The continuous intention to use e-learning, from two different perspectives

During the recent vast growth of digitalization, e-learning methods have become the most influential phenomenon at higher educational institutions. E-learning adoption has proved able to shift educational circumstances from the traditional face-to-face teaching environment to a flexible and sharable type of education. An online survey was conducted, consisting of 30 teachers and 342 students in one of the universities in the United Arab Emirates. The results show that teachers’ and students’ perceived technology self-efficacy (TSE), ease of use (PEOU), and usefulness (PU) are the main factors directly affecting the continuous intention to use technology. Instructors’ technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) and perceived organizational support (POS) positively affect the intention to use the technology, whereas students’ controlled motivation (CTRLM) has a greater influence on their intention to use the technology, due to the type of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation that they have and which they can develop throughout the process of learning. The findings support the given hypotheses. In addition, they provide empirical evidence of a relationship between perceived organizational support and perceived pedagogical content knowledge. In fact, they are considered the key factors that support the use of technology continuously

Adoption of Information and Communication Technology in Teaching and Learning Environment in Jordanian Higher Education

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an important role in modern institutions by facilitating and improving the teaching and learning process to be in line with the information technology age. Jordan, as one of the developing countries, highly values the importance of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and their role in achieving an economic prosperity through the development of human resources. Unfortunately, the adoption and usage of ICT in teaching and learning process is quite low among the academic staff in the public HEIs in Jordan. The main purpose of this study is to examine the potential prominent factors related to the adoption and usage of ICT in Jordanian HEIs among the academicians. The study provides an understanding on the ICT usage by applying the Diffusion of Innovation theory, Theory of Planned Behavior and the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior. A self-administered survey was conducted on 500 academic staff selected from public HEIs in Jordan. A total of 415 participants (83%) responded to the questionnaires. The findings showed that subjective norms, attitude towards technology, and perceived behavioral control positively affected the behavioral intention to use ICT in HEIs among academicians. The study provides recommendations to the higher education leaders and policy makers towards promoting a successful adoption and diffusion of technologies in the future. Besides, it offers a clear description about the adoption in the field of educational technologies in the context of developing countries and the Arab world in particular

Technophobia and Technophilia among Undergraduates: Cross-national Research in Jordan, Qatar, and Egypt

The rising growth of integrating technology into education affects the psychological structure of students, especially their technophobia and technophilia levels, playing a vital role in their adaptation to new technology, bridging the digital divide, and achieving sustainable development goals. Despite such influence, research lacks diagnostic theses among Arabian undergraduates. This study is the first to assess technophobia and technophilia levels according to countries among Jordanian, Egyptian, and Qatari undergraduates. The quantitative research approach and a cross-national research design, with a web-based questionnaire, are adopted to explore the technophobia and technophilia levels of Arabian undergraduates and investigate them concerning the country. Additionally, A stratified multistage clustered random sampling is recruited. The study sample comprised 1081 undergraduates; from Egypt (400), Jordan (375), and Qatar (301). The data were collected in September of the academic year 2021–2022 using the Technophobia and Technophilia Questionnaire. The results demonstrated a moderate level of technophilia among Arabian undergraduates. Moreover, according to country, the ANCOVA test confirmed a non-significant (p>.05) difference in technophilia levels. Notably, a significant (p<.05) difference exists in technophobia levels according to country. The results of the Scheffe test demonstrated that Qatari undergraduates were less technophobic than Jordanian and Egyptian undergraduates. This study’s implications can inform the government, especially policy-makers in education and sustainable development planners, to pay attention to undergraduates’ technophilia and technophobia concerns and plan strategies and policies for encouraging technology adaptation and managing technophobia and technophilia constructs

An examination of the gender gap in smartphone adoption and use in Arab countries:a cross-national study

This is the first research to study gender differences among consumers in a cross-national context in the Middle East: the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordan. A conceptual framework was developed by extending the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) further. It was tested among individuals aged 18–29 years using multi-stage cluster sampling. A total sample of around 900 usable responses from both countries were included in the analysis. The factors national IT development, enjoyment, perceived relative advantage, price value and effort expectancy were found to be significant in the model among Arab women in the UAE and Jordan. The study has theoretical, social and policy relating contributions. The study shows how an extended UTAUT2 fits among both genders in a cross-national context. The study is helpful for policymakers who intend to reduce the gender gap in smartphone adoption and use. The advancement of national IT development and the presence of effective policies focusing on women were found important in both countries

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE ACTUAL USE OF M-GOVERNMENT FROM THE USER PERSPECTIVE: THE CASE OF ABU DHABI GOVERNMENT

In recent years, the evolution of information technologies has shown vast growth. The popularity of and demand for mobile smartphones and applications also continue to grow, so governments are developing mobile business models and moving from electronic-government (e-government) to mobile-government (m-government) practices in order to enhance functioning and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their services. However, there are very few pieces of systematic evidence related to m-government implementation and the level of actual use of m-government applications and services in less developed countries. Therefore, the current study aims to identify factors that affect Abu Dhabi citizens\u27 and residents’ actual use of m-government applications. Moreover, this study examines the relationships between m-government service and technology characteristics, perceived ease-of-use and usefulness, user past experience, attitude toward m-government use, behavioural intention to use m-government, and actual use of m-government. In addition, 22 hypotheses are developed and tested using a sample of 279 m-government service users in Abu Dhabi, collected through a cross-sectional survey. After developing and testing the conceptual model, the results show that the suggested m-government factors are crucial to achieving user adoption of m-government services while excluding the factors of accuracy, convenience, risk, and privacy. Furthermore, the results of the study are expected to enhance the existing theorization of mobile technology factors that affect user acceptance and actual usage of m-government services. From a practical perspective, this study provides a recommendation to decision-makers and developers of m-governments in order to enhance and increase the level of actual usage of their applications and services

A sequential exploratory design for the e-learning maturity model in Middle Eastern countries

E-learning involves the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). It is transforming universities and has undergone immense change. Therefore, it has become the main tool for improving educational and training activities. Many universities are combining e-learning components with their conventional instruction in order to enhance the delivery of traditional courses. However, many models of e-learning initiatives fail to achieve desired learning and teaching outcomes, because of the selection of inappropriate technology, instructor characteristics, or failure to provide sufficient attention and support from the organization (Engelbrecht 2005; Selim 2007). Despite the potential models of e-learning as tools to enhance education and training, their values will not be realized if instructors, learners, and organizations do not accept them as efficient and effective learning tools. Yet, it seems that universities in the Middle East are still at a fundamental stage of adopting and implementing e-learning despite the plentiful factors that suggest e-learning as a support tool capable of enhancing the process of learning. The reason behind selecting Middle Eastern universities is that in Arab countries mostly focuses on the insertion of new technological features without taking into account psychopedagogical concerns that are likely to improve a student's cognitive process in this new educational category. Also, fragile strategies for e-learning have existed in most of the Middle Eastern universities. Consequently, describing strategy is serious to the successful deployment of e-learning initiatives in Middle East and Arab countries. The aim of this thesis is to explore the criteria affecting the introduction of a maturity model in the deployment of e-learning in Middle Eastern countries. Building on the extant literature review concerning the identification of critical success factors (CSFs) of e-learning, many factors (instructor characteristics, information technology infrastructure, and organizational and technical support) were examined and it was found that there is no complete model for e-learning. Also, this review concluded that the factors developed need modification to account for Middle Eastern status. These modifications resulted in the development of an e-learning maturity model affecting e-learning development in the Middle East. The thesis was mainly a sequential exploratory study that employed in-depth interviews, supplemented by questionnaires. Qualitative data was collected from interviews and analyzed using Grounded Theory. The results of the qualitative analysis were followed up by collecting quantitative data using online questionnaires. The quantitative data was analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. A total of 600 responses were used in the quantitative analysis, while a total of 150 interviews responses were used in the qualitative analysis. The results of this study provide an insight into six important dimensions. First, the results describe how learners’ perceive e-learning models in higher education institutions and sheds some light on learner attributes that may be prerequisites for benefiting from and accepting e-learning models. Second, they address the issue of higher education institutions’ strategies for e-learning initiatives. Third, the results describe how learners’ perceive e-learning features in higher education institutions. Fourth and fifth, they explain the criticality and importance of the instructor, and student attitudes towards e-learning environments. Sixth, they assess the effect of e-learning on students

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE BARRIERS TO ‎ICT ‎INTEGRATION IN THEIR FUTURE INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE IN A GULF STATE

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to assess pre-service teachers‟ confidence with technological pedagogical knowledge, their attitude toward ICT integration in education, intention to integrate ICT in their future career, and their evaluation of their teacher education program in terms of preparing pre-service teachers to utilize ICT in their future instructional practice. Furthermore, this study explores the relationship between TPK confidence, and the attitude toward and intent to integrate ICT among pre-service teachers. A quantitative method was employed to gather data from pre-service teachers at their senior year at their College of Education during the academic year 2014/2015. The evidence was then analyzed based on the original research questions. The study findings show that approximately half of the participants had neither the confidence nor the intention to utilize ICT in their future instructional practice. However, the majority of them also had positive attitudes toward ICT. The results show that there is a significant relationship between confidence and intention, with participants with less confidence about ICT skills in their instructional practice having no intention to utilize it in their future instructional practice. In addition, a significant relationship was evident between attitudes and confidence as participants believe that the use of ICT in teaching leads to better student learning outcomes. Evidence is mixed as to whether teacher education programs have a positive role in pre-service teachers‟ preparedness to use ICT in their future instructional practice. The research, therefore, suggests the need for effort on the part of both faculty members and policy makers to improve the teacher education program in the area of technology integration

User readiness and intention to adopt Blockchain technology: perspective of accounting practitioners in Malaysia

The world is catching up with blockchain technology, however, it has slowly caught the attention of Malaysians. Besides, the opportunities and challenges of blockchain technology for the accounting practitioners are still under-investigated and empirical evidence is yet to be provided. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between the constructs of technology readiness index (TRI) and the accounting practitioners’ behavioural intention to adopt blockchain technology. A cross sectional study has been carried out and employed PLS-SEM for data analysis. Findings indicate that, among the technology readiness variables, optimism and innovativeness have a significantly positive effect on the intention to adopt blockchain technology, whereas discomfort and insecurity do not have a significant effect on the intention to adopt blockchain technology. Therefore, the management teams, blockchain developers and the related authorities should put more effort, time and energy in discovering the opportunities and challenges of blockchain technology as well as accelerating the development of blockchain technology to avoid falling behind by other countries in gaining advantages from this perspective

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ADOPTION OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY IN IRAQI HIGHER EDUCATION: EVIDENCE FROM SALAHADDIN UNIVERSITY (10)

This paper investigates the use of e-learning systems in universities in Iraq as part of the UNESCO Avicenna Virtual Campus Project. In addition, it identifies the factors that can affect Iraqi students’ acceptance and use of e-learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the management of Salahaddin Avicenna E- Learning Centre. In addition, a questionnaire was developed based on extending the Technology Acceptance Model. A total of 300 questionnaires were distributed to students. Partial Least Squares (PLS) was used to analyse the data. The findings indicated that e-learning has a potential in being used successfully in Iraqi universities. However, the training on the use of the system needs to be improved. In addition, the findings indicated that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms and self efficacy have significant effects on behaviour intention and behaviour intention, experience, information quality and technical support have significant direct effects on actual use of the e-learning system