Chapter 7: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations
3.2 Integration of Web 2.0 Technologies into TAL in Universities
39
technology acceptance and use; diffusion of innovations and applications; e-learning and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in TAL. Within each theme, international context followed by African and Nigerian contexts were examined.
The empirical and theoretical literature was reviewed on the above thematic areas. Kothari (2004) pointed out that there were two types of literature – the conceptual literature concerning the concepts and theories; and the empirical literature which discusses studies related to the variables of the current study. The literature reviewed in this chapter was obtained from books, conference proceedings, databases (such as Google Scholar, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, Emerald Insight, WorldCat and Web of Science), scholarly journals, theses, etc., in both print and electronic resources from international and African sources.
40
World Wide Web (www). These technologies are used to create a virtual TAL community within the university environment (Xu, Ouyang and Chu 2009). With Web 2.0 technologies, communication and interactions (originally generated in the virtual environment) can be brought into the classroom (McCarthy 2010). This would help meet the expectations of today‟s students also called “digital natives” (Brown 2000 and Prensky 2001), “Net-generation”
(Oblinger and Oblinger 2005) or “Generation C” (Leh, Kremling and Nakayama 2012) who use these technologies in their daily learning activities and expect that academics too will use them to communicate their knowledge (Thompson 2007). Web 2.0 therefore are dynamic web technologies that allow for users‟ involvement in adding, sharing, editing and retrieving information, such as that needed by academics and students to enhance their TAL practices in various disciplines.
Technological advances in recent years have dramatically impacted on the ways in which TAL are being carried out in and outside the classrooms (An, Alon and Fuentes 2014), especially with students who already possess technological skills with respect to electronic learning and communication. These students already have access to a wide range of technology tools (such as mobile phones, computers, and i-pads) and expect Web 2.0 technologies to be integrated into their learning practices (JISC 2007 cited in Leh, Kremling and Nakayama 2012). Blooms Taxonomy expects learning that results in acquisition of various skills such as remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluation and creating (Anderson and Krathwohl 2001).
These skill sets can be enhanced using such Web 2.0 applications such as Wikis, blogs, Facebook, podcast, RSS and SNSs (Lenhart and Madden 2007 and Hargadon 2008).
TAL practices in universities are being transformed with a paradigm shift from print media, such as books, to the internet and digital media (Mutula 2009). The Web 2.0 gives students and academics access to quick and global information useful for TAL practices. In response to this, efforts are being made (particularly by researchers) to understand the use of Web 2.0 in education and how it can enhance the quality of TAL (Caruso and Salaway 2008; Mohd, Jason and Sylvia 2010 and Leh, Kremling and Nakayama 2012). However, research in this area although proliferating in regions of Africa such as Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe and Nigeria (Munguatosha, Muyinda and Lubega 2011; Lwoga 2012; Usoro, Echeng and Majewski 2013; Ajise and Fagbola 2013 and Echeng and Usoro 2014), focused less on the integration of Web 2.0 technologies in TAL. To fill this gap, the second research question of
41
the present study examined the extent to which Web 2.0 technologies are integrated in TAL in selected Nigeria universities. Questions such as “which Web 2.0 technologies do you use for TAL purposes?” and “how frequently do you use Web 2.0 technologies for TAL purposes?”
were used to assess the extent of integration of Web 2.0 into TAL in the Nigerian universities surveyed.
Kelly (2008) in a qualitative survey of 180 higher institutions of learning across five countries (that is South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK) and the US) indicated that Web 2.0 is being employed across all areas in higher education. Wang (2013) in a study in Taiwan claimed that the use of Facebook (a popular Web 2.0 tool) in a course during the 2011-2012 academic year significantly and positively affected students‟ learning engagement and their grades. Wang (2013) further indicated that using Web 2.0 applications (such as Facebook) would promote the level of learning engagement in the real world by helping students merge their social lives with academic life. Web 2.0 use had in certain ways led to better academic outcomes which were not limited to students as Ballard and Bates‟
(2008) put it that academics ensure their students‟ success. Likewise, Aduke (2008) argued that teaching cannot take place without the students, academics, curriculum, content and instructional materials. Web 2.0 technologies can therefore stimulate TAL practices from both inside and outside the classroom to allow for effective TAL practices.
Conole and Alevizou (2010) reported that Web 2.0 technologies are being deployed across university activities in the United Kingdom (UK) due to technical proficiency and availability of good infrastructure. However, some studies observed a limited use of certain Web 2.0 technologies, for example blogs, in TAL especially among academics in some parts of USA and Canada (Wyld 2008). Similarly, Rubio, Martin and Moran‟s (2010) study among 46 academics in Spain revealed that there was a serious lack of knowledge regarding the use of Web 2.0 applications (such as blogs, wikis or podcasts) in teaching. Afifi (2011) noted that although most universities in Egypt had established the required infrastructure for e-learning, the application was still limited in use for academic purposes such as TAL, due to insufficient qualified academics. However, Wyld (2008) predicted that the utilization of these technologies would increase in the future as they became more common.
42
In the African higher education context, e-learning systems are becoming more common due in part to the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies. Studies such as Awodele et al. (2009), Munguatosha, Muyinda and Lubega (2011), Buabeng-Andoh (2012) and Lwoga (2012), indicate the proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies in the academic environments of African countries such as Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria. Web 2.0 technologies (such as blogs) serve as a two‐way communication tool that allow students and academics to participate in online forums, chatting, content sharing using RSS feeds and commenting (Awodele et al. 2009). Lwoga (2012) studied the extent to which Web 2.0 technologies were used to support TAL in Tanzania‟s public universities. The result of Lwoga‟s (2012) survey showed that the adoption and use of Web 2.0 for TAL process is still at an embryonic stage in Tanzania's public universities and generally very low in Africa universities; except for countries such as South Africa where the adoption has more rapid uptake and use of e‐learning technologies for TAL is quite high. Yet, the study pointed out that academics and students have shown much enthusiasm for e-learning and Web 2.0 usage in their universities. Their eagerness to the use of these technologies for academic activities is an important step that could influence the successful integration of these technologies into TAL practices.
Buabeng-Andoh (2012) empirically investigated the adoption and integration of ICT in education in Ghana. The findings revealed certain barriers to adoption of technologies in TAL.
These include lack of ICT skills, confidence, pedagogical training and suitable educational software limited access to technological tools, rigid structure of traditional education systems and restrictive curricula. The situation is also similar to the findings of Anunobi and Ogbonna (2012) and Echeng, Usoro and Majewski (2013) who noted that the adoption of Web 2.0 technologies is low for TAL in Nigeria Universities, due to lack of familiarity with the tool for pedagogical purposes. Ajise and Fagbola (2013) in a study conducted in Nigeria revealed a high level of awareness and use of Web 2.0 technologies for specific purposes such as engaging students in conversation, relating, communicating, and collaborating with colleagues, and sharing of educational materials for the purposes of TAL. As most students and academics are already using the Web 2.0 technologies for some academic practices, the situation with integrating these technologies in TAL practices is expected to improve through increasing the level of awareness and use of these tools.
43
To ensure effective integration of Web 2.0 into learning environments, Grosseck (2009) recommends that technologies must be introduced appropriately in the curriculum by first verifying their capability and efficiency, and selecting the ones suitable to the TAL activities.
In addition, An and Williams (2010) suggested:
(1) introducing few new technologies to students in one semester;
(2) avoiding multiple technologies that do the same thing; and
(3) employing a student-centred instructional method, when teaching with Web 2.0.
Academics must in addition employ Web 2.0 technologies and organize teaching materials and activities in parallel with various pedagogical strategies (Wang 2013). In integrating Web 2.0 technologies into TAL practices, especially in the Nigerian universities, essential changes such as developing a curriculum and policy that supports the use of new technologies should be made.