Collaborative platforms: how they affect students´ performance

• Autor(a) principal: Veiga, Inês Ferreira dos Santos Botelho
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/140481
• topic: Plataformas colaborativas; Aprendizagem online; Desempenho individual; TTF; Collaborative platforms; Online learning; Individual performance; Domínio/Área Científica::Humanidades::História e Arqueologia

The topic of individual performance, in the context of technology in education, has received limited attention. To study this matter, the Task-Technology Fit (TTF) theory developed by Goodhue and Thompson (1995) was extended by other constructs found to have an impact on university students’ performance, attending online classes. Our mixed methods research sought to develop a model capable of predicting students’ individual performance, by understanding the precursors of TTF, with the added moderating role of facilitating conditions, and the precursors of utilization with the added role of facilitating conditions. We sought to understand the role of voluntariness as a moderator of the relationship between TTF and utilization, and, especially, the predictors of individual performance, with the addition of two simple mediation models, with two constructs each: environment and engagement, and perceived usefulness and compatibility. The surveyed and interviewed students had a neutral to a somewhat positive perspective of the impact of collaborative platforms on their individual performance. What negatively impacted and thus weighed down this perception was, especially, the level of engagement. Also, having a distracting environment with a bad internet connection heightened the more negative level of engagement and thus contributed negatively to students’ performance. Compatibility has an important mediating role, as perceived usefulness, the strongest predictor of performance has an even stronger impact when influenced by students' level of compatibility. Interviews were conducted to explain and corroborate the significant impacts of engagement, compatibility, and perceived usefulness on individual performance. They were also important to explain the statistically insignificant impact of utilization on individual performance and the impact of the surrounding environment on students’ engagement. They also provided us with insight into the dichotomy of practical classes vs. theoretical classes, the most useful functionalities of collaborative platforms, and future use. Even though utilization was found to have no impact on performance we were able to provide further insight into this complex variable. Finally, Voluntariness was found to be a very relevant moderator and should be further tested in future research.