The Acceptance and Use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in Higher Education: A Contextual Study of Royal University of Bhutan

Abstract

Aims: The study was conducted to explore the factors that influence the acceptance of Moodle (VLE) among students and to study the behavioral intention of students to use VLE in Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) based on modified technology acceptance model (TAM). Study Design: This exploratory research incorporated a quantitative approach. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in nine constituent colleges under Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) in the period of one year (2019-2020). Sample: A total of 384 samples were drawn from population size of 9590 students under RUB colleges proportionately by using Yamane (1967) formula of sample determination.  Methodology: The research used the modified TAM model to study the factors that influence the acceptance of virtual learning environment (VLE) and the behavioral intention of students to use VLE. This study mainly used primary data collected through a self-report online questionnaire adopted from context-based literature. Results: The study observed that while the facilitating condition (FC) has a weak positive effect on perceived usefulness (PU) of VLE, the users’ experience (E) has a very strong positive influence over it. However, self-efficacy (SE) and subjective norms (SN) do not affect PU. Similarly, SE, E and SN have a positive effect on perceived ease of use (PEU), but the effect of SE is observed to be very strong. However, FC does not affect PEU. PEU has a very strong positive effect on PU, and both PEU and PU strongly affect the behavioral intention (BI) to use VLE. BI also has a strong positive affect on actual system use (SU). The study also observed that students in RUB demonstrate a high degree of behavioral intention to use VLE which appears to be a strong indicator of actual system use. Conclusion: The study concludes that the students’ experience in using VLE is comparatively more important determinant of perceived usefulness than the technical and infrastructural support that enables them to use VLE; the better the experience of using VLE the more useful it appears. Similarly, students’ ability and the perceive social pressure to use VLE do not influence the students’ perception about the usefulness of it. However, if students are confident in their ability to use VLE, it appears easy to them, and if they perceive VLE to be user friendly, they consider it very useful. Students intend to use VLE when they are convinced that the system is useful and easy to use.