Predicting Undergraduate Students’ Acceptance of Second Life for Teaching Chemistry

This study used the technology acceptance model to explore undergraduate students’ perceptions of the virtual world of Second Life (SL) and their intention to use it to learn a chemistry concept. A total of 136 undergraduate students participated in the study by completing a learning task in SL and a self-report measure consisting of 6 variables: perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, facilitating conditions, attitude, and intention to use. Structural equation modeling was used to test the technology acceptance model. Results supported 6 of the 7 hypothesized relationships. Most notably, perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and attitude towards use predicted students’ intention to use. Moreover, perceived ease of use did not influence students’ attitude to use the technology. These findings suggest that even if students find SL difficult to use, its educational value and usefulness can overcome its difficulty in motivating them to use it.