A Study on Older Adult Students’ Behavioural Intention and

Learning Satisfaction of Blended e-Learning Course at the Active

Aging University

Horng-Jyh Chen

, Chien-Jen Liu

, Chien-Liang Lin

, Yi-Fang Chen

and Hung-Liang Chen

Department of Information Management,Kao-Yuan University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Department of Management Information Systems, National Cheng Chi University, Taipei, Taiwan

Institute of Education, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Department of Safety and Health,Chia-Nan University, Tainan, Taiwan

Keywords: Active Aging University, Blended e-Learning, Behavioural Intention, Learning Satisfaction, Structural

Equation Model (SEM).

Abstract: Recently, the blended e-learning is implemented in many fields more and more popularly. In this paper, the

program of ceramics teaching at the Active Aging University is also applied blended e-learning without

exception in order to raise older adult students’ behavioural intention and learning satisfaction. Because of

the unfamiliar with IT technology application for these older adult students the different results from most

of younger students in this investigation are expected. In this study, the questionnaire is designed for 44

older adult students whose ages are all over 55 years old. The teaching experiment of blended e-learning for

ceramics teaching course is performed at the Active Aging University in the southern of Taiwan. And the

Structural Equation Model (SEM) quantitative analysis is carried out that the conclusions are got with the

perceived usefulness of learning contents has positive relationship with learning satisfaction. Also, the

perceived ease of use for interfaces has positive relationship with the perceived usefulness of learning

contents and learning satisfaction. Therefore, these conclusions could be applied to develop and design for

all the blended e-learning programs at the Active Aging University with the best teaching and learning

strategy in the future.

1 INTRODUCTION

Because of the improvement of medicine

technology, the subtle changes of proportion of

different age population have been happened. For

example, the aging society exists in Taiwan since

1993. Till 2010 the ratio of aging population rises to

10.7% of total population (OEPD, 2010). Hence, the

Ministry of Education in Taiwan proposes the White

Book of the education policy for most of the aging

populations. This objective becomes one of the most

important government social policies. Therefore, this

live to old to learn policy gives most of older adult

students the opportunity to learn so many suitable

courses at the Active Aging University in Taiwan. In

this paper, the course of ceramics teaching at the

Active Aging University is also applied blended e-

learning in order to raise older adult students’

behavioural intention and learning satisfaction.

Because of the unfamiliar with IT technology

application of these older adult students the different

results from most of younger students in this

investigation are expected.

On the other hand, the user cognitive behaviour and

attitude for information technology application have

been investigated for younger students at many

universities (Davis, 1989). And also, due to the

development of information technology, DeLone

and McLean (2003) suggested the model to explain

the successful experiment of information technology

application. According to the DeLone and McLean

(2004) researched results the user satisfaction has

relationship with user behavioural intention. In

addition, the Expectation Confirmation Theory

(ECT) and models suggested that the factor of

perceived usefulness has close relationship with user

satisfaction (Bhattacherjee, 2001a). Therefore, In

this research the authors try to combine these three

137

Chen H., Liu C., Lin C., Chen Y. and Chen H..

A Study on Older Adult Students’ Behavioural Intention and Learning Satisfaction of Blended e-Learning Course at the Active Aging University.

DOI: 10.5220/0004006801370140

In Proceedings of the International Conference on Data Communication Networking, e-Business and Optical Communication Systems (ICE-B-2012),

pages 137-140

ISBN: 978-989-8565-23-5

 2012 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

research frameworks and models to study

simultaneously many older adult students’

behavioural intention and learning satisfaction of

blended e-learning for ceramics teaching course at

the Active Aging University in the southern of

Taiwan. The quite different results for this special

group in the investigation are concluded.

2 LITERATURE REVIEW AND

HYPOTHESE

The Extended Technology Acceptance Models are

also suggested by many researchers (Park et al.,

2011, Palvia, 2009, Hsu and Lin, 2008).

Nevertheless, in this research the authors also adopt

the model being suggested by Venkatesh and Davis

(2000). That is how two factors of the perceived

usefulness and perceived ease of use affect the user

behavioural intention Therefore, the following

conditions are assumed

H1: Perceived usefulness with positively

influence behavioural intention of blended e-

learning.

H2: Perceived of ease of use positively influence

user behavioural intention of blended e-learning.

H3: Perceived of ease of use positively influence

perceived usefulness of blended e-learning.

Due to the development of information

technology, DeLone and McLean (2003) suggested

the model to explain the successful experiment of

information technology application. And, according

to the Seddon (1997), DeLone and McLean (2004)

researched results the user satisfaction has

relationship with user behavioural intention.

Therefore, the following additional assumption is:

H4: Behavioural intention positively influences

satisfaction of blended e-learning.

According to the conclusions of the Expectation

Confirmation Theory (ECT) and models, research

suggested that the factor of perceived usefulness has

relationship with user satisfaction (Roca and Gagné,

2008, Bhattacherjee, 2001b). Hence, in this study the

following additional assumption is also suggested.

H5: Perceived usefulness with positively

influence user satisfaction of blended e-learning.

3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND

METHOD

3.1 Measurement Design and Research

Framework

According to the above discussions, the research

model is shown in figure 1. Before the questionnaire

is performed, two experts have evaluated the

questionnaire scales. And also, two professors of

information management department have examined

the questionnaire scales for content validity. The

details of final scales for the factors of perceived

usefulness, perceived ease of use and user

behavioural intention are revised from the scales

which were developed by Davis (1989).And then,

the scales of user satisfaction are modified from the

original copies of Bhattachjee (2001b).Finally, the

measuring scales are all with Likert 5 scales.

Figure 1: Extended technology acceptance model.

3.2 Experimental Design and Objects

In this research the one group posttest only design is

adopted. The authors select one group of the older

adult students who has attended the blended e-

learning for ceramics teaching course to participate

in this experiment. Finally, the research objects are

this special group of the older adult students at the

Active Aging University in the southern of Taiwan.

The research objects of 44 older adult students

whose ages are all over 55 years old. The ratio of

male is 41.9% and female is 58.1% and the

experience in using of computer for all the older

adult students is less than one year.

3.3 Experimental Procedure

Because of the less experience in using of computer

for all the older adult students, the contents of

ceramics teaching course are explained previously

by experts in the real classroom and laboratory. And

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then the experiment let all the students learn blended

e-learning digital contents at home at any time after

the real classroom learning. The blended e-learning

program of ceramics teaching course takes three

hours per week for one semester. After the

experiment finished, the authors implement the

questionnaire to all the older adult students and

collect all the effective data for the quantitative

analysis.

4 DATA ANALYSIS AND

RESULTS

4.1 Measurement Model

A confirmatory factor analysis is performed to

examine the measurement model. The partial least

squares (PLS) method using SmartPLS 2.0 (Ringle

et al., 2005) is chosen because it presumes no

distributional form for measured variables, nor does

it posit a strong requirement for large sample sizes

(Chin et al., 2003, Chin, 1998). PLS supports both

exploratory and confirmatory research (Gefen et al.,

2000) and gives optimal prediction accuracy because

it is prediction-oriented (Fornell and Cha, 1994).

Internal consistency can be assured by examining

the composite reliability of the constructs (Fornell

and Larcker, 1981), and all composite reliability

values in this study ranged from 0.9705 to 0.9872,

surpassing the suggested threshold value of 0.7

(Bagozzi and Yi, 1988, Gefen et al., 2000). And

then, Convergent validity refers to the degree to

which multiple items measure one construct.

Convergent validity in this study is evaluated by

checking whether (1) the average variance extracted

(AVE) values are larger than 0.5 (Gefen et al.,

2000), and (2) the factors loadings of the all items

are significant and higher than 0.7 (Nunnally, 1978).

All these conditions are met, indicating acceptable

convergent validity of the measurement.

Besides, to assess discriminant validity, the

square root of AVE of each construct is computed

and compared with the correlation between

constructs (Chin et al., 2003, Chin, 1998). Based on

the results, all square roots of AVE are larger than

the correlation coefficients between constructs,

indicating that each construct is more closely related

to its corresponding measurement items than to

those of other constructs. This again supports the

discriminant validity of the measures. In sum, the

positive evidence supporting good reliability,

convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the

measurement model shows the appropriateness of

this model to be used in subsequent hypotheses

testing.

4.2 Structural Model

The test of the hypotheses involves estimating path

coefficients of the Structural Model, which indicate

the strength of the relationship between the

dependent and independent variables, and the R-

square value, which indicates the amount of variance

explained by the independent variables. Moreover,

the bootstrap re-sampling procedure is used to

examine the stability of the PLS estimates (Chin,

1998). This study chose re-samples of 100.

The model explained 92.1 percent of the

variances in satisfaction to adopt blended e-learning.

In addition, the model explained 53.8 percent of the

variances in behavioural intention, and 78.6 percent

in perceived usefulness. The path coefficients

perceived ease of use (H1, β=-0.046, t=0.926) no

significantly affected behavioural intention, and

perceived ease of use (H5, β=0.055, t=2.898) was

positively affected learning satisfaction. And then,

perceived ease of use (H2, β=0.774, t=15.065) has

significantly effect on behavioural intention, and

perceived ease of use (H3, β=0.887, t=26.477) also

significant effect on perceived usefulness. Finally,

the effect of behavioural intention on satisfaction

(H4, β=0.924, t=46.450) is significant at the p<0.05

level.

5 DISCUSSION AND RESULT

According to the results, perceived usefulness of

contents and ease of use for interfaces has

significant effect on user behavioural intention. This

result has the same conclusion with the Technology

Acceptance Model having been investigated by

many researchers before (Liu et al., 2009, Venkatesh

and Davis, 2000).This result shows some meanings

for the future research on all of the blended e-

learning courses for older adult students. First of all,

the most important factor is to strengthen the ease of

use for interfaces. And then, the usefulness of

contents should be improved effectively. The results

provide another direction of thinking that is the

design of e-learning contents should consider the

requirements of the older adult students and let the

interfaces operation easier. Simple to learn can

enhance the learning outcome of the older adult

students. As for the ease of use is defined as the

operation of e-learning platform and interface easily.

A Study on Older Adult Students' Behavioural Intention and Learning Satisfaction of Blended e-Learning Course at the

Active Aging University

139

Therefore, because the operation of interface is

relatively simple that will raise the behavioural

intention of and also improve the overall quality of

learning.

Moreover, user behavioural intention and ease of

use for interfaces are the important factors for user

learning satisfaction. The higher of user behavioural

intention and the easier operation of interfaces are

the higher of user learning satisfaction will be.

Therefore, in order to improve the user learning

satisfaction of older adult students effectively how to

strengthen the design of contents and improve the

user intention of blended e-learning program for all

the older adult students is more important. However,

the result of the perceived usefulness of the contents

does not meet with the basic assumption of the

Technology Acceptance Model. This result is still

worthy of discussing. Perhaps, older adult students

believe that the use of blended e-learning platform

for ceramics teaching course being necessary but

usefulness to the extent not yet bigger enough to

affect the user behavioural intention of learning.

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