use of ICT and so seem to reflect both motivation
and perceptions of the ICT environment or context rather than strictly usefulness or ease of use
in the workplace. The mean scores for each of these three subscales, Usefulness, Ease of Use and
Motivation, were calculated; each subscale was found to yield values of coefficient alpha of
0.909, 0.905 and 0.845 respectively, which would be regarded as satisfactory accepting conven-
tional criteria.

Usefulness Work
5.00 Ease of Use Work
Motivation Work

4.00
Mean Score - Scale 1-5

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
Tech Comp Biz SocW 1 SocW 2 MEng

Figure 3: ICT in the work context: mean response rate for each of the three subscales split by the course of study

The students’ perceived Usefulness, Ease of Use and Motivation for ICT are illustrated in Figure 3
for each course sample surveyed. The three subscales were subjected to ANOVA with course as
the between subjects independent variable. For this analysis, 331 participants responded to all
the items in the three scales This revealed a significant effect of Course for Usefulness
F(5,325) = 5.88, p < 0.01 and Ease of Use F(5,325) = 7.14, p < 0.01, but no significant effect for
Motivation. Post-hoc tests (Tukey HSD) found that for Usefulness of ICT in a work setting, Tech
students scored significantly higher (p = 0.034) than SocW 2. Comp students were significantly
higher (p < 0.01 in both cases) than both SocW 1 and SocW 2, and Biz students also scored
significantly higher (p < 0.01) than SocW 2.
For Ease of Use of ICT at work, Tech students responded significantly higher (p = 0.01) than SocW
1, Comp students responded significantly higher than both SocW 1 and SocW 2 students
(p = 0.01 and 0.034 respectively) and Biz students were also significantly higher in their scoring
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
 Exploring student perceptions of ICT in three contexts 79

than both ‘SocW’ courses (p < 0.01 in both cases). The level of motivation did not differ signifi-
cantly across courses.
Overall, students perceive technology in their work context very positively in relation to both
usefulness and ease of use. The third factor identifies other positive features of ICT experience in
a work context, in relation to increased sense of control of work activities, increased personali-
sation and enjoyment.
ICT and leisure and social activities
A similar analysis was carried out for part C of the questionnaire, which asked students to
consider their use of ICT for leisure and social activities. The two factors of Usefulness and Ease of
use again emerged (Coefficient alpha of 0.948 and 0.933 respectively). However, further analysis
of these two factors across courses found no significant difference in average scores. Overall, this
suggests that students on the different courses surveyed, perceived ICT during leisure or social
activities as both useful and easy to use at similar levels.
Comparison across the three areas of use; course, work and social
As can be seen from the previous analyses, the level of reported Usefulness and Ease of Use for ICT
differs in the different domains of Course, Work and Social settings. This is illustrated in Figures 4
and 5 below. Repeated measures ANOVA found Usefulness to differ significantly across areas of
ICT use (Course, Work and Social settings); 270 participants responded to all the questions across
these three areas. F(2,538) = 116.74, p < 0.01. Pairwise comparisons (Bonferroni test) revealed
that the students surveyed scored Usefulness at Work as significantly higher than either during
their studies or leisure activities (p < 0.01 for both cases). Perceived Usefulness during course
activities was also higher than for social activities (p < 0.01).

5.00

4.00
Mean Score Scale 1-5

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
Usefulness Course Usefulness Work Usefulness Social

Figure 4: Usefulness by area of use

© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
80 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 43 No 1 2012

Ease of Use was also found to differ significantly across Course, Work and Social areas of ICT use;
319 participants responded to all the questions across the three areas. F(2,636) = 17.20,
p < 0.01. Pairwise comparisons (Bonferroni test) found that the students surveyed scored Ease of
Use at Work as significantly higher than either during their studies or social/leisure activities
(p < 0.01 and p = 0.012 respectively). Perceived Ease of Use during social activities was also
higher than for Course activities (p = 0.013).

5.00

4.00
Mean Score Scale 1-5

3.00

2.00

1.00

0.00
Ease of Use Course Ease of Use Work Ease of Use Social

Figure 5: Ease of use by area of use

Overall, the students surveyed here perceive ICT as both more useful and easier to use during
work-related activities, compared to study and social use. Elements of enhanced control and a
sense of personal ownership are also identified in the work setting. It is possible that this reflects
a higher degree of consistent functionality in the programs used at work, such as Microsoft Word
and Excel. There may also be more peer support at work, thus increasing the sense of ease of use.

Influence of perceived usefulness on actual technology use

In the original model (Davis, 1989), while ease of use is correlated with usefulness, it is usefulness
that seems to most strongly predict actual use of a technology. It was also relevant to our study to
see whether the levels of usefulness indicated by the students surveyed, do predict their overall use
of ICT across the three areas of course study, work and leisure activities. We asked students how
often they use a long list of contemporary technologies. The sum of the number of technologies
they use that captures the frequency of use may provide a reasonable index of their ICT use in
general. This can then be compared with their score on ICT usefulness to determine if this
dimension does predict overall ICT use.
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
 Exploring student perceptions of ICT in three contexts 81

Students were asked questions concerning online learning and communication tools, software
and hardware, each scored on a three-point scale for ‘don’t use’, ‘use occasionally’ and ‘use
frequently’. However exploratory factor analysis found that all the questions load onto a single
factor of ‘ICT use’. This one factor explains over 75% of the variance in the data, suggesting this
one factor captures students’ use of ICT to a very high level. Subsequently, one measure of ICT use
was computed from these questions providing a mean score of ICT use for each student. Linear
regression was then used to determine if perceived usefulness of ICT at course, work or social
activities predicts the level of ICT use.

Table 3: Correlations between (a) types of technology use and usefulness

(b) all technology use and usefulness, in the three areas of course,
work and social

UseCourse UseWork UseSocial

(a)
Online learning 0.239** 0.403** 0.267**
Communication 0.158** 0.288** 0.214**
Software 0.162** 0.309** 0.068
Hardware 0.177** 0.340** 0.156*
(b)
AllTech 0.210** 0.384** 0.207**

Correlation is significant at the <0.01 level marked **, Correlation is

significant at the <0.05 level marked *.

In a separate regression analysis for both ‘Usefulness for Course’ and ‘Usefulness for Social/
Leisure’ activities, both these variables significantly predict ICT use as measured here. However, as
can be seen from the pattern of correlations in Table 3, this is because they are confounded with
Usefulness at work. Multiple regression with all three areas of Usefulness (Course, Work and
Social) in the model finds that the only significant predictor of ICT use is Usefulness at Work
(Beta = 0.315, t = 4.17, p < 0.01), suggesting that neither measured usefulness for their course
nor their leisure activities add anything to the model, beyond what is already explained by the
level of perceived usefulness at work.

Discussion
It should be noted that there are well-known limitations to the factor analysis approach, both
concerning the type of analysis used and the way the results are interpreted (for example see Ford,
MacCallum & Tait, 1986). However, many of these issues are less problematical since the well-
validated TAM has been employed. The application of the TAM factors of ‘ease of use’ and
‘usefulness’ have proved useful measures for the study of students’ attitudes towards and take up
of ICT. The factor structure replicated for student responses about ICT in the context of course
study, work and leisure use of ICT. However, students perceive ICT as both more useful and easier
to use in the work context, by comparison with course study and leisure activity. This study points
towards the relevance of the work context in particular as influencing both attitudes towards and
take up of ICT more generally.
We also investigated whether the level of perceived usefulness (scored from the TAM items) could
predict students’ use of technology overall. In other words, if students scored ICT as useful in the
three areas (Course, Work and Social) would this mean they used more technologies more fre-
quently? The results suggest that the higher students scored ICT at work the higher the index of
actual technology usage. The strongest driver of technology use is perceived usefulness at work.
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
82 British Journal of Educational Technology Vol 43 No 1 2012

When collapsed across courses, the responses suggest that Usefulness and Ease of Use is highest
in a work setting. It is possible that the perceived usefulness of ICT formed at work impacts
strongly on how useful they find it for other activities. This may go some way to explaining how
usefulness at work reflects the level of use engaged in across all areas.
The relevance of this finding beyond the circumstances of the students sampled in this study can
be explored in relation to two areas; the orientation to work of all students, and the factors that
play into decision making about effective use of ICT on higher education course work. First, in
relation to work orientation, students studying part-time constituted 43% of the sector in 2004/
05, with 56% of these classified as mature students (Jamieson, Sabates, Woodley & Feinstein,
2009). Research has also demonstrated that at least half of all undergraduates undertake
income-generating activities. A study by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Informa-
tion of seven universities differing in type, subject spread, vocational/non-vocational and location,
showed that just over half of all students undertook paid work during term time, on average of
around 12 to 14 hours a week (Centre for Higher Education Research and Information and
London South Bank University, 2005). Many full time students therefore have a current link to a
workplace as well as intentions relating to their future employment when they graduate. The
survey results demonstrated that ICT in the workplace is experienced as both useful and easy to
use and these dimensions were also evident in attitudes towards ICT for course study. The elements
incorporated into these dimensions flesh out what it is that students value about ICT. Tables 1 and
2 demonstrate features that are highly rated for both study and work contexts, for example:
• ICT generally increases my performance (at work or for learning).
• ICT allows me to produce more in the time I have (at work or for study).
• Work/learning is made easier by using ICT.
• ICT makes me more effective at work/a more effective learner.
• I can learn and cover material more quickly through the use of ICT/cover material more quickly
through the use of ICT at work).
Students’ orientation towards ICT therefore is best viewed in relation not only to their needs for
social connection and leisure use of technologies, but in relation to the way in which ICT is used
in relevant areas of employment. Students may already have some exposure to these employment
areas, but can also be expected to be motivated positively towards technologies that are relevant
to their future employment intentions. Furthermore, the survey results reveal the importance of
performance and efficiency as perceived benefits of ICT usage and motivators for their use in
general.
The second area to which these findings relate is the strategic use of ICT by universities for
support of learning. Universities may be increasing ICT for curriculum delivery for a variety of
reasons (Selwyn, 2007) but issues of pedagogy are central to the concerns of teaching staff. These
findings suggest that at minimum, staff should make explicit links between the ICT they use on
course work, and that in use in the workplace. More importantly, the dominant role played by
issues of efficiency and effective performance in relation to positive attitudes towards ICT, should
play a strong role in the choice of technology used for study, and in the way in which it is designed
into study activities. While incoming generations of students may take technology for granted,
the evidence here suggests that attitudes towards usefulness and ease of use will nevertheless play
a strong role in willingness to develop new skills and technology usage.

Conclusion
Overall use of the TAM in this context has been successful, indicating the robustness of the model
and its value for understanding students’ attitudes towards and use of technology across contexts
of course study, work and leisure, and the ways in which the work context in particular influences
© 2010 The Authors. British Journal of Educational Technology © 2010 Becta.
 Exploring student perceptions of ICT in three contexts 83

perceptions and usage of technology more generally. Usefulness and Ease of Use are key aspects
of students’ attitudes towards technology in all areas of their lives, but ICT is perceived most
positively in the work context. The work context also appears as an important driver for technol-
ogy use in the other two areas of use. There are implications for higher education practitioners in
terms of decision making about whether and how to require students to use particular technolo-
gies for course study. The evidence suggests that of the various factors that influence use of and
perceptions about ICT, its perceived functionality plays a dominant role. Practitioners should not
assume that students share their view of what is functional or that a technology does deliver its
promised functionality in a particular study context. Students also have clear requirements in
terms of technology enabling them to produce more in the time that they have, and enabling
them to be more effective. Technologies which do not meet these requirements may prove counter
productive or simply be ignored.
The importance of the work context as a driver for ICT usage suggests that practitioners should
also emphasise the ways in which particular technologies can increase effectiveness in work
contexts as well as course study. While the social connectedness of students has been highlighted
in the use of Web 2.0 technologies, the research reported here suggests that students’ experience
of work and their intentions towards particular careers after study, could be used more directly to
influence their use of particular technologies and heighten their awareness of the benefits of
developing skills that enhance their effectiveness in work contexts. There is certainly scope for
further research to investigate how ICT connects across different domains and how its use is
influenced by cross-context application. These technologies become ever more integrated in daily
lives during work, study and leisure, so understanding user perceptions of ICT should provide
improved performance and acceptance of currently developing technologies.

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