ICT efficacy and response to different needs in university classrooms: effects on attitudes and active behaviour towards technology.

Digital competence is considered to be a crucial learning outcome in education in the 21st century. In this context, research highlights the fact that the perceptions that instructors manifest about different aspects of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) condition these professionals' behaviour towards these learning resources. In the same line, this study aims to analyse the effects that exist between a series of dimensions related to the perception of university teaching staff on the capacity of ICTs to respond to different needs of students, on perceived efficacy and attitudes towards these tools and, lastly, on active behaviour towards their use. To do so, 345 university instructors from the Spanish educational system filled in an online questionnaire. The application of a Structural Equation Model underscores the fact that the ability of ICTs to respond to the different needs of students in the university classroom and their perceived efficacy in the teaching-learning process both exert a positive effect on attitudes in favour of their incorporation into the classroom. In turn, these attitudes also have a significant effect on active behaviour with ICT resources. In addition, various mediating effects are seen to influence an active behaviour. All this gives rise to a discussion on the implications of these results to encourage the training of university teaching staff in the knowledge and management of ICTs. Increasing confidence in ICTs as effective tools to respond to different needs could significantly favour positive attitudes and behaviour so that these resources are actively integrated into the classroom.

Links between ease of use, perceived usefulness and attitudes towards technology in older people in university: A structural equation modelling approach.

Technological resources have the potential to improve the quality of life in a context in which social pressure for the use of these tools is increasing. In this sense, the adoption of technological resources by the elderly is a highly complex issue because numerous and varied factors are involved. Precisely for this reason, this study aims to analyze the effects that exist between a series of dimensions related to the perception of older people regarding the ease of use, the perceived usefulness of technological tools, attitudes towards technology and their intention to use them in everyday life. To do this, 415 adults (M = 66.27 years) enrolled in a program at the University of Experience in the Spanish context completed an online questionnaire. The application of a Structural Equations Model for data analysis highlights that the perceived ease of use of the technology has a positive effect on the perceived usefulness of these resources. Similarly, an indirect effect of the perceived usefulness of technology on the intention to use these resources is observed through the manifestation of positive attitudes towards the use of digital tools.