The Acceptance of Learning Management Systems and Video Conferencing Technologies: Lessons Learned from COVID-19

During the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, higher education institutions (HEIs) have shifted from traditional and blended learning approaches to a fully virtual course delivery. This research investigates the students' perceptions on remote learning through asynchronous learning management systems (LMS) and via synchronous video conferencing technologies like Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Zoom, among others. The data was gathered from a sample of 501 higher education students in a Southern European context. A survey questionnaire included measures that investigated the participants' acceptance of interactive technology to better understand their utilitarian motivations to use them. The findings suggest that the research participants accessed asynchronous content and interacted with online users, including with their course instructor, in real time. While there are a number of theoretical or opinion papers on the impact of COVID-19 on higher education services, currently, there are still a few empirical papers that shed light on the factors that are having an effect on the students' attitudes and intentions to utilize remote learning technologies. This contribution underlines the importance of maintaining ongoing, interactive engagement with students, and of providing them with appropriate facilitating conditions, to continue improving their learning journey.