Ubiquitous-Based Testing in Dental Education: Insights From the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology.

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify factors influencing the acceptance of Ubiquitous-Based Testing (UBT) in dental education. UBT involves the use of online information and communication technology-based smart devices, such as smartphones and tablet PCs, for student assessment. We applied the Unified Theory of Acceptance of Technology (UTAUT2) framework to examine the impact of various factors, including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and habits, on dental students' intention to adopt UBT.

Methods: The study was conducted during the fall semester of 2021 with 86 participants and had a 100.0% response rate, all in the fourth year of the master's program at a university's school of dentistry. The participants underwent their graduation exams using UBT and subsequently responded to a questionnaire. The data collected were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis.

Results: The data analysis revealed that performance expectancy, social influence, and habit factors had positive and significant effects, but the facilitating conditions factor was found to exert a negative impact on students' intention to accept UBT. The effort expectancy factor demonstrated no significant effect.

Conclusions: This study identifies performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, and habit as key factors influencing dental students' intention to adopt UBT. These insights can guide effective implementation strategies, though further research is needed to validate findings across diverse contexts and examine actual usage and outcomes.