Investigating the influence of the most commonly used external variables of TAM on students’ Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) of e-portfolios

Engagement with e-portfolios has been shown to improve students’ learning. However, what influences students to accept e-portfolios is a question that needs careful study. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of Self-Efficacy, Subjective Norm, Enjoyment, Computer Anxiety and Experience on students’ Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU) and Perceived Usefulness (PU) of an e-portfolio system and their Behavioural Intention (BI) to use the system for learning. To do this, the study tested and used the General Extended Technology Acceptance Model for E-Learning (GETAMEL) in the context of e-portfolios. Valid data were collected from 242 UK undergraduate students who had been introduced to e-portfolios. The data set was analysed using SPSS software. Results showed that the best predictor of student’s Perceived Ease of Use of the e-portfolio is Experience, followed by Enjoyment, Self-Efficacy and Subjective Norm. The best predictor of student’s Perceived Usefulness of the e-portfolio is Perceived Ease of Use followed by Enjoyment. Both Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Usefulness predict student’s Behavioural Intention to Use the e-portfolio. The findings improve understanding regarding acceptance of e-portfolio systems and this work is therefore of particular interest to researchers, developers and practitioners of e-portfolios.