Adoption of Learning Management System technology by fire service instructors

Abstract

This study explored the adoption of learning management system (LMS) technology by fire service instructors. The research identified what attributes of LMS technology lead to the adoption of the technology. This study used hypotheses and research questions related to diffusion of innovation theory (DoI) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) to develop a combined theoretical framework to identify those attributes.

The study combined the five perceived attributes of innovation constructs of DoI: relative advantage (RA), compatibility (CP), complexity (CPX), trialability (TR), and observability (OB) with the two main constructs of TAM: perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU).

This quantitative survey research collected responses from 357 fire service instructors from across the United States and utilized two types of statistical analysis to review the data. First, correlations were examined to explore the relationships between the attributes of the innovation and adoption; and, answer research questions for each construct's correlation to adoption. Second, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to determine if the proposed combined theoretical model was appropriate for this population and supported the hypothesized relationships among the constructs.

While the attributes of innovations have been widely studied in other fields, there is very little research involving this population. This study advances an understanding of what innovation attributes lead fire service instructors to adopt and implement technology in their classrooms and training centers.

Findings indicated all of the constructs positively correlated to the intent to adopt and fire instructors prefer innovation attributes that are compatible with their way of working and that demonstrate advantages and usefulness over other options. SEM indicated that the proposed model was not appropriate and a new model with better fit was developed.