Blended Learning for French Health Students: Does Acceptance of a Learning Management System Influence Students' Self-Efficacy?

A learning management system (LMS) used for the initial training of health professionals has been rejected by students. Our study aimed to explain the reason of this rejection. We performed this evaluation on a sample of health students in 2012 and 2017 (n = 144). We used scales from the literature (Technology Acceptance Model, General Self-Efficacy Scale, LMS-Self-Efficacy Scale), and studied the social representation of the LMS. The system seemed accessible and useful, but unfortunately with similarities to the system used in a traumatic student environment. Health students using the system did not have a lower self-efficacy. Although the LMS seemed relevant to students, its initial rejection might have been due to a confounding context that created confusion in the acceptability of the tool. To conclude, there is a need to create new dematerialized course formats but with strong tutorship to improve the usage of the technologies by students.