Investigating older adults’ decisions to use mobile devices for learning, based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology

ABSTRACT

Mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, have been widely adopted by older adults and have been shown to have a great influence on their daily lives. This study examined the use of mobile computing devices for learning among older adults, based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). The objectives of this study were to identify the relationships among performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating condition, behavioral intention, use behavior, and the moderating effect of gender on the UTAUT model. A total of 238 older adults completed the survey at active aging learning centers in central Taiwan. The structural equation modeling analysis suggested that social influence, facilitating conditions, and performance expectancy were significant determinants perceived by participants who use mobile devices for learning. The demographic variable of gender had a significant moderating effect between effort expectancy and behavioral intention of the participants. The findings of this study imply that adult educators need to develop training materials that emphasize the usefulness of mobile devices as learning tools and plan learning activities that require learners to design their own learning tasks in a group.

KEYWORDS:

• Older adult learners
• mobile devices
• unified theory of acceptance and use of technology
• active aging learning centers
• partial least squares

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Horng-Ji Lai is an associate professor at the Department of Counselling Psychology and Human Resource Development, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan. His current research includes technology and adult learning, evaluations of e-learning tools, and online course design for older adults.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan [grant number 105-2410-H-260-023-MY2].