Virtual World Presence for Pre-service Teachers: Does the TAM Model Apply?

In this paper, we would like to present a model framework for testing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) initially proposed by Davis [5] with pre-service teachers using Virtual Worlds (VWs). The main hypothesis of this study states that the use of VWs will enhance technology acceptance by pre-service teachers, and will also facilitate adoption of technology applications within the classroom environment. There have been plenty of studies which have tested the TAM within work-related environments. Other breakthrough studies have also tried to apply the TAM for an education environment, investigating reasons for the possible lack of adoption of technology by teachers within the classroom environment. However, as yet, the model's effectiveness has not been investigated with immersive technology applications such as VWs and their possible use and adoption within the teacher training framework.