Perceptions of Augmented Reality (AR): A Motivational Approach to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) for Pre-service Teachers

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service teachers' perceptions of augmented reality (AR) technology and their intention to use it in their future careers. This involved integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with part of the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) to examine the learners' perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) of AR, and how this affected their attention (ATT) in learning, and intention to use (ITU) AR in their future careers. An AR application was applied to affix virtual objects to learners' real world over seven weeks of an Educational Technology course. An online quantitative questionnaire was developed and administered to 101 students in a purposive sample. A descriptive correlational research design was adopted in this study. The results indicate that the students' PU for AR and their ATT while using it were significant predictors of their ITU for this technology in future, while PEU was not a significant predictor of ITU. However, the students' PU and PEU were significant predictors of their perception of AR's capacity to sustain their attention (ATT) while learning. The intention of this study was to pave the way to expand TAM by highlighting an intrinsic motivation variable.