Abstract
Although learning management systems (LMS) have been widely adopted by higher educational institutions in many countries, they are considered an emerging technology in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, research has demonstrated that the students’ use of them is not always satisfactory. This quantitative study investigated the factors that affect the students use of LMS in higher education by extending the technology acceptance model (TAM) and adapting eight external variables. Based on the probability multi-stage cluster sampling technique, online surveys were sent by email to 2000 students registered in three public universities in Saudi Arabia. 851 responses were submitted by participants, and 833 responses were used for data analysis. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equations Modeling (PLS-SEM), the results revealed that perceived ease of use is affected by six factors (content quality, system navigation, ease of access, system interactivity, instructional assessment and system learnability). The findings confirmed that perceived usefulness has five determinants (content quality, learning support, system interactivity, instructional assessment and perceived ease of use). This research is relevant to researchers, decision makers and e-learning systems designers working to enhance students’ use of e-learning systems in higher education, in particular where there is not yet widespread adoption.
Highlights
The development of information technologies has led to the acquisition of new applications in the field of education [1]
The findings revealed that content quality (CQ), System navigation (SN), Ease of access (EOA), System interactivity (SI) and system learnability (SL) explained 74% of the variance in perceived ease of use (PEOU), where SL explained the most compared to the other variables
learning management systems (LMS) have been implemented in almost every higher educational institution; studies [11, 12, 13, 4] provided evidence of the low level of students’ use of them
Summary
The development of information technologies has led to the acquisition of new applications in the field of education [1]. Dahlstrom et al [5] found that 99% of educational institutions, 85% of teachers and 83% of students had adopted LMS in the USA Regardless of this reach, the effectiveness of LMS places reliance on the students’ use [6, 7], and their benefits are minimized if students do not use them [8, 9]. Another study [15] evaluated the students’ perceived usability of LMS at Jeddah Community College in Saudi Arabia and found that most students (56%) use LMS either rarely or occasionally. This indicates that issues remain discouraging the use of LMS and suggests investigating factors that encourage effective utilization
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