Use of Blackboard Learning Management System: An Empirical Study of Staff Behavior at a South African University

Abstract

This study explores the use of a Learning management system (LMS), Blackboard, among academics at a South African university of technology. Based on the literature and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, four constructs which influence academics’ usage and behavioural intention to adopt LMS were considered: performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions, and social influence. Data was collected from 100 academics through a survey questionnaire, and correlations and regression was used to analyse the relationships. The results indicate that, facilitating conditions is the most influential factor explaining the usage of, and intention to use LMS among both users and non-users, while the set of variables, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions were not able to predict a significant amount of variance in intention to use LMS. Implications for practice are presented.