Technology adoption in education: A systematic literature review

Abstract

Technology is advancing faster today than ever before with evidence of its impact in all facets of our lives. With the spread of the novel COVID-19 pandemic across the world, schools were closed as part of lockdown measures to contain the virus thereby disrupting academic curricula. Academic institutions leveraged ICTs to virtually engage students and teachers. Technology adoption will become a new reality for teaching and learning processes. However, the choice of adopting and not adopting this technology is based on an individual's decision on the benefits or risks in using this technology. The objective of this study is to find topical and relevant studies that have been conducted on technology adoption in education. A systematic literature review was adopted to classify and evaluate articles that fits pre-specified selection criteria using Google Scholar and IEEE databases. 132 papers were found to match the search criteria and filtered to 17 articles using applied exclusion criteria. Current research highlights the trends in technology adoption and provide empirical evidence of applications that have been used to implement technology in educational settings. This research also adds to new literature on COVID-19 in relation to its effect on academic curriculum across the world. Future research will investigate areas that can be expanded and improved on to leverage the benefits of ICTs to limit the adverse impact on the performance of teachers and students in the event of a disruption to academic activities.