A Study of the Students' Acceptance of E-learning During COVID-19 in Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University

Abstract

Background. Existing literature has indicated that there are positive and negative perceptions among students’ acceptance of the swift shift to e-learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students’ perceptions are guided by different aspects; some enjoy this experience and are accepting of it, while others are completely unhappy and deny their need to use it. However, before the pandemic, it was the student’s choice to go with e-learning or not; however, now, students have to use e-learning platforms to complete their studies. Aim. The study aims to examine IAU students’ acceptance of e-learning by examining the impacts of the factors affecting their acceptance. Furthermore, this study provides a comparison of the factors’ effect on both males and females. In total, 252 responses were received. Methods. In this study, a deductive approach and a quantitative method are adopted that involve collecting data through an online questionnaire based on the technology acceptance model in constructing the closed-ended questions and three open-ended questions to gain a deeper understanding of the students’ perceptions. Results. It was found that all the proposed factors (perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment) have a strong positive impact on students’ attitudes and behavioural intentions towards the use of Blackboard VLE. Regarding the gender-based impact, there are no significant differences between males and females. However, it is revealed that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have a more positive impact on females’ intentions to use Blackboard VLE than on males. On the other hand, self-efficacy and perceived enjoyment have a stronger positive impact on males than females in their intentions to use the e-learning platform. Conclusions. The findings of the study reveal that, out of 15 proposed hypotheses, 13 were supported and two rejected. Overall, most of the IAU students accepted the use of Blackboard VLE for e-learning. However, the acceptance of female students was higher than that of males.