USE OF WEB 2.0 TOOLS AT NORTHERN BORDER UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This study aims to identify the current level of Web 2.0 tools use by the academic staff at Northern Border University (NBU) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for their academic pursuits. It also aims to identify the multiple barriers that stand in the way of using Web 2.0 tools, concluding with suggestions to overcome such barriers at university level. In order to achieve these aims, the researcher has used the qualitative method (based on interviews), comprising of interviewing 25 faculty members from both the male and female campuses .This paper is unique in the Saudi Arabian context of analyzing the academic pursuits of Male and Female Faculty members that too when region’s cultural and social fabric segregates them. The findings and revelations of this study are that at present the use of Web 2.0 technology by NBU faculty members is very much limited and therefore low, except for the use of social networking sites. Primary uses are mainly focused on the university’s non-educational fields. The results of this research study shows certain barriers which include a lack of necessary knowledge about the use of Web 2.0 in education, as well as other potential factors such as a lack of training courses, lack of access to computer labs at all times, poor technical support and a lack of confidence in users wishing to obtain the available information using Web 2.0 tools. Interestingly, resistance to change is one of the main factors among the academic members. Through this study, it has been suggested that faculty members make some potential improvements through the use of Web 2.0 tools. They are made aware of such tools and their roles in the education sector. Spreading the culture to use Web 2.0 tools in education, intensifying training courses for academic staff, setting a clear strategy plan for the integration of technology in education at university level, and encouraging faculty members through financial and tangible incentive exchanges for the use of technology in their educational pursuits are just some of the most potential guidelines which this research has tried to highlight.