THE IMPACT OF WEB 2.0, WEB 3.0, AND WEB 4.0 TECHNOLOGIES USED IN DISTANCE EDUCATION

Many factors influence distance education teaching and learning experiences. Online education experiences vary from student to student; and integration of Web 2.0 technology has made significant enhancements towards improving options for distance education. Unfortunately, with all the benefits that Web 2.0 technology offers, some students still face undesirable learning outcomes.

Such outcomes include but are not limited to:
(1) underutilized and undervalued technology,
(2) difficulty with high demand on software and connection speeds, as well as technical glitches that are seen by students as being unfair,
(3) focus being placed more on quantity as opposed to quality,
(4) instructors having difficulty keeping up with the technology, and having to spend instructional time familiarizing students with the software.

If these and other negative impacts can be limited, the chances that students will have a good learning experience with current and future Web technologies can increase. Therefore, it is important to delineate negative factors that impact the quality and delivery of curriculum embedded with present and next generation web technologies, (Web 3.0 and Web 4.0).

The purpose of this study was to explore factors impacting post-secondary distance education through use of Web 2.0, Web 3.0, and Web 4.0 technologies.

Two experiments were used:
a) The first experiment examined tools of Web 2.0 technology (blogs, wikis, and podcasts), Web 3.0 technology (virtual reality), and course framework (course design, technical problems, instructor feedback, peer collaboration, and student needs). Positive and negative factors were identified that affected the learning experiences of distance education students. Results indicated that technical problems overwhelmingly contributed the most to a negative learning experience.
b) The second experiment examined tools of Web technologies (Web 2.0 and Web 3.0) and instructor planning (course preparation and instructor feedback). The results identified factors that impacted positive and negative teaching experiences for distance education instructors. Inadequate training contributed the most to a negative learning experience.

The future of Web technologies in distance education will one day become Web 4.0. Data suggests that developments are progressing towards 3-D printers, 3-D holographs, and the ability to control a computer with ones’ thoughts.