**4.5 Acquiring knowledge and skills**

The lack of knowledge about e-learning technology and the lack of skills influence the successful integration of e-learning in higher education institutions. New knowledge and skills, together with experience, encourage the change in existing value system, and finally they become attitudes influencing the teacher's behavior in the education process. On the

Factors that Influence Academic Teacher's

(Keller, 2009).

**5. Conclusion** 

certain factors that influence them.

Acceptance of E-Learning Technology in Blended Learning Environment 13

organizational culture of teaching also represent obstacles in in e-learning acceptance

After accepting e-learning technology, teachers still point out the following obstacles in its use: work overload, question of property, required resources, professional growth and management (Marwan & Sweeney, 2010). The academic institution's management has a great role in introducing and developing e-learning. Gautreau (2011) confirms the importance of adequate support and training factors, but also proves that reward and encouragement system and recognition of accomplishments are very important

However, even after removing many of the aforementioned obstacles, numerous study results indicate that time is the crucial factor that needs to be invested when changing to blended learning model, and it is connected to acquiring new knowledge, adjusting and implementing the course material to e-learning system, as well as to the lack of time for the

Numerous authors have tried to understand the problem of academic teachers accepting elearning technology by discovering and confirming the influence of many factors studied from different aspects, while using existing theories and models of innovation acceptance (as well as their combination) as basis for empirical research. Study results frequently confirm the factors: usefulness and ease of use of the e-learning technology. Authors have in different ways adapted the constructs from the existing theories and models, in which greater significance was given to the technical aspect of the e-learning technology, and not so much to the pedagogical aspect, which will only later gain more significance. Also, researches include more institutional factors and less situational ones (such as field of study characteristics and student characteristics) which represent important extrinsic motivational factors influencing the teachers when creating virtual learning environments. The researches are increasingly focused on the personality of teachers, as an intrinsic motivational factor, after certain institutional obstacles have been removed with the aim of creating encouragement measures for developing and applying e-learning. The training has been singled out as a separate category regarding that, apart from the required ICT infrastructure, acquiring new knowledge and skills is one of the essential factors in adopting e-learning. Learning through experience influences the creation of new values which become attitudes that have a strong impact on teacher's behavior towards e-learning technology. Therefore, the attitude and values are singled out as a separate category as well, linking together

Because of the manner of academic teaching process, the most commonly used is blended learning model where teacher chooses the e-learning technology based on certain elements stated in this paper. The practice has shown that creating a blended learning environment is not easy and that teachers have problems in many stages of designing the virtual learning environment, from the analysis of the course requirements, analysis of the student requirements, application of instructional design model, e-learning technology use, not understanding the concept of the quality of e-learning process and many other factors. Based on existing study results in the field of academic teacher's accepting e-learning technology, the figure 4 shows intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors which can serve

as a foundation for theoretical models in the future empirical researches.

motivational factors in teachers adopting and developing e-learning.

requirements of the scientific research (Samarawickrema & Stacey , 2007).

other hand, the attitudes and values of other important people in a certain environment also have significant influence on developing behavior.

Formal education in the field of pedagogy influences the level of e-learning application in the education process (Renzi, 2008). Learning is a process which can be realized in different ways using current e-learning technology at various life-long learning centers, organized by different institutions. On the other hand, Samarawickrema and Stacey (2007) point out the importance of learning and support from the experienced colleagues and experts via formally organized networks, as well as informal group networks, within and outside the university, i.e., through different learning communities. Support and encouragement from the colleagues within the network are the strong motivators for the experimenting with elearning technology and teacher's eagerness and interest for introducing innovation into the education process. Keller and associates (2009) also confirm the importance of the colleague support, as well as expert help in accepting and applying e-learning, which is closely connected to the lack of time needed to invest in acquiring new pedagogical and technological competences (Keller et al., 2009). Organizational learning is strongly and reciprocally connected with individual learning. Learning is a continuous process which can be encouraged by: personal, situational and institutional motivational factors, therefore it is essential to understand their influence. Gautreau (2011) confirms the importance of teacher's personal motivation to attend the course about applying e-learning in education process, which strongly influences the successful integration of e-learning system in education process.

#### **4.6 Institutional factors**

Institutional factors belong to a group of extrinsic motivational factors influencing academic teacher's acceptance of e-learning technology. Numerous study results indicate that factors which influence academic teachers differ depending on the current phase of e-learning introduction into the academic institution in question. One of the key factors is the capacity and reliability of the ICT infrastructure (Nanayakkera & Whiddett, 2005). In practice, teachers frequently list the following conditions as obstacles: access to the computer classroom, number of computers in a classroom, computer network, Internet (access and speed) (Osika et al., 2009). After solving the problem of infrastructure, there are other negative factors that influence e-learning application. Thus, perceived adequacy of support (e.g. technical, pedagogical, personnel), as facilitating circumstance, has an important impact on applying e-learning in education (Timothy, 2009). Availability of information about the manner of applying e-learning technology in education process can positively influence teacher's adoption of e-learning (Kundi et al., 2010).

Since introduction of e-learning technology into academic institutions causes changes in structure, policies and organizational culture, it also brings about changes in organizational learning. Keller (2009) proved that organizational culture has the strongest impact on elearning technology integration by academic teachers through the level of organizational learning, thus the expected effort and observability have stronger connection with the lower level of organizational learning, while social influence and facilitating circumstances relate to the higher level of organizational learning. The author suggests that the teacher's attitude towards education quality needs to be examined. Numerous authors confirmed that institutional strategy is an important obstacle in adopting e-learning (Keller, 2009; Marwan & Sweeney, 2010; Samarawickrema & Stacey, 2007). Teacher's academic freedom and organizational culture of teaching also represent obstacles in in e-learning acceptance (Keller, 2009).

After accepting e-learning technology, teachers still point out the following obstacles in its use: work overload, question of property, required resources, professional growth and management (Marwan & Sweeney, 2010). The academic institution's management has a great role in introducing and developing e-learning. Gautreau (2011) confirms the importance of adequate support and training factors, but also proves that reward and encouragement system and recognition of accomplishments are very important motivational factors in teachers adopting and developing e-learning.

However, even after removing many of the aforementioned obstacles, numerous study results indicate that time is the crucial factor that needs to be invested when changing to blended learning model, and it is connected to acquiring new knowledge, adjusting and implementing the course material to e-learning system, as well as to the lack of time for the requirements of the scientific research (Samarawickrema & Stacey , 2007).
