Title: Social media: fad or tool? What motivates college faculty to utilise Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies in the classroom?

Authors: Yingxia Cao; Yvonne Smith; Paul Hong

Addresses: College of Business & Public Management, University of La Verne, 1950 3rd St., La Verne, CA 19750, USA ' College of Business & Public Management, University of La Verne, 1950 3rd St., La Verne, CA 19750, USA ' College of Business, University of Toledo, ST4042, 2801 Bancroft, Toledo, Ohio 43606-3390, USA

Abstract: Why do professors use social media in the classroom? Social media is pervasive in society, but does that mean it should be pervasive in the classroom? Are professors succumbing to pressures for relevance and 'glamour' or do they rather think that social media adds pedagogical value? We analysed the motivations and intentions of almost 250 faculty members of a mid-sized university as they chose to use, or not use, social media and web tools in classes. Six factors were found to influence the faculty members' decisions to use these tools in teaching. Two factors, perceived risks, and teaching readiness, seem to inhibit social media utilisation by college faculty. The other four factors interact to create strong motivation for adopting Web 2.0 and 3.0 technologies. The most important motivating factor is self-perceived readiness to use social media. This factor predicts both current and future use. Implications of this study are discussed, including pedagogical applications, and future research directions.

Keywords: social media utilisation; Web 2.0 technologies; Web 3.0 technologies; university teaching; higher education; pedagogical value; motivation; intention; web tools; perceived risk; teaching readiness; self-perceived readiness.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIE.2013.057225

International Journal of Innovation in Education, 2013 Vol.2 No.1, pp.1 - 32

Received: 13 Nov 2012
Accepted: 14 Apr 2013

Published online: 19 Oct 2013 *

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