Understanding Students’ Acceptance and Effective Use of Online Learning in Voluntary Contexts During the Post-Pandemic Era

While online learning has gained increasing popularity in recent years, students do not always accept and effectively use these platforms in their learning during the post-pandemic era. This study aimed to examine and understand students’ acceptance and effective use of online learning in voluntary contexts during the post-pandemic era by incorporating characteristics of online learning platforms, teachers and students into the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model. Data were collected from 334 college and university students. Research hypotheses were examined using hierarchical regression analyses. The results showed that perceived usefulness was a significant predictor of students’ acceptance and effective use of online learning platforms. Online learning platform characteristics (i.e., usability, compatibility and perceived enjoyment) and teacher-student factors (i.e., teacher reputation and interaction between teacher and student) yielded significant effects on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of online learning platforms, and consequently indirectly affected students’ acceptance and use of online learning platforms. Perceived enjoyment, teacher reputation and teacher-student interaction also exerted direct effects on students’ acceptance of online learning platforms. This study provides important implications for the design, implementation and development of online learning platforms in voluntary contexts during the post-pandemic era.