Abstract:

Using interactive learning tools and techniques in the classroom has become imperative in order to ensure, amongst others, an engaging and entertaining learning experience for the higher education scholars of today. These scholars are familiar with a vast array of digital technologies and are able to engage with multiple sources of information at the same time. Traditional teaching methods are not enough to keep these scholars engaged and as such, traditional teaching methods must be supplemented by engaging learning methodologies and interactive learning tools. Many of these learning tools have their origins in Web 2.0 and have enjoyed wide-spread adoption in the education arena because of their potential as contemporary education technologies. This paper details the findings pertaining to the introduction of interactive learning tools within the curriculum of an under-graduate IS-related course at the authors’ university which has more than 1500 students. The main perspective provided in this paper is from the lecturing staff themselves and details how they experienced the introduction of these education technologies.

Keywords:

Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, Social Computing, Web 2.0, Education Technologies, Social Computing, Higher Education.