Exploring the antecedents of screenshot-based interactions in the context of advanced computer software learning

Abstract

Current e-learning systems provide course materials in a variety of formats, such as text, image, and video, and students are able to interact with their classmates and teachers using discussion forums, chat rooms, or e-mail. However, most interactions between students seeking technical support have a textual format. To promote effective discussion and interaction between users, e-learning systems should make better use of a variety of media. According to media-richness theory, screenshots are the best medium for describing problems and troubleshooting in the context of computer software. This study developed a screenshot-based interaction system, which is a system of discussion forums for advanced computer software learners, by integrating the richness of social-networking media with the traditional structure of present-day discussion forums. The system provided students with a convenient, clear means of explaining advanced computer software problems, by uploading screenshots, dragging rectangles, and leaving comments in text boxes. It also allowed students to give and receive individual responses to their problems, thereby enhancing their learning. As all of the interactions, including the description of the problem and the subsequent responses, were based on screenshots, they were termed “screenshot-based interactions.” The study investigated the effects of five antecedents of user intention to conduct a screenshot-based interaction, including colleague opinion, personal innovativeness, perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness. The results, based on data collected from 418 students, indicated that students' perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness had a strong, positive, and direct effect on their behavioral intention, whereas personal innovativeness had an indirect effect. Colleague opinion had direct effects on their perceived enjoyment and perception of the system's ease of use and usefulness, which in turn indirectly affected their behavioral intention.