The relationship between perceived usability, personality traits and learning gain in an e-learning context

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of perceived usability and students' personality traits on their learning gain in an e-learning context at the university level.Design/methodology/approach - The factors examined are related to individual characteristics such as students' personality traits, as well as to perceptual characteristics such as the perceived usability of the platform used. A total of 110 undergraduate students participated in the study. A one-group pretest-posttest research design was adopted. Big 5 personality test, System Usability Scale (SUS) and a general knowledge assessment questionnaire were used.Findings - Perceived usability of Zoom platform is statistically significantly correlated with students' learning gain (r = 0294, p = 0.002, s). Concerning learning effectiveness in the current e-learning scenario,students' final performance was found to be statistically significantly higher than the initial (p = 0.000, s).A hierarchical regression analysis (Z?2 = 0.146) unveiled that Zoom's perceived usability and personality traits are significant predictors for learning gain (p = 0.011, s).Research limitations/implications - The findings of this research provide important implications regarding the design of lessons in an e-learning context.Social implications - A substantial fraction of the educational process is going online, especially in higher education. Thus, a thorough understanding of the factors which influence learning gain in an e-learning context is of significance.Originality/value - The main contribution of this study is that it quantifies the variance of the learning gain explained by two factors, namely, SUS and personality.