Adoption and use of smart devices as clickers in classrooms in higher education

Abstract

The availability of students' smartphones, tablets, and laptops, known as bring your own devices (BYOD), used as clickers rather than the custom devices provided by institutions is increasing. Introducing BYOD as clickers and the level of adoption by students is not explored in the literature. Another element that is not reported in the literature is students' negative perception of the use of clickers. This paper reports on the factors of the adoption of BYOD and the impact of the use of BYOD for engagement and active learning. The study used mixed‐method data analysis. A questionnaire was used to collect qualitative and quantitative data from 78 students. The technology acceptance model (TAM3) was used to develop a partial least square‐structural equation modeling (PLS‐SEM) model to test hypotheses on the factors affecting the adoption of BYOD by students as clickers. PLS‐SEM was used to test the proposed hypotheses based on TAM3 factors. The qualitative data analysis indicates that BYOD has a role as a facilitator of active learning and engagement. Job relevance has a weak positive relationship with output quality; result demonstrability has a negative weak relationship with resistance to adoption. Incompatibility of BYOD as a clicker acts as a factor for the nonadoption of the technology. This research suggested the inclusion of the BYOD technology compatibility factor for analyzing the perception of usefulness. The findings have particular implications for curriculum planners and educators.