Abstract
The rapid transition to online education has highlighted the limitations of traditional, passive teaching methods and the critical need for effective digital resources to improve student engagement. While interactive tools like the HTML5 Package (H5P) offer significant potential to enhance learning within Learning Management Systems, understanding the specific factors that drive their acceptance among students remains limited.
This study investigated the factors influencing the acceptance and use of the interactive content tool H5P (HTML5 Package) among university students in an online teaching and learning environment. Guided by the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 3 (UTAUT3), this research employed a quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational design. Data was collected via an online questionnaire from students enrolled in a foundational support module (UJ101) designed for first-year students at the University of Johannesburg and subsequently analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM).
The model demonstrated substantial explanatory power, accounting for 70.8% of the variance in Behavioural Intention (BI) (R2=0.708) and 57.2% of the variance in Behavioural Use (BU) (R2=0.572).The findings indicated that Performance Expectancy (PE) (β = 0.355, t = 4.038, p = 0.000), Personal Innovativeness (PI) (β = 0.389, t = 3.917, p = 0.000), Facilitating Conditions (FC) (β = 0.154, t = 2.235, p = 0.025), and Habit (HT) (β = 0.150, t = 2.056, p = 0.040) were all significant predictors of students' intention to use H5P. However, the study identified a critical "intention-behaviour gap," revealing a significant negative relationship between Behavioural Intention and actual Use Behaviour (β = -0.215, t = 2.503, p = 0.012). This suggests that positive intentions do not automatically translate into action. Instead, Price Value (PV) was identified as the primary positive driver of actual use (β = 0.298, t = 4.258, p = 0.000).
The study concludes that merely fostering a positive attitude toward H5P is insufficient. To bridge the intention-behaviour gap and ensure adoption, institutions and lecturers must strategically embed H5P as a mandatory, high-value, and routine component of the curriculum, supported by robust technical infrastructure.