Information Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model for Social Media Adoption in Blended Learning: A Case Study in Higher Education Institutions in West Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Technological developments, including the internet, and learning opportunities are increasing. This also encourages the development of learning strategies and models. The blended learning model is applied in almost all universities in Indonesia and the world. With so many universities in Indonesia, implementing blended learning is a challenging thing because it requires a lot of technological preparation and human resources. This research aims to identify factors, develop a model, and evaluate the model to see the readiness and acceptance of technology for adopting social media in blended learning among private higher education institutes students in Indonesia. The population of this research is students from private higher education institutes in West Java, Indonesia, who are directly involved in using blended learning and social media. This quantitative research used a research instrument with five-Likert’s scale. The research population was 663,307, with a sample of 384 students spread across West Java. The contribution of this research is to make a significant contribution to the theoretical framework by expanding and refining existing concepts, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the readiness and acceptance factors for the adoption of social media in blended learning so that it has the potential to provide information to learning planners at private higher education institutes in West Java, Indonesia to help make the right decisions and optimize blended learning planning using social media technology. These findings statistically explain that 19 of 31 the hypotheses are the accepted ones. Moreover, nine of 12 variables influenced the readiness and acceptance of social media technology in blended learning based on the student perception among the private higher education institutions. They were the technological literacy factor, perceived validity, perceived trust, and technology readiness factors, namely optimism and Innovativeness, and technology acceptance factors, namely perceived effectiveness, perceived easy to use, intention to use and usage behaviour.