Technology Acceptance Related to Second Life~(TM),Social Networking, Twitter~(TM), and ContentManagement Systems: Are Agricultural StudentsReady, Willing, and Able?

摘要

Technology has the potential to improve education but only if it is applied with purpose andconsideration of the audience. Understanding technology’s role in education goes beyond thecomparison of tools; there is a need to better understand student acceptance of technology so appropriateeducational scaffolding and support can be provided. The absence of technology acceptance can becomea barrier to the adoption, successful implementation, and use of new technologies. Therefore, thetheoretical framework was based on technology acceptance. Described in this study is agriculturalstudents’ acceptance and readiness to use specific technologies (i.e., Second Life~(TM), social networking,Twitter~(TM), and content management systems) as educational tools. The population was all studentsenrolled in eight courses at Texas A&M University during the Fall 2010 semester. A total of 716completed surveys were analyzed. Findings revealed that students perceive each of the technologiesstudied (i.e., Second Life~(TM), social networking, Twitter~(TM), and content management systems) as uniqueentities that vary in regard to acceptance. Students overwhelmingly accept content management systemsas a useful educational technology while Second Life~(TM), Twitter~(TM), and social networking are familiarbut not as accepted. Findings reinforce the importance of instructors finding specific methods tosuccessfully implement technology–specific educational tools.