Running Head: DB FORUM 1 1
Discussion Board Forum 1
BMIS 510 - B01
Liberty University
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As a direct result of the Covid-19 Pandemic, digital technology has become essential in
many industries, especially in education and healthcare. Healthcare providers and teachers are
now required to meet with their patients and/or students in a virtual reality which I feel ties
directly into questions 3 and 4 of this week’s discussion board.
Question 3 Technology Acceptance Model
The technology acceptance model (TAM) is a theory used in information systems that
identifies and maps out how people use a specific form of technology to determine elements such
as perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEU), and the attitudes toward technology
(ATT)[ CITATION Sta18 \l 1033 ]. In a study completed by Scherer, Siddiq, and Tondeur (2019),
technology adoption by teachers has continued to grow over the years, and through the use of
TAM, they discuss the key elements and the importance of external factors in explaining this
technology acceptance.
The purpose of this study was to measure the user acceptance of technology to determine
teacher's overall plan on using new technologies made available within their education practice.
Measuring user acceptance assists in determining the willingness of teachers to utilize new
technologies when they become available, essential as teachers were found to only trust and use
a new technology if it had been proven to be beneficial for the subject being taught[ CITATION
Sch19 \l 1033 ]. The two prime elements found to influence the acceptance of new technology
were PEU and PU. Teachers were more inclined to use and accept a technology that was easy to
use while providing all the needed information to complete any tasks of the teachers and/or
students[ CITATION Sch19 \l 1033 ].
Unfortunately findings within the study found the use of the TAM model falling short as
it does not specify the types and level of knowledge needed by teachers to fully understand and
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use the technology[ CITATION Sch19 \l 1033 ]. This lack of information skews the outcome of
the TAM, as those practitioners, including educational stakeholders, may not be able to provide
accurate information on the usefulness off a technology they are unfamiliar with[ CITATION
Sch19 \l 1033 ]. The final findings link teachers’ confidence in their ability to use a technology
with the level of training they have completed, therefore determining the need to include teacher
attitudes, knowledge level, in current technology instructional practices in the TAM structure
[ CITATION Sch19 \l 1033 ].
Question 4 Diffusion of Innovation Theory
The use of the diffusion of innovation theory was developed by E.M. Rogers to describe
why and how a new product or idea evolves and grows through a specific population or
company[ CITATION Sta18 \l 1033 ]. This theory includes five different categories of
individuals based on the timeline each group accepts or adopts the new product and/or
idea[ CITATION Sta18 \l 1033 ].
Innovator: The first to try or use a new product/idea.
Early adopter: Leaders whom others will listen to and follow; accepts change.
Early majority: Followers of the early adopter, listens to and accepts their advice.
Late majority: Those skeptical of new products and ideas, slow to change.
Laggards: The extreme skeptics, very conservative and do not like change.
Understanding the target population, and how they fit within these five categories, assists in
determining how, where, and when to implement a new product or idea.
The article by Zhang, Yu, Yan, and Ton A M Spil (2015) discusses the use of the diffusion of
innovation theory to review the acceptance and growth of e-Health tools in the healthcare
industry, specifically the use of e-appointment scheduling service. This study was based in
Australia with the data accumlated over 29 months between 2011 and 2013 and included
computer records from 25,616 patients and 125 patient interviews[ CITATION Zha15 \l 1033 ].
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In this specific case the online scheduling tool was implemented prior to the using the diffusion
of innovation theory.
The acceptance and growth of the online scheduling tool was shown to increase at a very
slow rate, reaching only 4% of the total patients by the end of the 29 months, which indicated
that only the innovators had accepted and used the tool (Zhang et al., 2015). The study went on
to discuss the reasons for this lack of acceptance, including a lack of communication on the
tool’s availability, limited functionalilty, a preference of patients to speak with a real person, and
the lack of access to a computer or internet (Zhang et al., 2015). The use of the diffusion of
innovation theory prior to the implementation of this new e-scheduling tool would have assisted
in identifying these issues early on and allow time to address them prior to going live.
The use of TAM and diffusion of innovation theory are useful in identifying the usefulness of
a new or existing technology, along with its ability to be accepted within a target population. By
using these and similar models and theories, problems such as accessibiltiy, quality, and the costs
associated with designing and delivering new products can be addressed prior to implementation,
reducing the chance of overspending and rejection.
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References
Scherer, R., Siddiq, F., & Tondeur, J. (2019). The technology acceptance model (TAM): A meta-
analytic structural equation modeling approach to explaining teachers’ adoption of digital
technology in education. Computers & Education, 128, 13-35.
doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.09.009
Stair, R. M., & Reynolds, G. W. (2018). Fundamentals of information systems (9th ed.). Boston,
MA: Cengage Learning.
Zhang, X., Yu, P., Yan, J., & Ton A M Spil, I. (2015). Using diffusion of innovation theory to
understand the factors impacting patient acceptance and use of consumer e-health
innovations: a case study in a primary care clinic. BMC Health Services Research, 15(1),
71. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1186/s12913-015-0726-2
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