Perceived Usefulness, Perceive Ease of Use, Computer Attitude, and Using Experience of Web 2.0 Applications as Predictors of Intent to Use Web 2.0 by Pre-service Teachers for Teaching A dissertation presented to the faculty of The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Yu-Fang Chiou June 2011 © 2011 Yu-Fang Chiou. All Rights Reserved. 2 This dissertation titled Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Computer Attitude, and Using Experience of Web 2.0 Applications as Predictors of Intent to Use Web 2.0 by Pre-service Teachers for Teaching by YU-FANG CHIOU has been approved for the Department of Educational Studies and The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services by Teresa Franklin Professor of Educational Studies Renée A. Middleton Dean, The Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education and Human Services 3 ABSTRACT CHIOU, YU-FANG, Ph.D., June 2011, Instructional Technology Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Computer Attitude, and Using Experience of Web 2.0 Applications as Predictors of Intent to use Web 2.0 by Pre-service Teachers for Teaching Director of Dissertation: Teresa Franklin The study aims to investigate pre-service teachers’ perceptions towards Web 2.0 applications. Although the literature reveals that technology integration is a trend in higher education and researchers and educators have increasingly shared their ideas and examples of implementations of Web 2.0 applications in educational domains, few studies have focused on understanding whether pre-service teachers perceive Web 2.0 applications as effective teaching and learning tools. This study attempts to investigate to what extent computer attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and using experience of Web 2.0 predict the intention to use Web 2.0 applications in future teaching among pre-service teachers. A quantitative research method was used in the study and a paper-and-pencil questionnaire was conducted. A total of 125 participants from the teacher preparation program in a large Midwestern university were analyzed through the statistical method, multiple regression. The multiple regression analysis rejected the null hypothesis and showed that computer attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and using experience of Web 2.0 are significant predictors of the dependent variable, behavioral intention to use 4 Web 2.0. Approximately 71% of the variance of the behavioral intention to use Web 2.0 can be accounted for by the linear relationship of the four independent variables. Three of the independent variables, perceived usefulness, computer attitude, and using experience of Web 2.0, are statistically significant in predicting the behavioral intention to use Web 2.0. Approved: _____________________________________________________________ Teresa Franklin Professor of Educational Studies 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all I would like to show my gratitude to all the members of my dissertation committee. This dissertation would have not been completed without their guidance, encouragement, and support. I appreciate their endless effort and time they had offered me. Special thanks to: Dr. Teresa Franklin (my helpful, kind, and approachable advisor) Dr. George Johanson Dr. Greg Kessler Dr. Albert Akyeampong I appreciate the inspiration and friendship from my friends, Jack Hsu, Karin Lin, Fu-Hui Wei, Emily Lai, Sophia Pan, Janet Hu, and Shona Chang. There are so many friends in Athens and Taiwan who helped me. If you are not mentioned here, please know that I am grateful for your support and assistance. Finally, I want to dedicate this dissertation to my parents and sisters who always love, support, and encourage me through the years of study. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 5 List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 9 List of Figures ................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................ 11 Background of Study .................................................................................................... 11 Web 2.0 ..................................................................................................................... 11 21 st Century Skills for Learning ................................................................................ 13 Pre-service Teachers in the Undergraduate Teacher Education Programs ............... 14 Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 15 Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 15 Research Question ........................................................................................................ 16 Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 17 Delimitations of the Study ............................................................................................ 17 Limitations of the Study ............................................................................................... 17 Definitions of Terms ..................................................................................................... 18 Organization of the Study ............................................................................................. 19 Chapter Two: Literature Review ...................................................................................... 21 21 st Century Skills: Technology Literacy ..................................................................... 21 21 st Century Learning ................................................................................................... 23 Web 2.0 and Its Application ......................................................................................... 26 Concepts and Principles Behind Web 2.0 ................................................................. 26 Web 2.0 Learning ...................................................................................................... 31 Web 2.0 Tools and the Implementation in Classrooms ............................................ 33 Social Software ..................................................................................................... 33 Multimedia Sharing .............................................................................................. 39 Tagging and Social Bookmarking ........................................................................ 40 RSS ....................................................................................................................... 41 7 Google Applications ............................................................................................. 42 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................. 43 Constructivism .......................................................................................................... 43 Integrating Technology in the Teacher Preparation Program ....................................... 50 Pre-service Teachers: A New Generation ................................................................. 52 Pre-service Teachers and Technology Integration Models ....................................... 54 Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) ........................................................................ 56 Computer Attitude ........................................................................................................ 59 Challenges and Concerns .............................................................................................. 60 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter Three: Methodology ............................................................................................ 64 Research Design ........................................................................................................... 64 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................. 64 Research Questions ................................................................................................... 64 Method ...................................................................................................................... 64 Target Population ...................................................................................................... 65 Sampling Plan ........................................................................................................... 66 Sample Sizes ......................................................................................................... 66 Sampling ............................................................................................................... 66 Instrumentation ........................................................................................................