International Journal of Education and Development using ICT

International Journal of Education and Development using ICT > Vol. 8, No. 2 (2012)

Adoption of Web 2.0 technology in higher education: A case study of universities in the National Capital Region, India

Sunil Tyagi, Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission

Abstract
Purpose: The present study was conducted in six (6) Indian Universities at NCR (National Capital Region) of India to explore the usage analysis of Web 2.0 technologies in learning environment by faculty members. Design/methodology/approach: The investigator conducted a survey with the help of structured questionnaire on 300 respondents. A total of 300 self-administered questionnaires (out of total population 693) were distributed among Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors of different streams and departments (Agriculture, Arts, Education, Engineering, Management and Science) by adopting stratified random sampling, 147 valid samples were collected and analyzed. Findings: Web 2.0 is especially useful and creative when knowledge is digitized, modular and allowed to be used and distributed in a flexible way. It realize that application of the Web 2.0 tools in Indian higher education is still marginal and will have to overcome a lot of obstacles in order to hold its ground as in higher education of developed countries. The adoption of Web 2.0 tools at universities is associated with important challenges (potential risks, institutional fears) and an effective strategy to deal with implementation problems may therefore include learning from (others’) experience, as well as open access to content and reliance on open platforms for knowledge sharing and creation. Majority of the faculty members have been using Web 2.0 tools for the three major purposes; for Web based teaching & research; for interactive learning features; and to keep themselves up to date on related topic of interest. The results indicate that the faculty attitude and their perceived behavioral control are strong predictors to their intention to use Web 2.0. Originality/value: This article reports on study that attempted to find out the usage of Web 2.0 tools (wiki's, blogs, RSS feed, collaborative writing, video sharing, social networks, etc.) by Indian faculties to support teaching and learning in higher education at NCR of India. Keywords: Web 2.0, Blogs, Wikis, RSS Feed, Podcasting and Social Bookmarking.

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