Student Perceptions of Cloud Computing Effectiveness in Higher Education

Cloud computing technology use in higher education institutions is rapidly expanding and becoming a more integral part of the collegiate experience. This expansion of the use of cloud applications comes with some significant learning and adoption challenges to the end users along with the technical advantages that allow greater accessibility and ease of use. The influence of individual user perceptions toward these technologies is an issue that merits further investigation. Several technology acceptance models have demonstrated some degree of success in predicting adoption behaviors utilizing individual user traits and beliefs. However, there have been limited investigations of variables after the technology has been implemented and used. This paper focuses on the associations between variables identified in the literature that are considered to be influencing use and perceptions of technology for undergraduate students of technology at a mid-sized university in Southeast Michigan. The results statistically present significant correlations between each measured variable and support the interaction between perceived ease of use, computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy, and internet self-efficacy with the perceived usefulness of cloud applications in a higher education setting.