Technology Acceptance Model

The technology acceptance model is a theory explaining how and why individuals come to accept and use a new technology, developed by the American information-systems researcher Fred Davis and presented in his 1989 article Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology, adapted from the earlier theory of reasoned action developed by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen. The model proposes that a person's intention to use a technology, and their eventual actual use of it, is shaped chiefly by two beliefs: perceived usefulness, the degree to which a person believes that using the technology would improve their performance or productivity, and perceived ease of use, the degree to which a person believes that using the technology would be free of unnecessary effort. These two beliefs shape a person's overall attitude toward using the technology, which in turn shapes their behavioral intention to use it and their subsequent actual use. Although developed for workplace information systems generally, the model has become one of the most frequently applied frameworks in educational technology research, used to study why teachers and students do or do not adopt learning management systems, educational software and other classroom technologies, and it has since been extended into later versions, including TAM2 and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology.