Smartphones as smart pedagogical tools: Implications for smartphones as u-learning devices Dong-Hee Shin a,⇑ , Youn-Joo Shin a , Hyunseung Choo b , Khisu Beom c a Department of Interaction Science, Sungkyunkwan University, 90327 International Hall, 53 Myeongnyun-dong 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-745, South Korea b Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, 90327 International Hall, 53 Myeongnyun-dong 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-745, South Korea c Department of Journalism and Mass Comm, Sungkyunkwan University, 90327 International Hall, 53 Myeongnyun-dong 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-745, South Korea article info Article history: Available online 26 July 2011 Keywords: Smartphone u-learning u-campus Expectation confirmation theory Continuance intention UTAUT abstract This study aims at understanding the fundamental factors influencing users’ intentions to continually use smartphones as a ubiquitous learning (u-learning) tool. This study examines consumers’ experi- ences with smartphone learning in order to investigate the areas of its development as a u-learning application. In this paper, the modified unified theory of acceptance and usage technology (UTAUT) model is used with constructs from expectation-confirmation theory (ECT). While the findings confirm the significant roles of users’ cognitive perceptions, the findings also shed light on the possibility of the smartphone serving as an enabler of u-learning. Users may want to use the smartphone as a tele- communication tool, as well as a u-learning application. The proposed model brings together extant research on smartphones and provides an important cluster of antecedents to eventual technology acceptance via constructs of continuance intention to use and actual usage of u-learning. The empir- ical findings demonstrate that employing perceived usability and perceived quality would be a worth- while extension of the UTAUT/ECT in the smartphone learning context, as both were found to be influential in predicting smartphone users’ attitudes and behavioral intentions. Practical implications for industry can be drawn from these findings in terms of strategies and new models for u-learning and beyond. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Smartphones emerged around 2000, and sales have consistently increased with each succeeding year (Chen, Yen, & Chen, 2009). Growth in demand for advanced mobile devices boasting powerful processors, abundant memory, larger screens and open operating systems has outpaced the rest of the mobile phone market for sev- eral years. While smartphones have become very popular, they have not yet become ubiquitous in the educational sector; however, many experts predict that this technology will soon become an essential component of ubiquitous learning (u-learning) applica- tions. Smartphones would presumably allow education profession- als, such as professors, to input educational data into student records. Although smartphones would not be universally applicable for all campuses, they may prove particularly useful for ubiquitous learning applications, such as ubiquitous campus (u-campus) and mobile campus (m-campus). 1 Smartphones may prove to be quite useful in u-learning applications, but acceptance will depend on how well the user interface supports particular educational contexts. While numerous recent studies have demonstrated increased use of PDAs and other mobile devices in educational settings (Campbell, 2005), the smartphone as a u-learning tool in the aca- demic field has not been extensively researched. Some studies have focused on the adoption of smartphones in (1) a health care context (Park & Chen, 2007), (2) the delivery service industry (Chen et al., 2009), (3) the medical field (Trelease, 2008), and (4) individ- ual adoption (Kim, 2008). Unanswered questions remain with re- spect to how users feel about the smartphone as a learning tool, 0747-5632/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.06.017 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 02 740 1864; fax: +82 02 740 1856. E-mail addresses: dshin@skku.edu (D.-H. Shin), cecilshin@hanmail.net (Y.-J. Shin), choo@ece.skku.ac.kr (H. Choo), kbeom@skku.edu (K. Beom). 1 The u-campus is defined as an information infrastructure equipped for ubiquitous wireless computing and communications that students, faculty, staff, and local communities can utilize easily via mobile devices, u-campus connects students to the people, information, content and offers that matter most to them while providing participating universities with real-time, interactive access to their campus through text messaging. Students can save money around town, connect with friends and even find links to concert tickets, travel giveaways and more. Ubiquitous learning (or u- learning) is equivalent to a form of simple mobile learning, i.e., learning environments that can be accessed in various contexts and situations. Computers in Human Behavior 27 (2011) 2207–2214 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh