Acceptance of Podcasting to Support Learning in Higher Education

Podcasting is an innovative technology that is gradually picking up the steam as a supplemental tool to facilitate learning. This research investigated the appropriateness of applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh et al. 2003) to study the acceptance of podcasting in a higher education setting. Specifically, it attempted to (1) identify and test appropriate antecedents to behavioral intention (i.e., intention to use) in the UTAUT, (2) establish the relationships among the antecedents to behavioral intention in the UTAUT, and (3) theoretically extend the UTAUT with additional external constructs, specifically the phenomenon of escalation of commitment. The constructs included in the tested model and the hypotheses made were derived from the review of literature concerning technology acceptance in higher education. A survey methodology was carried out to test the hypotheses. The result confirmed the effects of the four key antecedents on behavioral intention to adopt the technology in the UTAUT: facilitating conditions, social influence, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy. Among them, performance expectancy (e.g., perceived usefulness) is the most dominant predictor for behavioral intention. While the other three antecedents have direct impacts on behavioral intention, their impacts seem mainly mediated by performance expectancy. Furthermore, facilitating conditions pertinent to podcasting include technical support and copyright clearance. I-pod ownership and computer and web experience moderately contribute to effort expectancy. The phenomenon of escalation of commitment might not exist as i-pod ownership does not directly contribute to behavioral intention. The overall results are expected to contribute to theoretical development by enriching UTAUT with a new way to operationalize an antecedent (i.e., FC) to BI, the further refinement of the relationships among the four antecedents, the inclusion of such external constructs as escalation of commitment and computer and web experience. The overall results could also help industry practitioner in promoting the acceptance of podcasting as a supplemental tool for learning.