The learning of plants has garnered considerable attention in recent years, but students often lack the motivation to learn about the process of plant growth. Also, students are not able to apply what they have learned in class in the form of observation, since plant growth takes a long time. In this study, we use augmented reality (AR) technology to develop the ARFlora system, which can assist students in observing the changes in plant growth while in the classroom. More specifically, students are able to use AR markers to manipulate various virtual objects (e.g. sunlight) and observe the changes they have on plant growth. Meanwhile, a quasi-experimental evaluation is in place to substantiate the effectiveness of ARFlora in the learning of plants and to compare it with digital video learning. In the quasi-experimental design, 55 elementary-school students participated in the study. The participants are divided into two groups, an “experimental group” and a “control group.” The experimental group was taught using the ARFlora system, while the control group was taught by employing the digital video. Results show that (1) ARFlora and digital video have the same effectiveness on student's learning outcomes; (2) ARFlora is more effective in helping students retain learned knowledge; and (3) ARFlora is comparatively more useful in motivating students to learn about plants.

The use of collaborative technologies in learning has received considerable attention in recent years, but few studies to date have examined the factors that affect sequential and global learners’ intention to use such technologies. Previous studies have shown that the learners of different learning styles have different needs for educational technologies. Accordingly, understanding the factors that affect the different types of learners’ intention to use collaborative technologies is an important issue. To this end, we add two external variables, facilitating conditions and social influence, to the technology acceptance model and then testing a number of hypotheses. Our results show that most of the hypotheses are supported, and further reveal that (1) attitude towards using is the most important determinant of students’ intention to use a collaborative technology, followed by social influence and facilitating conditions; (2) sequential learners are more concerned about perceived usefulness; (3) global learners are more concerned about perceived ease of use.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the determinants of teachers’ continuance intention concerning cloud services. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a cloud service, namely, Google Sites, to support teacher collaboration and further develop a research model to explore the determinants of their continued usage intention. Findings: The findings reveal that continued intention to use the cloud services is primarily determined by their attitude towards using it; attitude towards using is affected by perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness; and perceived ease of use is influenced by facilitating conditions, while perceived usefulness is influenced by social influence. Practical implications: This study determines that teachers intend to continue using cloud services once training in using such services has been provided and if they hear favourable opinions from others. Originality/value: The paper enables us to better understand factors affecting teachers' continuance intention toward cloud services.