THE USAGE OF WEB 2.0 APPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ZAMBIA (original) (raw)
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SA Journal of Information Management, 2016
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The Online Journal of Distance Education and e-Learning,, 2022
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Investigating the Educational Use of Web 2.0 Among Undergraduates in Nigerian Private Universities
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Students’ Experiences in Using Web 2.0 Technologies for Learning: A Case of Muni University, Uganda
Journal of information technologies and lifelong learning, 2021
The advancement of web technologies has innovated tools and software applications, also known web 2.0, to support collaborative teaching, learning and research. These technologies offer learners and learning facilitators an opportunity to interact both vertically and horizontally beyond four walls of the classroom. This study provided further understanding, from students' perspective, of issues surrounding usage of web 2.0 Technologies in Mui University, Uganda. This was achieved by: assessing the students' awareness of Web 2.0 technologies, ascertaining the usage of Web 2.0 technologies, and establishing barriers that hinder students to use web 2.0 technologies for teaching and learning beyond the four walls of classroom. Questionnaires were administered to 100 students from the Faculty of Technoscience, Muni University. SPSS v.21 was used to analyse the data collected. The results were presented in form of tables, charts, means, and percentages were used to indicate the student's experiences on the usage of web 2.0 technologies in the learning process at Muni University. The research revealed that the students know and always use mainly YouTube, Facebook and Google during their studies. The study further showed that students use web 2.0 in both academic and personal activities with at least 73.8% of the respondents expressing that they use web 2.0 in collaborating with lecturers and fellow students in addition to fulfilling the university learning requirements. The study also found that students are challenged by low-speed Internet connections, lack of appropriate devices to support web 2.0, timeconsuming nature of web 2.0, inadequate literacy skills to use web 2.0, and tight restrictions and lengthy procedures by local authorities over the use of internet e.g. Over the Top Tax (OTT) being imposed by the Government of Uganda. The researchers recommend that different stakeholders should support students to embrace the use web 2.0 in learning, e.g., the learning facilitators need to advocate for and provide continuous awareness, the national government needs to provide an equitable environment like internet and its infrastructure that will foster learning through the use of web 2.0, and parents should provide basic facilities like smartphones and laptops for use in learning.
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Web 2.0 is increasingly becoming a familiar pedagogical tool in higher education, facilitating the process of teaching and learning. But this advancement in information technology has further provoked the problems like plagiarism and other academic misconduct. This paper evaluates the patterns of use and behavior of tertiary level students towards the use of Web 2.0 as an alternative and supplemental eLearning Portal. A total of 92 students' data were collected and analyzed according to [1] 'Self-Determination Theory' (SDT). It was found that students use social websites for chatting, gamming and sharing files. Facebook, YouTube and Wikipedia are ranked as the most popular websites used by college students. It also reveals that students have an inherent desire of expressing ideas and opinion online openly and independently. This sense of freedom makes students feel more competent, autonomous or participative and find learning to be less tedious. Therefore, this report, recommends educators to adopt strategies for acknowledging students' feelings and activities online to reinforce positive behavior effective learning. Finally, we discussed the implications of Web 2.0 on education.
Journal of Library Services and Technologies, 2022
Many undergraduates in Nigerian universities are faced with the problems of knowing which Web 2.0 tools are available for which academic activities and the need to use them seamlessly with little or no effort. It is to this end that this study sets out to examine the influence of perceived ease of use on the use of Web 2.0 tools for academic activities by undergraduates in two Nigerian universities. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample size of 290 out of a population of 35,902 students. Data collected from 281 respondents who duly filled and returned the structured questionnaire from the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that most of the respondents found Web 2.0 tools easy to use, easy to understand, flexible and user-friendly. These findings may not be unconnected with their past experiences in using the tools for recreational purposes. A significant positive correlation was found between perceived ease of use and use of Web 2.0 tools (r = .291; df = 280; p < 0.05). Meaning that, the students' perception of the ease of use of the tools actually increases their use for academic activities. The major constraints found by the study are lack of Internet connectivity, electrical power failures and cost of Internet access. The study recommended, among others, that higher Internet bandwidth, alternative electrical power sources and a wide range of Web 2.0 tools should be provided at little or no cost by the University Managements for the gainful use of the technology savvy students for enhanced learning achievements. It was further advised that training should be provided for lecturers who are much older and may not be that adept in the use of Web 2.0 tools for personal development and lecture delivery to enable their being in charge of the teaching-learning environment and to flow with and contribute meaningfully to the educational attainment of their millennia, 22nd century students.
International Journal of Library and Information Science Studies, 2022
Many undergraduates in Nigerian universities are faced with problems of nervousness, apprehension and lack of confidence or ability in the use of Web 2.0 tools. Even when some of them have the skill, the ICT infrastructure may not be available, accessible, sustainable, affordable, modern or of top-notch quality. These factors may not allow them to use the tools frequently and/or enjoy using them. It is to this end that this study sets out to investigate how frequent and enjoyable undergraduates in the two first generation Nigerian universities under review are finding the use of Web 2.0 tools for academic activities.Descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the sample size of 290 out of a population of 35,902. Data collected from 281 respondents who duly filled and returned copies of the structured questionnaire given out at the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that the types of Web 2.0 tools that were regularly used by the students include Facebook, GoogleAD, Websites/Blogs, Email Tutorials, Twitter and YouTube. It could be inferred that the students perceived that enjoyment in the use of Web 2.0 tools lies in the fact that the actual process of using Web 2.0 tools is pleasurable, improves social networking, make Online/Internet chatting and learning exciting, satisfying and hence, enjoyable. There was a significant positive relationship (r = .291; df = 280; p < 0.05) between perceived enjoyment and use of Web 2.0 tools by the undergraduates. This implies that the higher the perceived enjoyment, the more they use Web 2.0 tools for academic activities. It is therefore recommended that students be exposed to a wider range of Web 2.0 tools for gainful learning experiences which may lead to good academic achievements. Provision of a very stable Internet connectivity is also advised for a faster, sustainable, more frequent and enjoyable use of the tools. Moreso, since perceived enjoyment is confirmed a factor in the use of the tools, it is suggested that state of the art ICT infrastructure be provided and the environment of the ICT Laboratories be made more conducive for a tireless, gainful, enjoyable and game-changing academic activities using the Web 2.0 tools.
Web 2.0 Use in Higher Education
European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning, 2014
This study analyzed current uses of emerging Web 2.0 technologies in higher education with the intent to better understand which tools teachers are using in the classroom. A total of 189 faculty in higher education from three western US universities were invited to participate, with 54 completing the survey. The survey included open-ended questions as well to offer an alternative analysis approach. In this study, the respondents claimed that the intrinsic factors of a lack of time and training were the main barriers to use, and reported positive views of Web 2.0 use in class, with 75% saying that these tools would benefit students and 83% saying they would benefit teacher-student interactions. In contrast to these results only 44% of the respondents used at least 4 of the 13 listed Web 2.0 tools with students. The reported uses did not match with the reported benefits, and this would support the results that extrinsic factors (time, training, support), instead of intrinsic factors (beliefs, motivation, confidence) are the main barriers to faculty in this study using more Web 2.0 in education. The top five Web 2.0 tools used, in order of preference, follow: (a) video sharing with tools like YouTube; (b) instant messaging; (c) blogs; (d) social communities, such as Facebook; and (e) podcasts or video casts. This data was originally submitted to the Abraham S. Fischler School of Education
Effect of Web 2 0 on the Teaching and Learning in a Developing Countrys Universities
Teaching and learning in all aspects of education have taken a dramatic change all over the world today due to the advent of the Internet. Before the Internet came into existence, teaching and learning have always been carried out within classroom environments. But with the Internet, teaching and learning may take place outside the classroom environments. The Internet has made e-learning a reality because students may receive their lectures through the Internet irrespective of geographic locations. Ideally, distance learning programmes are meant for people who are engaged in some full-time jobs. These people may not easily leave their jobs for full-time programmes. Often times, distance learning programmes are online in nature, hence they are usually referred to e-learning. E-learning is one directional in nature and is usually teacher-centered. In other words, the learners are passively involved in the learning process, and as such cannot make contributions to the learning process in which they are directly involved. The learning process in web 2.0 is participatory, hence both the teacher and the learner may engage in dialogue through a web application. This makes the learning process an active one. This study will examine the effect of web 2.0 on the teaching and learning processes of a developing country such as Nigeria’s universities with emphasis on University of Abuja. In the study, questionnaires are to be randomly distributed to teachers and students of University of Abuja to ascertain the effect of web 2.0 in the teaching and learning processes within the university.Data to be collected will be analyzed in other to find the effect of web 2.0 in the teaching and learning processes in the university.