José Carlos Sánchez Prieto

Mobile learning adoption from informal into formal: an extended TAM model to measure mobile acceptance among teachers

Mobile learning is currently spreading from the informal education field to the formal one. In this process, teacher involvement occupies a central role, and in order to ensure it is necessary to know the factors that lead to the acceptance of these technologies. The technology acceptance model (TAM) constitutes a suitable tool that has been frequently used when it comes to study the adoption process of information systems (SI) in educational and non-educational contexts. The present communication proposes an extended TAM model with constructs from other theories, designed for the evaluation of the acceptance of the mobile technologies by the teaching body.

Mobile learning: tendencies and lines of research

As mobile technologies have gained presence in all social groups, the interest for their applications in the educational field has grown steadily. The present article proposes an exploration of the concept of mobile learning with the intention of describing the possibilities of this methodology and establishing its development tendencies. To that end, we will focus in three key aspects: didactic uses, pedagogical criteria and lines of research. We will begin with a definition of the key concepts and an analysis of the features of the devices, addressing the didactical implications of each ones use. Secondly, we will address the pedagogical criteria for the integration of mobile learning (mLearning), and we will describe its connection with the different theories of education and we will establish the guidelines to follow when developing activities within this methodology. Lastly, we will present the main lines of research, with a particular focus on Europe and Spain. As a closure, we will pose a series of conclusions and proposals to improve the development of mobile learning as an educational solution. Currently, research on the possibilities of mobile terminals in the field of teaching is focusing particularly on the development of a pedagogical framework from which to elaborate a proper didactic methodology. This article aims to reflect this growing tendency.

Behavioral intention of use of mobile technologies among pre-service teachers: Implementation of a technology adoption model based on TAM with the constructs of compatibility and resistance to change

The knowledge of the process of accepting ICTs in formal education contexts entails an essential tool to achieve a successful incorporation of technologies in schools. This paper presents the results of a descriptive study on the behavioral intention of use of mobile learning among the students of the Primary Education Teacher Bachelors Degree. The population is composed of students from said degree from the University of Salamanca, who have completed a questionnaire based on the TAM model, expanded with the constructs of compatibility and resistance to change. 678 individuals participated in this study. Results show a moderately favourable disposition towards the future use of this methodology. Significant differences were found according to gender, especially in the constructs of compatibility and resistance to change.

Assessment of the Disposition of Future Secondary Education Teachers Towards Mobile Learning

Mobile technologies occupy an increasingly important place within the catalogue of didactic resources available to teachers, who play a key role in the success of innovation processes in the field of education. The research presented in this paper intends to contribute to the knowledge of the factors that condition the acceptance of mobile devices on the part of future secondary education teachers. To this end, we have elaborated a TAM-based model expanded with the constructs of perceived enjoyment and self-efficacy. The questionnaire for this model has been administered to 222 students from the Secondary Education Teacher Training Masters Degree of the University of Salamanca. The results of the study show a slightly positive attitude towards the use of mobile technologies on the part of the students. The hypothesis test reflects significant differences in the means of the construct perceived enjoyment according to gender.

Subjective norm and behavioral intention to use mobile technologies: A descriptive study on the attitudes of future primary education teachers

The transformations fostered by the fast technological development, together with the social demand for the integration of new technologies in educational contexts, cause the study of the factors that promote the actual use of a given technology to be an essential element for the guidance of the innovation process. This research work presents the results of a descriptive study on the attitude of future teachers towards the didactic use of mobile devices when they are incorporated to their teaching practice. To this end, we have administered a questionnaire based on the TAM model, to which we have added the construct of subjective norm, to the first-year students from the Primary Education Teacher Bachelors Degree from the University of Salamanca, in its branches of Ávila, Salamanca and Zamora. A total of 177 students have participated in this research. The results of the hypothesis testing have yielded significant differences according to the branch of the University that the students are enrolled in, but not according to their gender.