Use of Web 2.0 by students in the Faculty of Information Science and Communications at Mzuzu University, Malawi

Abstract

Background: Over the years, advancements in Internet technologies have led to the emergence of new technologies such as Web 2.0, which have taken various sectors including higher education by storm. Web 2.0 technologies are slowly but surely penetrating higher education in developing countries with much hype, according to the literature. This justifies the need for original research that aims at demystifying the application and exploiting the promises that come along with these so-called versatile technologies.Objectives: The specific objectives of the study were to ascertain students’ awareness of and familiarity with Web 2.0 technologies, to determine the purposes for which students use Web 2.0 technologies, and to identify the factors that affect students’ use or non-use of Web 2.0 technologies.Method: A mixed-methods approach was adopted. Firstly, a questionnaire was sent to 186 students; secondly, the curricula of the two departments in the Faculty of Information Science and Communication (ISC) were analysed; finally, follow-up interviews were conducted with seven lecturers in the Faculty of ISC.Results: The study found that students use Web 2.0 technologies to search for information, to communicate with lecturers, to submit assignments and to communicate with friends on academic work. Wikipedia, WhatsApp, Google Apps and YouTube are the Web 2.0 technologies most used by students. Poor bandwidth (Internet connection) coupled with the absence of Wi-Fi (wireless Internet connection) prevents the successful adoption of Web 2.0 by students.Conclusion: Web 2.0 can have a profound impact on undergraduate students and lecturers in teaching and learning. The research results indicated a high awareness of a wide range of Web 2.0 technologies, with social networks being the commonly used one. There is a need for more training to increase awareness of and familiarity with new Web 2.0 technologies. The problem of poor bandwidth needs to be addressed by the university management in order to gain significant benefits.

Taking social media to a university classroom: teaching and learning using Twitter and blogs

“…Other students found Twitter useful because it helped them connect with their current and old friends online. These findings corroborate with earlier findings by Chawinga and Zinn (2016) in which they found that students in Malawi usually use social media such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp to instantly connect with peers currently at the university or at home and to search and locate old friends. The fact that best grades came from group blog posts (as evidenced by an analysis of the tweets and blog posts), suggest that working in groups motivates students to work hard and understand the content better.…”

“…For example, in Africa, more specifically at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa, Dzvapatsva, et al (2014) report that some of the factors that militate against the use of social media include lack of technical skills that students experience when learning or using portals of social media, inadequate technological infrastructure and bandwidth which results in students abusing it. The problem of Internet bandwidth seems to be common in most African countries because Chawinga and Zinn (2015) also reports of a similar problem at MZUNI in Malawi. Additionally, literature shows that opponents of social media use in a classroom continue to downplay the value of such technologies.…”

“…Since the findings of the thesis were arrived at by merely soliciting views from respondents though a questionnaire, in the current study, the author incorporated Twitter and blogs into two existing semester courses offered in the Department of Library and Information Science (LIS). Thirdly, while Internet, laptops, smartphones and other mobile technologies are increasingly becoming a common sight in university environments amongst students, Chawinga and Zinn (2016) and Menkhoff et al (2014) independently observe that application and use of social media platforms such as Twitter and blogs amongst students and lecturers with a focus on a particular course in classroom is still rare. More so, there are claims about an increase in visibility of social media in higher education settings which instructors are increasingly adopting to mediate and enhance their instruction as well as promote active learning for students (Tess, 2013).…”

“…Studies have shown that tweeting is regarded as a more interactive and exciting way of learning compared to traditional knowledge transfer tools such as lectures (Menkhoff et al, 2014). Some of the most common social media technologies according to Chawinga and Zinn (2016), Dzvapatsva et al (2014) and Gikas and Grant (2013), include social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn; media sharing sites, such as YouTube, Flickr and Tumblr; wikis and blogs and syndication of content through Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds. Since social media applications have rapidly developed, evolved, expanded, and grown in numbers and forms, it may not be possible to efficiently research how they can collectively be applied in a classroom environment especially if the study focusses on their practical use other than merely soliciting views from either students or instructors.…”

Towards e‐judicial services in Malawi: Implications for justice delivery

“…Again, both the system's network failings and Internet outages can further be attributed to electricity blackouts, which are prevalent in Malawi, thereby affecting operations of ICT equipment such as computers and servers. Electricity outages are chronic in Malawi as reported by various scholars (Chawinga, 2017;Chawinga & Zinn, 2015;Chawinga & Zinn, 2016). To improve the system quality, it is necessary for the court authorities and stakeholders to ensure that the Internet is improved through identifying reliable Internet service providers and making sure that alternative sources of power supply such as solar and generators are procured to supply power when electricity from the national grid is cut off.…”