Charles Devlin

May 21, 2014

EDET 780

Zelick, S. (2013). The Perception of Web 2.0 Technologies on Teaching and
Learning in Higher Education: A Case Study. Creative Education, 4, 53-93.
doi: 10.4236/ce.2013.47A2010.

http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?paperID=34649#.U3Vr
o16dImQ

Introduction

The selected article was a case study examining the perception of Web
2.0 technologies on teaching and learning in higher education. The
researcher prepared a survey on Survey Monkey that questioned university
educators on their perceptions of online learning. The respondents were
asked to answer a series of questions that were prepared by the researcher.
The answers to the questions were posed using a Likert scale. The results
indicated that there is a relationship between faculty members perception of
teaching college courses utilizing Web 2.0 technologies versus the tradition
classroom method.
According to the researcher the limitations of the study was that
faculty members, outside of the United States who dont teach at public
universities, generalizations were not relevant. The researcher basically
believes that this study did not have any limitations. The researcher
surveyed full and part time faculty members at Public Universities in the
United States. 1207 people participated in the survey however, 988 or 82%
of them were disqualified as they did not meet the criteria. Additional
surveys were discarded as the results were incomplete. The total sample
size was 178 individuals.
The researcher believed that the studys findings can be used to give
extra support and training to the groups that were found to have difficulty
and negative perceptions of using and implementing Web 2.0 technologies in
their classrooms.
I believe additional research should be done with a larger sample size,
including a global perspective and private universities.

Critique

There were 7 research questions associated with this study. They are
listed under the heading Research questions. There was one main question,
To what extent do faculty members teaching college courses utilizing Web
2.0 technologies perceive that this method is a practical alternative to the
traditional classroom method? Then there were 6 secondary questions, they
are To what extent do faculty members perceive that there is an adequate
level of development programs available to create their course content
utilizing Web 2.0 technologies? To what extent do faculty members
perceive that the faculty development programs affecting technology
integration are effective? To what extent do faculty members perceive that
the impact of the barriers affecting technology integration is hindering their
ability to utilize Web 2.0 technologies? Is there a difference in male and
female faculty members perceptions regarding their use of Web 2.0
technologies in their courses? Is there a difference in faculty members
perceptions regarding their use of Web 2.0 technologies in their courses
respective to their age? Is there a difference in faculty members
perceptions regarding their use of Web 2.0 technologies in their courses
respective to their employment status?
There was no formal review of literature, however there is a short
section called Background of the Study which looks into research done in the
aspects of informational technologies, the use of technology and internet in
increasing student engagement and active learning, and Web 2.0
technologies and their integration into learning systems. It does a good
progression from the beginning of the internet to cover the full integration of
Web 2.0 technologies into online learning and the challenges in doing so.
The article was well written with very few errors in grammar and
mechanics. The tables and graphs were integrated into the text of the article
instead of appearing in a separate Appendix, which can cause some readers
to get confused or disoriented. The Article was published in the journal
Creative Education and both its diction and publication make it easily
accessible to its appropriate audience as well as anyone else interested in
looking over the perceptions of instructors on the usefulness of Web 2.0
Technologies.
By the end of the article it was clear what knowledge the researcher
gained. There is a total of 14 pages that explain the results of the study and
analyzes the charts and graphs of information that accompany the findings
of the study. There is also a section labeled Discussion of Findings which
explains the results without all of the technical aspects that were included in
the Results section of the article. According to the Conclusion there is a
relationship between facultys perceptions of teaching using Web 2.0 verses
in person teaching and there is a relationship between facultys age and
gender and their perceptions of teaching using Web 2.0 technologies.
However there is not a relationship between faculties perceptions of
development programs and creating course content using Web 2.0 and
technology integration and effectiveness.
The implicit theory being tested in this research study looks at how the
perception of Instructors has an impact on their fluency and use of Web 2.0
resources in their classrooms. This theory isnt explicitly stated in either the
Introduction or conclusion; however through the title of the Article and the 7
research questions being studied it is implied.


Conclusion

The largest limitations of this study was the small sample size. The
researcher should have contacted more schools and included more faculty in
the study. Since this study determined perception, age and gender were all
factors in the implementation of Web 2.0 technologies to create classroom
content this study showed it is valuable and more studies should be
completed with larger sampling sizes. This study is useful because it gives
recommendations based on the findings that could help an organization
implementing Web 2.0 technologies in their schools. The study can be used
to determine which sets of faculty will need more support and reassurance in
using Web 2.0 technologies so their perceptions will not negatively affect the
creation of course content. The knowledge that males are less likely to utilize
Web 2.0 technologies and that faculty over 50 have never used most types
of Web 2.0 technologies can allow specialized training to be in place to help
these particular groups to implement the tools in their course content. While
I have been using Web 2.0 technologies for quite some time, having been
part of various online schools, I dont believe the results of this study can
help me directly; however they can help me to point out groups of people in
my work setting who may need more support or be more apprehensive
when asked to use these tools.