Faculty Articles
Web 2.0 Technologies for Classroom Instruction: High School Teachers' Perceptions and Adoption Factors
Abstract
Web 2.0 technologies have potential for teaching and learning, but show a slow rate of adoption in education. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that contribute to high school teachers' intention to use Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction. Research questions examined were (a) To what extent are high school teachers using Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? (b) What opinions do high school teachers have regarding Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? (c) Which factors best predict the decision of high school teachers to adopt or not Web 2.0 technologies for classroom instruction? The decomposed theory of planned behavior was used as theoretical framework. A survey design was employed adapting Ajjan and Hartshorne's (2008) questionnaire. Participants were high school teachers from a specific school region of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Data from 137 participants were analyzed using descriptive and multiple regression methods. Findings showed that teachers do not use these technologies: blogs 51.1%, wikis 36.5%, social networking 53.3%, social bookmarking 59.9%, and audio/video conferencing 41.6%. Many did not plan to use them at all. Regarding predictors of teachers' behavioral intention to use Web 2.0 technologies: attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control were significant predictors, with attitude the strongest (β = .634); of the decomposed factors, perceived usefulness and compatibility were significant predictors. Teacher comments suggested that lack of equipment, lack of training, lack of funding, security issues, and firewalls were possible obstacles affecting perceived usefulness and compatibility.