Abstract
E-learning is the new picture of education in the 21st century. Schools and universities are adopting e-learning systems to improve education processes, reduce costs, make teaching and learning more convenient, provide new tools for the new educational methods. EduWave is a system implemented by Jordan, like many Arab countries, to be used by teachers, students and other stakeholders in public schools in the country. This study tried to measure students perceptions towards the intention to use EduWave and the factors affecting it.
This study utilized 347 surveys administered in 3 public schools in Jordan, where students rated their perceptions towards using the EduWave system as part of their learning process. The study used a 5 point Likert scale, and included 2 parts: a demographic and general questions section, and a set of questions probing students’ attitudes towards four variables: intention to use EduWave (ITU, 3 items), perceived usefulness (PU, 5 items), perceived ease of use (PEOU, 3 items), and perceived trust (PT, 3 items). The distribution of sample according to gender was 202 male students (58.2%) and 145 female students (41.8%). The following table shows responses of students to various questions related to their usage of EduWave.
This study aimed at exploring Jordanian public school students towards using EduWave, an e-learning portal utilized by the Ministry of Education. Data collected indicated conflicting results concerning the usage of EduWave, as many tasks were not utilized properly like: sending e-mails, exchanging work, uploading files, calendaring, and discussions. On the other hand, the sample showed that schools pushed the registration on the system (having an ID and password), and used it for grades only. This indicates that the most utilized task/process is assessment.
This study also hypothesized that PU, PEOU and PT will influence students’ intentions to use EduWave, Results supported only PU and PEOU, and failed to support the influence of PT. Analysis indicated that PU has the largest effect on ITU (beta = 0.367), followed by PEOU (beta = 0.199). Such results support the original TAM proposed by Davis (1989). It seems that students are not keen on trust issues, which might be because of their age, or they trust the system (government) and don’t think it is a driver for future usage. On the other hand, usefulness is an important predictor of future usage, but seems that students’ perceptions of EduWave that it is not useful (low mean = 2.413).
This study needs confirmation especially with such results; wider sample might yield different conclusions. Wider sample means better demographics, mix of private and public schools, and maybe different grades. Also, a different research method might yield more insights, like interviews, or discussion groups, where issues are explored in depth. |
