Individual Adoption Research Of Open Educational Resource Based On UTAUT Model

In recent years,Open educational resources became a hot topic in education.UNESCO advanced the concept of OER for promoting open course ware,many countries have paid close attention to the new things gradually.This thesis studied individual adoption of open education resources.The research model is based on the theory of UTAUT.It studied the problem with theoretical analysis and empirical research.The thesis analyzed current researches and developments of open education resources.It summarized the scholars' definitions of OER,comparative studies of OER projects,constructions and usage studies in many countries.It summarized the classical IT/IS adaption models,the research methods and application,the researches of UTAUT theory and applications.All these show that OER has received wide attention by educator,educational institutions and learners,with its development and application.Most of scholar's researches were about the content,technology platform construction and developments of OER.Seldom were about the learners.There were some attempts based on IT/IS adoption.UTAUT was used less as the research model in educational information technology.This thesis use UTAUT to analyze the influence factors of OER's individual adoption.It will have theoretical and practical significance for the development and application of OER.In this thesis,it selected the individual adoption of information technology as a research perspective,used UTAUT as the basic theory,added the characteristics of OER,structured the research model and done the empirical research.It adjusted the research variables of UTAUT,added some more suitable variables for OER,such as perceived value,individual innovation,network learning adaptability,perceived risk.It made a new research environment for UTAUT,increased the validation of education information technology adoption,also made it more suitable for OER individual adoption research.Then,the data were collected by questionnaire.The respondents were teachers and students in universities and colleges.They were from 10 schools.It used SPSS and AMOS software for data analysis.The main works of empirical study includes:(1)Verify the hypothesis about the interrelation among the influence factors of OER individual adoption,modify the research model,quantify the relationship among the variables,obtain the model of the factors analysis of the OER's individual adoption.(2)Comparative study in the different users' sample groups,the teachers and students in universities.With the commonly used types,access to OER,use time,recognize of the resources in campus network,it summed up the experience of using OER,different usage among groups and the different demands to OER.The innovative research results:(1)Study on the individual adoption of OER was from the perspective of IT/IS adoption.The previous studies were on the construction of OER,neglected the study of users and their use behavior,lacked the consideration of the learners' individual needs.This study is about the adoption behaviors of OER users.The angle of topic selection is novel.The content is innovative.It is a breakthrough in the research of OER's theory and practice.(2)UTAUT model was a classic models of IT/IS individual adoptions.The research variables can be applied to a variety of information technology,but it still needs to add variables with the characteristics of the information technology in a specific study environment.This study constructed an influencing factors model of OER individual adoption,structured the relationship among the influencing factors.It was less in the previous theoretical research of open educational resources.Variables in the original UTAUT were adjusted.It constructed a more suitable model for the study of OER's individual adoption.It analyzed the dimensions of perceived value.Function value,usage value,emotion value and cost value are the main dimensions of OER users' perceived value.It made hypothesis of the relationship among the variables.For example,individual innovation,perceived value,perceived risk,network learning adaptability and social influence would effect on behavior intention.Individual innovation,network learning adaptability and social influence would effect on users' perceived value.Behavior intention and facilitated condition would effect on learner's use behavior.(3)In empirical research,it quantified the relationship among the factors affecting the adoption of OER.Result data was clear.The relationship was explicit.It verified the theoretical hypothesizes and modified the model.Research results show: Perceived value,individual innovation and social influences have a positive effect on the behavior intention of OER.Function value,use value and emotion value are the main factors of the perceived value.Network learning adaptability and social influences have effect on use value.In addition,the situation of using OER in school's teachers and students was compared grouping.It analyzed and compared the learners' individual adoption behavior.The results shown that individual learners with higher educational level,from top universities acquired and used more OER resources,their use behavior were more positive.Therefore,learners with the differences of individual and environment have different cognition and demand of OER.Their behaviors are different too.These have guiding significance to understanding the learners' behavior of individual adoption and the OER's development and construction.