Abstract
E-portfolios play an important role in the success of online courses in higher education. They help universities to provide a more effective and efficient teaching-learning process by enabling students to track their skills and proceed towards their future career goals. In view of the rapid expansion of e-portfolios in French universities, a challenging problem arises regarding its acceptance and use by higher education students, particularly in the context of online courses. Indeed, using new technology can be considered as a process that implies the evolution of judgment over time. To address this gap, the present study has two objectives. First, it explores the key factors of acceptability (before use) and acceptance (after first use) of the e-portfolio Karuta according to the literature and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Second, it aims to generate appropriate assumptions and validate research instruments for a new experiment (e.g., questions, items). This is a quantitative and qualitative survey with a descriptive scope. Data were collected from 10 Master students in pedagogical and digital engineering at Aix-Marseille University, France. The research instrument is a questionnaire consisting of open and closed-end questions including: 41 items using a 7 points Likert Scale, which covers Self-Regulated Online Learning (SRSOL), UTAUT’s factors and the perceived enjoyment variable administered before and after use; 2 open questions to gather more explanations from participants about their reasons to continue to (or not to) use the e-portfolio in the future; and 1 question about their feelings regarding the reflexive activity implemented when they completed or used the e-portfolio within the Karuta tool. The results showed that students seem to have the intention to continue to use the e-portfolio as part of their learning process. Besides, it appears that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence predict behavioral intention to use and to continue to use the e-portfolio.