EXPLORING UNDERGRADUATE ENTREPRENEURS’ PERSPECTIVES ON PERCEIVED USEFULNESS AND PERCEIVED EASE OF USE IN BLENDED LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

The use of technology in education has resulted in diverse learning modalities, with blended learning gaining popularity in academic settings. Perceived usefulness refers to people's perceptions of how valuable a specific technology is, such as blended learning and its applications. On the other hand, perceived ease of use refers to people's perceptions of how simple and easy it is to utilize a given technology. This research aims to look into how undergraduate entrepreneurs perceive blended learning environments in terms of their perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This study conducted at the University of Colombo Institute for Agro Technology and Rural Sciences in Sri Lanka. Using a survey study approach, the data collection process encompassed the complete population of undergraduate entrepreneurs pursuing agriculture degree in the institute. The questionnaire assessed respondents’ impressions of both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in blended learning in a Likert scale measurement ranging from strongly agreed to strongly disagreed. The findings demonstrated that undergraduate entrepreneurs strongly agreed on the perceived usefulness of blended learning, with a specific emphasis on characteristics such as professional performance, efficacy, self-productivity, and overall usefulness. The study also emphasized the importance of perceived ease of use, as participants highly supported criteria such as simplicity with understandability, independence from psychological difficulties, ease of use, and adaptability of the learning system in the context of blended learning. Recognizing these elements is extremely useful when designing and implementing a blended learning system targeted to the specific needs of undergraduate entrepreneurs in Sri Lankan contexts.