Learning technologies among academics in the United Arab Emirates: One academic year since COVID-19

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the adoption of learning technologies among academics in higher education institutes within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after completing one academic year teaching through a hybrid technique due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The researchers propose a validated framework that integrates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Social Cognition Theory (SCT), and Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT). The research was conducted using the quantitative method, where 170 academics from 22 higher education institutes in the UAE completed an online survey. The researchers found that the adoption of learning technologies depends on the individual academics and the higher education institutes; therefore, the researchers suggest building a more effective strategy to accelerate adoption. Additionally, the researchers also found that the academics’ perceptions of the usefulness of learning technologies do not affect their behavior while utilizing them, and that the behavioral intention does not affect the actual usage of the learning technologies.