Abstract
When teachers introduce a new type of technology, they often choose a beginner-friendly software option. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether and how design students' perception towards a beginner-friendly software influences their perception, attitude, and intention to learn other more advanced software. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model, we proposed and tested correlations between students' perception towards beginner-friendly software and their perceptions of other software in the same category. To introduce computational tools for conducting big-data research, we developed a beginner-friendly software called Onion, which allows design students to use computational tools such as data retrieval from social media and artificial-intelligence-based object recognition through a graphical user interface. We conducted two introductory workshops, and captured students' perception towards Onion and their perception and intention to learn more advanced computational tools with a questionnaire. The results indicated that learners' perceived usefulness of the beginner-friendly software has strong and positive correlations with their perceived usefulness and learning intention of other software alternatives. This suggests that introducing new technologies with beginner-friendly software can influence learners' perception towards and intention to learn other similar but less beginner-friendly software packages. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Keywords
Technology Acceptance Model, Scaffolding, Computational Research Tools, Design Education
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.365
Citation
Ho, J.C., Ng, R.,and Lau, H.H.(2023) Learning technology with beginner-friendly software: design students' on attitude towards software alternatives, in De Sainz Molestina, D., Galluzzo, L., Rizzo, F., Spallazzo, D. (eds.), IASDR 2023: Life-Changing Design, 9-13 October, Milan, Italy. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2023.365
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Learning technology with beginner-friendly software: design students' on attitude towards software alternatives
When teachers introduce a new type of technology, they often choose a beginner-friendly software option. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether and how design students' perception towards a beginner-friendly software influences their perception, attitude, and intention to learn other more advanced software. Based on the Technology Acceptance Model, we proposed and tested correlations between students' perception towards beginner-friendly software and their perceptions of other software in the same category. To introduce computational tools for conducting big-data research, we developed a beginner-friendly software called Onion, which allows design students to use computational tools such as data retrieval from social media and artificial-intelligence-based object recognition through a graphical user interface. We conducted two introductory workshops, and captured students' perception towards Onion and their perception and intention to learn more advanced computational tools with a questionnaire. The results indicated that learners' perceived usefulness of the beginner-friendly software has strong and positive correlations with their perceived usefulness and learning intention of other software alternatives. This suggests that introducing new technologies with beginner-friendly software can influence learners' perception towards and intention to learn other similar but less beginner-friendly software packages. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.