Online learning has gained widespread acceptance among educators and learners, yet research on student acceptance within the context of Small Private Online Courses (SPOCs) remains limited. Understanding student acceptance toward SPOCs is crucial as it serves as a foundational step before further large-scale research endeavors in this area. This study investigated students’ acceptance of SPOCs integrated with problem-solving tasks in the field of Educational Technology. The SPOC was developed following the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) model and IDEAL (Identify, Define, Explore, Act, Look) problem-solving phases. Utilizing a quantitative research design, a survey based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was administered to 161 undergraduate students at a Chinese university. Analysis of the data using SPSS version 25.0, focusing on 128 responses, reveals high levels of acceptance among students. They demonstrate strong endorsement of the SPOC in terms of perceived usefulness (mean = 3.879), perceived ease of use (mean = 3.84), behavioral intention (mean = 3.829), and usage (mean = 4.04). Notably, correlation analysis indicates a significant relationship; students who find the SPOC easy to use also perceive it as useful and express a strong intention to use it for learning. This finding underscores the importance of user experience in driving acceptance and adoption of SPOCs in educational settings. Moreover, this study addresses a significant gap in understanding SPOC acceptance among Chinese university students, suggesting avenues for future research to explore further the utilization of SPOCs in China's higher education landscape.
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