EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF USING WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION

In the last few years, the Internet has experienced a significant step forward with the emergence of a set of social online applications and services, commonly known as Web 2.0 technologies. Thanks to these tools, the Internet has become a venue for creating, editing and sharing user-generated content online. Although initially developed for entertainment and social communication, Web 2.0 technologies are currently used for different purposes by millions of people across the globe. These online platforms seem to have actually infiltrated all fields and influenced almost every aspect of our life. Just like all fields, education is also affected by the new digital tools. In fact, since students and teachers are greatly immersed in these technologies, the way education is imparted in both academic institutions and beyond class walls seems to be altered. Therefore, our objective in the present paper is to explore the kind of impact that these online platforms have on learning and teaching. To this end, a survey was conducted amongst Moroccan higher education teachers to examine their perceptions towards using these tools for education purposes. The result of the research study proved that just like students, instructors are also engrossed in these web-based applications and have recourse to them for both personal and educational reasons. It was also found out that the great majority of the surveyed teachers felt that these technologies positively impact education. This is because they enhance students’ learning and enrich the instructors’ teaching experience. Despite these educational benefits, many teachers are still reluctant in effectively incorporating these online tools in education settings. Indeed, apart from of a few faculty members who use these online social spaces as teaching platforms, most of the teachers use these platforms only a means of communication.