Several investigations regarding the use of online homework have been conducted to evaluate their effectiveness and value in university science courses. These studies tend to evaluate either student perceptions or student performance. Though these studies provide value regarding the knowledge transfer from content to student in an online medium, there exists a gap in the current literature determining if the medium itself provides a relevant learning environment that promotes student learning. Davis (1985) developed the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand the user acceptance process of computer and information systems as well as to provide a theoretical basis for empirically measuring user acceptance. Davis proposed that TAM is generalizable in nature, and the growth of the digital medium provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the relevance of TAM in a chemical education setting.Understanding the relationship of student perceptions regarding the use of online homework in an introductory chemistry class can be an important tool in developing the chemistry-learning environment of tomorrow. Students at a medium-sized university in the Midwest enrolled in chemistry for non-science majors were assigned online commercial homework, which in previous semesters had been provided in the textbook. This study empirically supported that the TAM model is applicable within a chemical education context. It was confirmed through partial least squares structural equation modeling that both a student's perceive ease of use and perceived usefulness of a chemistry online homework platform directly impact a student's intention to do online homework assignments and therefore impacts their actual system usage. Implications of the results and avenues of future research will be discussed.

Application of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to investigate student perceptions of online homework in introductory chemistry

247th National Meeting (2014)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.