Friendship or feedback? – Relations between computer science students’ goals, technology acceptance, use of an online peer feedback tool, and learning

Computer-supported peer feedback offers great potential to enhance students' learning. Yet, students sometimes do not use computer-supported peer feedback opportunities, which partially can be the result of low technology acceptance. The UTAUT-model specifies performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and facilitating conditions as decisive factors for the intention to use a technology. From a motivational perspective, however, it can be expected that also students' achievement goals have an impact on the intention to use an online peer feedback tool. Therefore, we investigated the effects of learning approach, appearance approach, appearance avoidance, work avoidance and relational goals (besides performance expectancy, effort expectancy and facilitating conditions) on 155 computer science students' intentions and actual use of an online peer feedback tool and their performance in an end-of-course exam. Results of path modelling the longitudinal, student and log-data informed data showed that students' intentions predicted actual use, which predicted exam performance. Learning approach goals positively predicted the intention to use the tool, while performance and work avoidance goals did not predict intentions. Relational goals, however, negatively predicted intentions and end-of-course performance, shedding light on the importance of students' social motivations when using online peer feedback tools in their studies (e.g., peer feedback might be perceived as a social threat). Thus, the results point to the importance of an appropriate framing of online peer feedback tool use in educational settings as a learning opportunity and to reduce students’ possible concerns about their social relationships when using online peer feedback tools.