The information technology and the university: use of educational applications by students

Resumo

This research aimed to identify what are the factors that lead university students to the intention of using applications offered by educational institutions, through a study of students who already have the educational application installed. The applications offer facilities such as the search of collections, reservations and loans in the library, access to class schedule, among other options. A survey was performed with 133 students who used the educational application studied and the analysis was developed by structural equation models. The results show that the aid in the daily academic activities, the provided hedonic motivations and the habit positively influence the intention of use. The technical part involved in this procedure (download, installation and search for information) and the influence of other people did not influence use. The study broadens the understanding of the aspects related to educational applications, thus enabling the use of its results to make decisions on the provision and development of apps for this purpose.