A study of students’ attitudes towards using ICT in a social constructivist environment

Abstract

This study aims to examine the factors that support or hinder students’ attitudes towards using information and communication technology (ICT) in problem-based learning (PBL) using the technology acceptance model (TAM) (Davis, 1989) among polytechnic students. A total of 737 first-year polytechnic students in Singapore participated in the cross-sectional survey study by completing a questionnaire (The assessment of attitude and intention to use ICT tools among polytechnic students), which gathered both quantitative and qualitative data. Based on the analysis of the quantitative data, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use are found to be significantly and positively correlated with attitudes towards using ICT. Results from the analysis of the qualitative data suggest five major themes (engagement, communication, information gathering, collaboration and efficiency) on what students enjoyed most about using ICT. On the other hand, Internet connectivity, usability, technical issues and ICT competency are the four other themes that categorised the difficulties students faced using ICT. An important implication is to develop polytechnic lecturers’ competency in the use of ICT-enabled learning tools as a priority to enable them to successfully integrate ICT in their PBL lessons.

Diagnosis of the attitudes towards ICT of education students according to gender and educational modality

“…The discourse analysis confirms and expands the results obtained in the other parts of the research (Yang & Kwok, 2017;Liu, Ling & Zhang, 2017).…”

Google Classroom: Malaysian University Students’ Attitudes towards Its Use as Learning Management System

“…In language education, classrooms that use technology have been shown to produce positive results [6]- [8]. Technology-enhanced classrooms not only benefit students but also teachers [9]. With the advancement of the Internet technology, there have emerged new learning and teaching innovations.…”

Postgraduate Mathematics Education Students' Perceptions of Technology-based Tools and Resources: Exploring the Influences of Connectivism and the Three Worlds of Mathematics

“…The favorable effects of using technology-based tools and resources in mathematics education have been supported by other researchers [16,21]. Also, for the teaching and learning of mathematics, technology-based tools and resources can provide access to various problem-solving approaches compared to traditional teaching and learning approaches [33].…”

“…Siemens [26] maintains that connectivism as a learning theory is reinforced by existing technology-based tools and is founded on the notion that ubiquitous Information Communication Technology (ICT) influences a student's life, communication and learning methods. Along similar lines, in many educational contexts, technology has been seen as necessary for the development of teaching and learning [33]. Recently, technology has transformed teaching and learning so much that technology-based pedagogy can advance teaching and learning success by offering applicable collaborations among students, peers, and the lecturer [31].…”