Page - 251 - in Intelligent Environments 2019 - Workshop Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Intelligent Environments

4.1.1 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) The Technology Acceptance Model explains the adoption and use of new technologies. As described in Akman and Turhan’s 2017 study [18], it has four predictor variables and one dependent variable, Actual Use (AU). The predictor variables include: 1) Perceived Ease of Use (PEU), or user belief that the technology is easy to use; 2) Perceived Usefulness (PU), or user belief that the technology is useful; 3) Attitude Toward Use (ATU), or how positively users feel about the technology; and 4) Behavioral Intention (BI), or the extent to which the user plans to use the technology. According to the model, users who believe the technology is easy to use will perceive it as useful and have a positive attitude. Second, users with positive attitudes, who believe the technology is useful, will voice intentions to use it, which then predicts actual use. The TAM was the most prevalent base model in this analysis. For example, Akman and Turhan [18] surveyed 142 students and faculty, finding that Perceived Ease of Use (PEU) predicted nothing, but all other TAM variables and two others (Security Awareness and Ethics Awareness) predicted actual use according to the theory. This finding was inconsistent, as two other studies noted indirect effects of PEU [11] [19]. 4.1.2 Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model and E- Learning Acceptance Model (ELA Model) According to Balakrishnan [20], the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model (UTAUT) explains adoption and use of technologies in general, while the E-Learning Acceptance Model (ELA model) is specific to e-learning. Both include the same four constructs, although the component factors within each construct differ between the models. Influence from the Diffusion of Innovations model by Rogers [21] is seen in the Complexity and Compatibility variables. Balakrishnan [20] took some constructs and component factors from the UTAUT and the ELA models to create and test the six-construct and 13-factor Social Media Acceptance Model (SMAM). To create the SMAM, Balakrishnan [20] renamed, omitted, added, redefined, and shifted constructs and component factors around. The resulting six constructs in the Social Media Acceptance Model—Performance, Effort/Influence, Self, Collectivism, ICT Facility, and Communication Functionality—are not directly comparable to the four constructs in the original ELA and UTAUT models that are displayed in Table 1. 4.1.3 Uses and Gratification Theory (U&G) As described in a 2019 report modeling the educational usage of social media [11], the Uses and Gratification (U&G) theory suggests that media users are active, goal- oriented, aware of their goals, and use media to accomplish their goals. The two basic elements of U&G theory are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Because U&G theory has been tested extensively across media types for 70 years, the specific factors defining its elements may vary. An eight-factor model predicting Facebook educational usage and adoption was derived from the U&G theory and tested in [22] and [23]. This model was updated in two recent studies about educational usage of social media, one with pre-service teachers [11] and the other with undergraduate students using Facebook [19]. In the pre-service teacher study, Saini and Abraham [11] added E.Damianoetal. /Bridging theDivide: TheCurrentStatusofWeb2.0 inHigherEducation 251