Certified crop advisers' intention to use smartphones for mobile learning

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2020-01-01
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Schultz, Thomas
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Denise Schmidt-Crawford
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Altmetrics
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Education
Abstract

This dissertation examined Certified Crop Advisers' (CCAs) perceptions of using smartphones for mobile learning (m-learning) as well as how they currently use smartphones which is beneficial for agriculture education providers. In this study, 630 CCAs from the United States participated by responding to a 39-question online survey based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). This survey gathered data concerning perceptions about m-learning on a smartphone and CCA demographics. Analysis included descriptive statistics, non-parametric tests, and multiple regression. First, descriptive analysis and non-parametric tests were used to compare groups within the CCA population. Almost all CCAs (99.0%) had a smartphone, a majority (67.7%) owned one for more than seven years, and a majority (57.0%) spend an average of over three hours per day using one. Almost half of CCAs (49.1%) felt as though they were advanced or expert users of their smartphone. Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallace H, and Mann-Whitney U analysis showed differences in the use of smartphones for mobile learning based on age by decade and perceived skill with a smartphone. Further examination showed age group differences by decade on media used, with 20-year-olds being higher users of online courses than those in their 30s – 70s whereas 20-year-olds used PDFs less than those in their 40s – 70s. Second, using the UTAUT theory, multiple regression analysis was used to investigate variable impact on behavioral intention to use smartphones for mobile learning. Multiple regression analyses explained 56.0% of the behavioral intention variance indicating that the UTAUT is a useful model to identify intention to use smartphones for m-learning. CCAs "somewhat agree" that using a smartphone for m-learning is easy to become skillful at, easy to use, and easy for the individual. CCAs would be more likely to use a smartphone for m-learning as they see more benefit in the speed of task accomplishment and productivity. Implications of these findings are discussed, and further research directions are offered.

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Fri May 01 00:00:00 UTC 2020