Motivating Learning Through Digital Apps: The Importance of Relatedness Satisfaction

The use of ICTs to enhance education is challenging, especially when institutions lack the resources to build efficient technologies. The use of ICTs, however, can facilitate processes and communication—elements that are essential to create a supportive school environment and enhance student learning motivation. In this study, we assess the effectiveness of OdontoApp,1 a tool created using a free-service provider with the goal of improving communication and centralizing processes in a dentistry program at a university in Ecuador, using Self-Determination Theory and the Motivational Technology Model as theoretical frameworks. Through a survey study (N = 114), we found that features of the App that enhance a sense of relatedness increase students' learning motivation. However, the benefits of the app are contingent on students' acceptance of learning technologies and how promptly they receive answers to their queries.