Adoption and use of Learning Management Systems in education :|the role of playfulness and self-management

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the factors affecting primary and secondary education teachers’ behavioral intention to adopt Learning Management Systems (LMSs). In addition, a study that aims to establish the relationship between variables to determine the faculty members’ current use and attitude towards Learning Management Systems in Turkish universities is included. Information technology (IT) innovations have the power to change the way we work, we educate, we learn and basically the way we live. Effect of IT innovations on education makes it critical to understand the current usage situation of LMSs and the factors affecting their adoption by teachers. Instructors’ evaluation of different daily tasks that can be done via LMSs were used as external factors to see their effect on faculty members’ perception and usage intention of LMSs. Unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) was extended with factors from education and game based learning literature. In order to see the effect of individual and organizational level characteristics, multi-group structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis were conducted and discrepancies in relationships were reported. Evaluation of users and non-users and teachers of different fields were also compared to each other. Findings of this study not only contribute to theory through the development and testing of a thorough model relating technology features and individual characteristics to behavioral intention to use but also strong implications for practitioners who would like to increase LMS usage and create a more effective learning environment.