Abstract:

The recent lockdown due to COVID-19, has probably caused the most unprecedented disruption in the history of education. The current crisis will further perpetuate leaving a lasting footprint of even low-technology approaches which will have a chance to ensure a new education system. Resilience and adaptability are crucial to confront this new paradigm, bearing in mind that socializing and learning online has become the norm. In this context, playfulness is understood as a flow state that motivates students as these feel they are involved in an occupation for enjoyment rather than for superficial recompenses. Despite the importance of playfulness regarding Learning Management Systems (LMS), little research has been conducted devoted to examine the effects of this dimension on students’ learning experience. To do so a research model has been pre-tested using a sample of students in the last semester 2019-2020 (N= 61) of the Faculty of Commerce and Tourism of the Complutense University of Madrid.

The study has been examined via structural equation modeling to predict students’ attitude and behavioral intention to Google Classroom. Initial results suggest that
(1) interestingness of content is a driver of playfulness;
(2) there is a significant impact of playfulness on perceived usefulness; and
(3) there is a relevant effect of playfulness on intention to use during next course.

Besides, perceived ease of use and usefulness were not found to affect directly intention to use this LMS during next course. The findings are discussed presenting contributions to the field of academic management in higher education.

Keywords:

Learning Management Systems, LMS, Google Classroom, higher education.