Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

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Internet and Higher Education

Investigating faculty decisions to adopt Web 2.0 technologies: Theory and

empirical tests
Haya Ajjan, Richard Hartshorne
University of North Carolina at Charlotte, United States

A R T I C L E

I N F O

Article history:
Accepted 6 May 2008
Keywords:
Web 2.0
Emerging technologies
Faculty perceptions
Faculty adoption
Decomposed theory of planned behavior
Factor analysis

A B S T R A C T
While students are increasing their use of emerging technologies such as text messaging, wikis, social
networks, and other Web 2.0 applications, this is not the case with many university faculty. The purpose of this
study was to assess faculty's awareness of the benets of Web 2.0 to supplement in-class learning and better
understand faculty's decisions to adopt these tools using the decomposed theory of planned behavior (DTPB)
model. Findings indicated that while some faculty members feel that some Web 2.0 technologies could
improve students' learning, their interaction with faculty and with other peers, their writing abilities, and their
satisfaction with the course; few choose to use them in the classroom. Additional results indicated that faculty's
attitude and their perceived behavioral control are strong indicators of their intention to use Web 2.0. A
number of implications are drawn highlighting how the use of Web 2.0 could be useful in the classroom.
Published by Elsevier Inc.

Internet technologies such as e-mail, course websites, and newsgroups have added value to traditional classroom knowledge delivery
and have impacted the course delivery and design in many colleges and
universities (Barnett, Keating, Harwook, & Saam, 2004). In the past few
years a new wave of Internet technologies, Web 2.0, has emerged with
the potential to further enhance the teaching and learning environment in higher education. With the use of Web 2.0, students no longer
access the web only for course information; instead they access and
create collective knowledge through social interactions (Maloney,
2007). Now, the use of Web 2.0 enables students to connect different
pieces of information and create new information that could be shared
with others (Maloney, 2007).
Many studies in the past have shown that technology use in the
classroom has increased over the past years; however, this use has been
primarily limited to content delivery, such as accessing course materials
(Maloney, 2007). Because of this, coupled with the emergence of Web
2.0 technologies into the everyday life of students, it is important to
explore faculty use of Web 2.0 technologies to support teaching and
learning in higher education. The purpose of this study was to assess
faculty's awareness of the potential of Web 2.0 technologies to supplement the classroom learning and to assess their adoption of such
technologies using the decomposed theory of planned behavior as the
theoretical foundation (Taylor & Todd, 1995).

Corresponding author. Department of Educational Leadership, University of North

Carolina at Charlotte, College of Education, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC
28223, United States. Tel.: +1 704 687 8711 (Ofce).
E-mail address: [email protected] (R. Hartshorne).
1096-7516/$ see front matter. Published by Elsevier Inc.
doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2008.05.002

The following two research questions were addressed in this study:

Research Question 1: Are university faculty aware of the benets of
using Web 2.0 technologies to supplement the traditional classroom
instructions?
Research Question 2: What factors best predict faculty's decision to
adopt Web 2.0 technologies to supplement the traditional classroom
instructions?
1. Review of the literature
Web 2.0, sometimes referred to as the read/write Web, provides
online users with interactive services, in which they have control over
their own data and information (Madden & Fox, 2006; Maloney, 2007).
Examples of Web 2.0 participatory technologies include wikis, blogs,
instant messaging, internet telephony, social bookmarking, and social
networking sites. These new technologies make sharing content among
users and participants much easier than in the past and change the way
documents are created, used, shared, and distributed (Dearstyne, 2007).
In fact many companies have adopted Web 2.0 applications to foster
internal knowledge sharing and collaboration through document
sharing portals (Dearstyne, 2007). In the past few years, the blooming
of online social networks to exchange personal information, photos,
videos (Facebook, Flickr, YouTube), and the increased need for tools to
quickly create, analyze, and exchange the ever increasing amount of
information, along with the ease of use of Web 2.0 collaboration
software, have fueled a surge in the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies
(Dearstyne, 2007). In this review of the literature, a brief history of Web
2.0, an overview of a variety of Web 2.0 applications, and pedagogical
affordances of Web 2.0 applications are discussed.

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1.1. Web 2.0

The Web 2.0 read/ write idea is not new. Prior to wikis, blogs, social
bookmarking, and social networking, there were listservs, groupware,
and web-based communities linking people with common interests
(Alexander, 2006). However, the openness of these new applications,
allowing anyone to modify content, make Web 2.0 technologies different
(Alexander, 2006). Users now play a more fundamental and active role in
information architecture (Alexander, 2006). Web 2.0 applications
replace the traditional authoritative media delivery institutions with
the wisdom of the crowd (Madden & Fox, 2006). In this study, there was
a focus on the following four types of Web 2.0 collaboration tools: blogs,
wikis, social networking, and social bookmarking.
1.1.1. Blogs
Blogs (abbreviated from weblogs) are user journal entries in the
form of text, images, and links to web content, such as websites or
other blogs. Blogs have a variety of formats and might include the user
expressing their opinion about a topic or documenting activities. Blogs
are interactive in the sense that other users could provide comments
on the information posted by the blog author. Educational applications of blogs include researching, tracking, interpreting, and evaluating blogs for political commentary (multiple perspectives), cultural
events, business, or other news and for examining changes over time
(Alexander, 2006).
1.1.2. Wikis
Wikis (What I Know Is) refer to collaborative websites that allow
users to interact by adding, removing, or editing site content. The most
well-known wiki implementation is Wikipedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/). Wikipedia allows users to modify encyclopedic entries by
creating a reviewer and editing structure (Alexander, 2006). Wikipedia is shaped by the wisdom of the users and it is the richest source of
information and terms especially for younger people (Madden & Fox,
2006). Illustrating the increasing popularity of wikis, a recent study
conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 30% of Internet
users visit Wikipedia to search terms and meanings (Madden & Fox,
2006). Interestingly, 24.25% of these users are between the ages of 18
24. In this same age group, only 14.94% use Encarta's Online Encyclopedia (http://encarta.msn.com/). Wikis are useful in educational
settings in that they support individualized learning, allowing for
more socially dened search structures and promote collaboration
through group editing and peer review (Alexander, 2006).
1.1.3. Social networking
Social networks allow users to create personal proles and establish
a variety of networks that connect him/her with family, friends, and
other colleagues (Lenhart & Madden, 2007). According to a recent Pew
Research Center survey, about 55% of all online Americans between the
ages of 12 and 17 use online social network sites (Lenhart & Madden,
2007). Additionally, almost half of these users check their account either
once a day or several times a day. While the increase in the use of these
sites has generated concerns among parents, school ofcials, and
government ofcials about the potential risks posting personal information on these sites, it is evident they have a series of positive pedagogical implications (Lenhart & Madden, 2007). Currently, users utilize
these sites to stay in touch with their friends, to make plans, make new
friends, or irt with somebody online (Lenhart & Madden, 2007).
Extending this idea, these sites could be used to establish a series of
academic connections or to foster cooperation and collaboration in the
higher education classroom.
1.1.4. Social bookmarking
Social bookmarking sites allow users to store, describe, and share
numerous web addresses with others. Users can explore bookmark
collections of others by subscribing to their bookmark pages. If users

are interested in a site they could tag it using few words to help others
nd it easily. Educators could use social bookmarking to facilitate
collaborative information discovery (Alexander, 2006). They could
create a social bookmarking page to save important pages about a
topic. Students could also collaborate on group projects using bookmarking sites, sharing links, and uploading resources discovered,
while educators could follow their students bookmark pages to gain
insight on their research process and progress (Alexander, 2006).
1.2. Why Web 2.0?
As previously mentioned, Web 2.0 concepts are now new. Listservs
and other web-based communities designed to bring people with shared
interests together have existed for quite some time (Alexander, 2006).
While not designed specically for educational purposes, Web 2.0 applications have a number of affordances that can make them useful in
teaching and learning environments and are rooted in strong pedagogical underpinnings of constructivism (Ferdig, 2007). The increasingly
ubiquitous access, ease of use, functionality, and exibility of emerging
Web 2.0 technologies have made them much more appealing as instructional tools (Boulos, Maramba, & Wheeler, 2006; Chen, Cannon,
Gabrio, Leifer, & Bailey, 2005). Moreover, Web 2.0 applications can
support pedagogical approaches such as active learning, social learning,
and student publication, by providing environments and technologies
that promote and foster these interactions (Ferdig, 2007).
1.2.1. Digital natives and the changing nature of the web
Prensky (2001) refers to the next generation as digital natives;
individuals for whom digital technology has become ubiquitous. These
digital natives are participating in social networks, social bookmarking,
blogging, and other Web 2.0 activities on a regular basis (Pence, 2007).
This, coupled with the changing nature of the web from primarily a
source of information and content to a new tool for fostering the development of communities, creating information and knowledge, and
sharing ideas, presents unique challenges and potential benets for
higher education (Maloney, 2007).
1.2.2. Supporting social and active learning
Many constructivist theorists posit that learning is a social process
and that learning occurs through interactions and sharing information
with each other (Bruner, 1996; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Vygotsky, 1978).
Additionally, researchers have found that collaborative learning help
students retain information better than students working individually
(Johnson & Johnson, 1986). In addition to social learning, many
theorists cite active participation as a major component of effective
learning environments (Ferdig, 2007; Linn, 1991). While many traditional web applications focus on the delivery of content, Web 2.0
applications, such as blogs, wikis, social networks, and social bookmarks, focus more on social connectivity. These Web 2.0 applications
are driven by user contributions and interactions, unlike most of the
sites of the Web 1.0 era. Thus, Web 2.0 applications provide venues for
collaboration and sharing of information to support the networks
necessary for social and active learning. Using Web 2.0 technologies
such as wikis and social networks to supplement in-class instructions
could create an interactive, collaborative learning experience for students in a media they are familiar with. This is especially true to college
students who are considered digital natives of the world of the
Internet and computers (Prensky, 2001).
1.2.3. Venues for student publication
Web 2.0 applications provide numerous opportunities for learners to
publish their work globally, which provide for a number of pedagogical
benets. For example, Dixon and Black (1996) and Routman (1991)
found that publication of student work resulted in increased motivation
for many students. Riley and Roberts (2000), as well as Schoeld and
Davidson (2002), reported that, as a result of the publication of student

H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

work to the World Wide Web, students had more positive attitudes
toward the subject matter and student achievement increased. Other
studies have reported that student web publication promotes reection
regarding individual growth and development and provides opportunities for students to visualize the purpose of their work much more
clearly (Snyder, Lippincott, & Bower, 1998; Spitz, 1996; Willet-Smith,
1993). Additionally, learning environment that include student publication afford opportunities for students to examine problems in different
ways, establish new connections, and ultimately develop a new entity
that can be shared globally (Maloney, 2007).
While Web 2.0 applications have many characteristics that support
teaching and learning, research related to this area is limited. To date, the
majority of studies have been comparative in nature and have focused
primarily on social networking tools, such as Facebook and MySpace and
their uses in many extracurricular educational contexts (Pence, 2007).
Additionally, while the use of Web 2.0 technologies is commonplace
among digital natives (Prensky, 2001), it is important to explore
perceptions of the teaching and learning implications of Web 2.0
applications, as well as actual use of Web 2.0 technologies to support
teaching and learning of faculty. In this study, faculty awareness of the
potential of Web 2.0 technologies to supplement the classroom learning
experience, as well as factors that inuence the adoption of such technologies using the decomposed theory of planned behavior as the
theoretical foundation (Taylor & Todd, 1995) were explored.
2. Theoretical framework
This study employs the decomposed theory of planned behavior
(Fig. 1) as the theoretical framework to understand faculty's intention
to use Web 2.0 (Taylor & Todd, 1995). The decomposed theory of
planned behavior originated from theory of planned behavior (TPB)
that posits that actions are determined by a combination of people's
behavioral intentions and perceived behavioral control (Ajzen, 1991).
Both the theory of planned behavior and the decomposed theory of

73

planned behavior assert that behavior is a direct function of behavioral

intention and both view behavioral intention as a function of attitude,
subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. In the decomposed theory of planned behavior attitude, subjective norms, and
perceived behavioral controls are all decomposed into lower level
belief constructs (Taylor & Todd, 1995). Using the decomposed model
not only allows us to better understand the antecedents' relationship,
but also it allows us to uncover specic factors that impact the adoption or use of new technology (Taylor & Todd, 1995). Taylor and Todd
(1995) showed that the decomposed model has better explanatory
power over the theory of planned behavior. Therefore, this model was
selected to explain the adoption intention and use of Web 2.0 technologies to supplement in-class learning by faculty.
2.1. Attitude
Attitude is dened as the degree to which the individual favors the
behavior being examined (Ajzen, 1991). This study focuses on three
attitudinal components: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use,
and compatibility. Perceived usefulness is dened as the degree to
which the individual believes that a technology would improve his/her
job performance (Davis, 1989). The higher the perceived usefulness (or
perceived advantage) the more likely it is for the individual to adopt
the new technology (Rogers, 2003). Ease of use represents the degree to
which an innovation is easy to understand and operate (Rogers, 2003)
or the degree to which the particular technology is free of effort (Davis,
1989). Technologies that are perceived to be less complex to use have
higher possibility of acceptance and use by potential users. Ease of use
has been found to be an important determinant in the technology
adoption decision (Davis, 1989). Compatibility is dened as the degree
to which technology ts with the potential existing values and experiences (Rogers, 2003). Tornatzky and Klein (1982) found that an
innovation is more likely to be adopted when it is compatible with the
job responsibility and value system of an individual. As the ease of use,

Fig. 1. Faculty adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior.

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H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

usefulness, and compatibility increase, the attitude toward using the

technology is likely to become more positive.
2.2. Subjective norms
Subjective norms refer to the social pressures that make an individual perform a particular behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Different social
groups might have different opinions regarding the adoption of a
particular technology (Taylor & Todd, 1995). For this study, three
groups were considered: superiors, peers (other faculty), and students.
While superiors might feel that adopting Web 2.0 technology may
improve student's learning or ratings, other faculty might feel that it
requires an undesired change in the current process. Students, on the
other hand, might be more supportive since their level of comfort with
Web 2.0 technologies is high (Prensky, 2001).
2.3. Perceived behavioral control
Perceived behavioral control accounts for situations where individuals do not have complete control over their behavior and are made of
two components (Ajzen, 1991). The rst is self-efcacy reecting the
personal comfort with using technology (Bandura, 1982). The other
component includes facilitating conditions (Triandis, 1979) reecting the
availability of resources such as time, money and other resources needed
to use the technology. Greater self-efcacy to use technological
applications is likely to lead to higher level of behavioral intentions
and actual usage (Compeau & Higgins, 1995; Taylor & Todd, 1995).
However, according to Taylor & Todd, (1995), the absence of facilitating
conditions can negatively impact the intention and usage of technology.
3. Research hypotheses
3.1. Attitude
Past literature has shown that attitude inuences behavioral intentions (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). Attitude in regard to the use of Web 2.0
technologies is dened as the faculty desirability to use Web 2.0 to
support in-class learning. Attitude's positive relationship to behavioral
intention has received a strong empirical support in previous research
(Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Taylor & Todd, 1995). Therefore, it is expected
that faculty's favorable attitude to use Web 2.0 to positively inuences
their intention to use Web 2.0.
Hypothesis 1. Attitude of users towards using Web 2.0 positively
affects behavioral intentions.

and use of technology (Taylor & Todd, 1995). Applied to Web 2.0,
perceived behavioral control reects the faculty belief regarding the
resources and self-condence in their ability to perform the behavior.
A positive relationship is hypothesized between perceived behavioral
control and intention to use Web 2.0. Therefore,
Hypothesis 3. Perceived behavioral control of users in relation to
usage of Web 2.0 technologies positively affects behavioral intentions.
3.4. Behavioral intention
Behavioral intention is concerned with the motivational factors
when a subject intends to take a specic action (Ajzen, 1991). The theory
of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) suggests that behavioral intention is
the most important determinant factor in predicting the decision to take
a specic action or not. Past studies have used behavioral intention to
forecast specic behavior, given the close relationship between intention and behavior (Ajzen, 1991). A meta-analysis study showed that
an average correlation of 0.53 has been reported between intentions and
behavior (Sheppard, Hartwick, & Warshaw, 1988). A positive relationship between intention and actual behavior when it comes to using Web
2.0 technologies to supplement in-class learning was expected.
Hypothesis 4. Behavioral intention to use Web 2.0 positively affects
behavior.
3.5. Decomposed behavior
The initial set of hypotheses are based on TPB; as mentioned earlier
Taylor and Todd (1995) recommended decomposing the three measures
of attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control into
multidimensional constructs to provide a better understanding of each
behavior. Also, this has been recommended to provide higher explanatory power and better predictive validity (Taylor & Todd, 1995).
3.6. Perceived usefulness
Perceived usefulness is the degree to which the subject believes
that the use a technology will enhance performance (Davis, 1989).
Perceived usefulness of using Web 2.0 technologies is dened as the
extent to which faculty members believe that using Web 2.0 will
enhance their effectiveness in the classroom. Past literature has found
that perceived usefulness to inuence behavioral intention through
attitude (Davis, 1989; Taylor & Todd, 1995). Therefore,
Hypothesis 5a. Perceived usefulness positively affects attitudes
towards usage of Web 2.0.

3.2. Subjective norms

3.7. Perceived ease of use
Subjective norms are concerned with how an individual's behavior is
inuenced by the desire to act as other important referents think we
should act or as they act themselves (Taylor & Todd, 1995). Applied to
faculty use of Web 2.0, subjective norms will reect the faculty's perception of whether their behavior is encouraged and accepted within
their circle of inuence. A positive relationship between subjective
norms and intention to use Web 2.0 to supplement in-class learning is
hypothesized:
Hypothesis 2. Subjective norms of users in relation to usage of Web
2.0 positively affect behavioral intentions.

Perceived ease of use has to do with the person's belief that the use of
the new technology will be free of effort (Davis, 1989). Perceived ease of
use of using Web 2.0 technologies is dened as the extent to which
faculty members believe that using Web 2.0 technologies would be free
of effort. The effect of perceived ease of use has been found to impact
intention to use through attitude (Davis,1989; Taylor & Todd,1995). Thus,
Hypothesis 5b. Perceived ease of use positively affects attitudes
towards usage of Web 2.0.
3.8. Compatibility

3.3. Perceived behavioral control

The individual's perception on how easy or difcult it is to carry out
the behavior is referred to as perceived behavioral control (Ajzen,
1991). This is closely related to the individual's perception of control
over carrying out a behavior. Past literature has demonstrated that
perceived behavioral control is an important determinant of intention

Compatibility has to do with the t between the new technology with

the individual's existing experiences and job responsibility (Rogers,
2003). Applied to Web 2.0 technologies, compatibility is dened as the
extent to which faculty members believe that using Web 2.0 technologies
would be compatible with their job responsibilities. The role of compatibility is mediated by attitude (Taylor & Todd, 1995). Hence,

H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

Hypothesis 5c. Perceived compatibility positively affects attitudes

towards usage of Web 2.0.
3.9. Referent groups
Given that expectations among different referent groups might differ, the literature recommends the decomposition of the referent groups
into superiors, peers, and subordinates (Taylor & Todd, 1995). Faculty
intention to use Web 2.0 technologies could be impacted by several
referent groups in their social circle such as superior, peer, and student.
Referent groups' impact on intention to use Web 2.0 is mediated by
subjective norms (Taylor & Todd, 1995). Therefore,
Hypothesis 6a. Superior inuence to use Web 2.0 technology positively affects subject norms.
Hypothesis 6b. Peer inuence to use Web 2.0 technology positively
affects subject norms.
Hypothesis 6c. Student inuence to use Web 2.0 technology positively affects subject norms.
3.10. Self-efcacy
Self-efcacy is dened as individual's perceived capabilities to perform a behavior. Previous studies have found that higher self-efcacy is
related to higher levels of behavioral intention and usage (Compeau &
Higgins, 1995; Taylor & Todd, 1995). Applied to Web 2.0 use, self-efcacy
describes faculty judgment of their own capabilities to use Web 2.0
technologies to support their in-class learning environment.
Hypothesis 7a. Self-efcacy of using Web 2.0 technologies positively
affects perceived behavioral control.
3.11. Facilitating conditions
The absence of the required facilitating resources could present a
barrier to usage and to the formation of intention (Taylor & Todd, 1995).
In order to use Web 2.0 technologies, faculty members need to have
facilitating condition available in terms of resources such as time, money
and compatible technology. Thus,
Hypothesis 7b. Facilitating resource conditions of using Web 2.0
technologies positively affect perceived behavioral control.
Hypothesis 7c. Facilitating technology conditions of using Web 2.0
technologies positively affect perceived behavioral control.
4. Methods
4.1. Participants
In an effort to determine the intention of faculty members to adopt
Web 2.0 technologies as tools in their courses, a survey was conducted
during the fall semester of 2007. The participants in this study consisted
of instructional personnel at a large university in the southeastern
United States. Participation in the survey was completely voluntary and
was open to all clinical, visiting, assistant, associate, and full professors at
the university. In sum, there were 136 participants (Table 1), including
57 males (41.9%) and 79 females (58.1%). Ages of participants varied
signicantly. Two (1.5%) of the participants were under 30 years of age,
46 (33.6%) were between 30 and 39 years of age, 32 (23.4%) were
between 40 and 49 years of age, 36 (26.3%) were between 50 and
59 years of age, and 21 (15.3%) were over 60 years of age.

75

Table 1
Prole of respondents
Variable

Value

Frequency

Percentage

Gender

Male
Female
Under 30
3039
4049
Over 50
Lecturer
Assistant Professor
Associate Professor
Professor
Other

61
81
3
46
32
58
28
53
35
16
11

43
57
2
34
23
41
20
37
25
11
7

Age

Role at university

were adapted from previous studies (Baylor & Ritchie, 2002; Davis,1989;
Taylor & Todd, 1995) and focused on items exploring comfort level with
Web 2.0 technologies (blogs, wikis, social networking software, and
social bookmarking), actual usage of specic Web 2.0 technologies in the
classroom, and attitudes toward specic Web 2.0 technologies. Additionally, the instrument consisted of a series of items using a ve point
Likert-scale (strongly disagree to strongly agree) to examine factors that
inuence faculty intentions to utilize Web 2.0 technologies in their
courses. Items focused on areas of actual usage, behavioral intention,
attitude, ease of use, perceived usefulness, subjective norms, perceived
behavioral control, peer inuence, superior inuence, student inuence,
compatibility, facilitating conditions (technology and resources), and
self-efcacy. All survey items are included in Table 2.
4.3. Preliminary analysis
Cronbach's alpha was used to assess the internal reliability of the
instrument (Table 2). The resulting values ranged from 0.67 to 0.98,
which is acceptable for exploratory research (Nunnaly, 1978). The
instrument was pilot tested on a small sub-section of the intended
sample (instructional personnel). Issues such as wording of items, and
order of information were modied based on pilot-test results. Appendix A includes the nal survey.
4.4. Statistical procedure for analysis
One of the main areas of focus of this study is the development of
factors that inuence behavioral intention related to the use of Web 2.0
in the classroom. Given the multivariate context of the variables involved in the study, path analysis models were used to test the hypothesized relationships (Wright, 1921). Before testing the models,
collinearity among the variables in the study was tested. All correlations
are signicant and in the right direction with no correlation exceeding
0.83. The results of the path analysis show the factors determining the
use of Web 2.0 technologies are shown in Table 3.
4.5. Data analysis
Using path analysis pioneered by Wright, real effects can be isolated
from spurious effects (Wright, 1921). Also, path analysis is concerned
with estimating the magnitude of the linkage between variables and to
use these estimates to provide information regarding underling causal
processes. Based on the decomposed theory of planned behavior, the
causal order among the exogenous and endogenous variables has been
established (Cohen & Cohen, 1983). Thus, the research hypotheses
were tested using path analysis.
4.6. Descriptive statistics

4.2. Instrument
A survey instrument (Table 2) was designed using the decomposed
theory of planned behavior as its guiding framework. The survey items

A prole of the respondents to this study is displayed in Table 1.

Information in this table shows that 20% of the responding faculty
were lecturers, 37% were Assistant Professors, 25% were Associate

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H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

Table 2
Reliability analysis of each construct
Construct

value

Item

Actual usage/behavior
AU1
AU2

0.89
I believe that I could communicate to others the consequences of using Web 2.0 in the classroom
I would have no difculty explaining why Web 2.0 technologies may or may not be benecial

Behavioral intention
INT1
INT2
INT3

I plan to use Web 2.0 technologies in my classroom

I intend to use Web 2.0 technologies within the next semester
I will add Web 2.0 technologies to my class next semester

Attitude
ATT1
ATT2
ATT3

Web 2.0 is useful in my teaching

The advantage of using Web 2.0 outweighs the disadvantages of not using it
Using Web 2.0 is a good idea

Ease of use
EU1
EU2

I feel that using Web 2.0 will be easy

I feel that using Web 2.0 will be easy to incorporate in my classroom environment

Perceived usefulness
PU1
PU2
PU3
PU4
PU5

I feel that using Web 2.0 will help my students learn more about the subject
I feel that using Web 2.0 will improve students' satisfaction with the course
I feel that using Web 2.0 will improve students' grades
I feel that using Web 2.0 will improve students' evaluation
To help my students better learn the material, I will incorporate Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom

Subjective norms
SN1
SN2
SN3
SN4
SN5

My peers are using Web 2.0 technologies in their classroom

My superior conrms my ability and knowledge to use Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom
My peers think I will benet from using Web 2.0 technologies in my classroom
My superior thinks it is important I use Web 2.0 technologies in my classroom
My students thinks it is important I use Web 2.0 technologies in my classroom

Perceived behavioral control

PBC1
PBC2

Using the Web 2.0 technologies is entirely within my control

I have the knowledge and ability to use Web 2.0

Peer inuence
PI1
PI2

Peers who inuence my behavior would think that I should use Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom
Peers who are important to me would think that I should use Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom

0.951

0.932

0.9

0.946

0.84

0.67

0.94

Superior inuence

0.98
My superior, who inuences my behavior would think that I should use Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom
My superior whom I report to would think that I should use Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom

Student inuence
SI1
SI2

Students who inuence my behavior think that I should use Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom
Students who are important to me think that I should use Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom

0.92

Compatibility
Comp1
Comp2

Using Web 2.0 technologies are compatible with the way I teach
Using Web 2.0 technologies t well with the way I teach

0.91

Facilitating conditionstechnology
FC1
The Web 2.0 technologies are compatible with the computer I already use in the classroom
Facilitating conditionsresources
FC2

I can use Web 2.0 technologies using any computer connected to the Internet

Self-efcacy
SE1
SE2
SE3

I would feel comfortable using Web 2.0 technologies

I could easily use Web 2.0 technologies on my own
I know enough to use Web 2.0 technologies

0.95

Professors, and 11% were Full Professors. In terms of the age

distribution, 2% were younger than 30, 34% were between the ages
of 3039, 23% were between the ages of 4049, and 41% were over the
age of 50. Finally, in terms of gender distribution 57% were females
and 43% were males.
The faculty respondents felt that the use of different Web 2.0
technologies to supplement in-class learning could provide their students with numerous benets (see Table 4). In terms of Web 2.0
technologies that would improve students' learning, 47% of the faculty

felt that the use of wikis would, 42% felt that about blogs, 16% felt that
about social networking, and only 7% felt that about social bookmarking.
About 46% felt that the use of blogs would increase the interaction
between faculty and students, 24% felt that the same benets would be
attained from using social networking, and 16% felt that about the use of
wikis. In terms of improving students' satisfaction with the course, 39%
felt that the use of blogs would, 32% felt the use of social networking
would, 22% felt the use of wikis would, and only 13% felt the use of social
bookmarking would. About 41% of the respondents felt that the use of

H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

Table 3
Path analysis of factors that inuence faculty adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in the
classroom
Equation

R2 (adjusted R2)

Behavior (B)
B=I
I
Behavioral intent (I)
I = A + SN + PBC
A
SN
PBC
Attitude (A)
A = PU + PEOU + C
PU
PEOU
C
Subjective norm (SN)
SN = SI + PI + SUPI
SI
PI
SUPI
Perceived behavioral control (PBC)
PBC = SE + FC-R + FC-T
SE
FC-R
FC-T

0.442 (0.437)

Beta (t-scores)

77

although they realize that this adoption would provide their students
with many important benets. In order to better understand factors
leading to Web 2.0 technologies adoption and use, the decomposed
theory of planned behavior was applied.
4.7. Path analysis and research hypotheses

0.666 (9.991)***
0.760 (0.754)
0.830 (12.334)***
0.060 ( 0.952)
0.128 (2.218)*
0.806 (0.801)
0.615 (7.604)***
0.144 (2.125)*
0.190 (2.546)*
0.641 (0.632)
0.356 (5.235)***
0.205 (2.344)*
0.396 (5.114)***
0.534 (0.522)
0.518 (6.125)***
0.185 (1.321)
0.098 (0.706)

Notes: Figures shown are beta coefcients, t-values in parentheses.

*p b 0.05.
**p b 0.01.
***p b 0.001.

blogs would improve students writing, while 29% felt the use of wikis
would help with that. In terms of integrating the technologies with the
course content 46% felt that the use of blogs could be easily integrated,
38% felt that wikis could be easily integrated, 23% felt that about social
networking, and only 12% felt that social bookmarking would be easy to
integrate.
Although several faculty respondents felt that Web 2.0 technologies provide many benets, only few chose to use them (see Table 5).
In fact 55% of the faculty did not use wikis and did not plan to use in
the near future, and only 19.58% use it occasionally in their classroom
to supplement their in-class lectures. Also, 62.24% don't use blogs and
plan not to use it and only 9% use it occasionally. Similarly, 74% don't
use and don't plan to use social networking, and only 6% use it
occasionally. Finally about 80% don't use social bookmarking and don't
plan to use it, and only 4% use it occasionally.
The results highlight that while a somewhat considerable proportion of the faculty felt that selected Web 2.0 technologies would likely
provide their students with many benets, only few chose to use it.
This might be partially explained by their level of comfort with such
technologies. Most of respondents have never used some of these Web
2.0 technologies. In fact, 56% have never used blogs, 60% have never
used social networking, and 81% have never used social bookmaking.
On the hand, faculty felt more comfortable using wikis, while 29%
have never used it, 26% claim that they are novice and 27% felt competent using wikis.
The lack of experience with most Web 2.0 technologies examined
in this study could drive faculty members to avoid their adoption,

As expected, the decomposed theory of planned behavior is useful

for explaining much of the variance in the use of Web 2.0 technologies
by faculty. Additionally, most paths in the model were statistically
signicant. Using the results of the path analysis, the research
hypotheses ndings will be presented (see Fig. 2).
4.7.1. Behavioral intention
Regression results conrmed each of the three factors, attitude,
behavioral intention, and subjective norm, explains a signicant
variance (75.4%) in behavioral intention (adjusted R2). Research
hypothesis #1 of this study was that the attitudes of users towards
Web 2.0 positively affect behavioral intentions. Path analysis conrmed that attitude ( = 0.830, t = 12.334) was the only determinant
that had a very signicant effect on behavioral intention. Therefore,
this study conrmed research hypothesis #1. Research hypothesis #2
states that subjective norms of users in relation to usage of Web 2.0
positively affect behavior. Examining path analysis results, the
subjective norm ( = 0.060, t = 0.952) had no signicant effect on
the behavioral intention. Thus, this study fails to conrm research
hypothesis #2. Finally, research hypothesis #3 states that perceived
behavioral control of users in relation to usage of Web 2.0 technologies
positively affects behavioral intentions. Path analysis results indicate
the perceived behavioral control ( = 0.128, t = 2.218) had a signicant
effect on the behavioral intention. Hence, research hypothesis #3 is
conrmed by the results of this study.
4.7.2. Behavior
Research hypothesis #4 states that behavioral intention to use Web
2.0 positively affects behavior. Examining the path analysis results,
behavioral intent ( = 0.666, t = 9.991) has a very signicant effect on
actual behavior and the behavior equation addresses 43.7% of the
variance (adjusted R2). Therefore, this study conrmed research hypothesis #4.
4.7.3. Attitude
Regression results conrmed each of the three factors, perceived
usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived compatibility, explain
a signicant variance (80.1%) in attitude (adjusted R2). Research
hypothesis #5a states that perceived usefulness positively affects
attitudes towards usage of Web 2.0. Examining the path analysis
results, perceived usefulness ( = 0.614, t = 7.604) of Web 2.0 technologies had a very signicant effect on attitudes toward Web 2.0
technologies. Thus, the results of this study conrmed research
hypothesis #5a. Research hypothesis #5b states the perceived ease of
use positively affects attitudes towards usage of Web 2.0. Additionally,
research hypothesis #5c states the perceived compatibility positively
affects attitudes towards usage of Web 2.0. Path analysis results
indicate that these two determinants of attitudes, perceived ease of
use ( = 0.144, t = 2.125) and compatibility ( = 0.190, t = 2.546) of Web

Table 4
Faculty perceptions of the pedagogical benets of Web 2.0 applications
Improve student
learning
Blogs
47%
Wikis
42%
Social networks
16%
Social bookmarks 7%

Increase studentfaculty
interaction

Increase studentstudent
interaction

Improve student satisfaction Improve student

with course
writing

Easy to
integrate

46%
23%
16%
7%

52%
20%
56%
25%

39%
22%
32%
13%

46%
38%
23%
12%

41%
29%
8%
1%

78

H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

Table 5
Faculty use of Web 2.0 applications

Blogs
Wikis
Social networking
Social
bookmarking

Don't use and

don't plan to use

Don't use but

plan to use

Use
occasionally

Frequently
use

62.24%
55.94%
74.13%
80.42%

18.18%
12.59%
13.99%
8.39%

9.09%
19.58%
6.29%
4.20%

4.90%
4.20%
1.40%
1.40%

2.0 technologies with existing technologies both had signicant

effects on attitudes. Thus, research hypotheses #5b and #5c were
both conrmed by the results of this study. Attitudes ( = 0.830,
t = 12.334), in turn, had the greatest effect on behavioral intention.

efcacy, explains a signicant variance (52.2%) in perceived behavioral

control (adjusted R2). Research hypothesis #7a states that self-efcacy
of using Web 2.0 technologies positively affects perceived behavioral
control. Additionally, research hypothesis #7b states facilitating
conditions of using Web 2.0 technologies positively affect perceived
behavioral control. Examining the path analysis results, two of the
three individual determinants, facilitating conditionsresources
( = 0.185, t = 1.321) and facilitating conditionstechnology ( = 0.098,
t = 0.706) had no signicant effects on the perceived behavioral control.
Thus, the results of this study fail to conrm research hypotheses #7a.
However, the third determinant, self-efcacy ( = 0.518, t = 6.125), did
have a signicant effect on perceived behavioral control. So, the results
of this study conrmed research hypothesis #7b.
5. Results

4.7.4. Subjective norm

Regression results conrmed each of the three factors: superior
inuence, student inuence, and peer inuence, explain a signicant
variance (63.2%) in the subjective norm (adjusted R2). Research
hypothesis #6a states superior inuence to use Web 2.0 technology
positively affects subject norms. Research hypothesis #6b states that
peer inuence to use Web 2.0 technology positively affects subjective
norms. Finally, research hypothesis #6c states that student inuence
to use Web 2.0 technology positively affects subject norms. Examining
the path analysis results for each of the determinants, superior
inuence ( = 0.396, t = 5.114) and student inuence ( = 0.356,
t = 5.235) both had very signicant effects on subjective norm. Path
analysis results for the third individual determinant, peer inuence
( = 0.205, t = 2.334), indicate that it had a signicant effect on subjective norm. Thus, research hypotheses #6a, #6b, and #6c are all
conrmed by the results of this study.
4.7.5. Perceived behavioral control
Regression results conrmed each of the three factors, facilitating
conditionsresources, facilitating conditionstechnology and self-

The purpose of this study was to assess faculty's awareness of the

benets of Web 2.0 to supplement in-class learning and to assess
faculty's decisions to adopt these tools using the decomposed theory
of planned behavior. The following research questions were explored:
Research Question 1: Are university faculty aware of the benets of
using Web 2.0 technologies to supplement the traditional classroom
instructions?
Research Question 2: What factors best predict faculty's decision to
adopt Web 2.0 technologies to supplement the traditional classroom
instructions?
5.1. Research Question 1
The rst question examined if, and to what extent, faculty are aware
of pedagogical benets of Web 2.0 technologies. The results are interpreted in the following manner: Many respondents acknowledged pedagogical benets of Web 2.0 applications in higher education. More
specically, blogs were viewed as the most useful Web 2.0 application in
terms of improving student learning (47%), increasing student-faculty

Fig. 2. Path analysis of factors that inuence faculty adoption of Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom.

H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

interactions (46%), improving student writing (52%), improving student

writing (41%) and ease of integration (46%). In terms of increasing
studentstudent interactions, social networks were viewed as being the
most benecial (56%). Social networks were also viewed as useful tools
for improving student satisfaction in courses (32%). For the most part,
wikis were viewed as also having signicant potential to improve student learning (42%), increasing studentfaculty (23%) and student
student interactions (20%), improving student satisfaction with courses
(22%), improving student writing (29%), and ease of integration (38%).
While these results provided some initial encouragement, they were
quickly overshadowed by an examination of actual faculty use of Web
2.0 in their courses. The majority of respondents do not currently use
and have no plans to use either blogs (62%), wikis (56%), social networks
(74%), or social bookmarks (80%). Additionally, a small percentage of
respondents do not currently use, but plan to use, blogs (18%), wikis
(13%), social networks (14%), and social bookmarks (8%). Even smaller
percentages of respondents currently use blogs (14%), wikis (24%), social
networks (8%), or social bookmarks (6%). Additional factors that inuence the limited use of Web 2.0 applications were explored in
Research Question 2.
5.2. Research Question 2
The second question examined which factors best predict the
adoption of Web 2.0 applications by faculty for instructional purposes.
Examining the path analysis results, this study provides evidence that
attitudes and perceived behavioral control have fairly strong positive
inuences on behavioral intention to use Web 2.0 technology, while
subjective norm did not inuence behavioral intention. This insignificant effect might be explained, in part, by the high degree of independence faculty have when developing their classroom environment
(Barnett et al., 2004). As would be expected from the decomposed
theory of planned behavior, behavioral intention is a strong determinant
of actual behavior or usage of Web 2.0. The results also show that ease of
use, usefulness, and compatibility of Web 2.0 are key determinants of
subject's attitude to use Web 2.0 technology. Additionally, the inuence
of three groups: superiors, peers (other faculty), and students has positive inuence on the faculty member subjective norms. In other words,
these three groups are key determinants of the social inuence that
determine the use of Web 2.0 technologies. Only self-efcacy was found
to inuence the perception of behavioral control. One the other hand,
facilitating technology and resource conditions do not have an inuence
on the perception of behavioral control toward the intention and usage
of Web 2.0 technologies. These results indicate that training is an important mechanism to inuence Web 2.0 usage, while facility conditions
in terms of resources and technology are not as important in determining usage faculty usage of Web 2.0 applications.
6. Discussion
The use of Web 2.0 technologies has signicant potential to support
and enhance in-class teaching and learning in higher education.
Currently, for prot organizations are using Web 2.0 technologies to
foster work collaboration. For instance, Motorola has more than 2600
internal blogs and 3200 internal wikis to foster knowledge sharing
within the organization (Dearstyne, 2007). Now it is up to educators to
utilize these technologies to effectively support and enhance their
instruction.
The use of technology to support in-class learning has changed over
the decades. Most faculty today utilize technology in their instruction
as mechanisms for course content delivery, grade delivery, and basic
communication (Maloney, 2007). However, an effective learning environment fosters collaboration among students and faculty; allows the
student to create and share new knowledge; as well as support the
connection of different pieces of information. The results of this study
provide evidence that most faculty feel that integrating Web 2.0 tech-

79

nologies such as blogs and wikis into the classroom learning environment can be effective at increasing students' satisfaction with the
course, improve their learning and their writing ability, and increase
student interaction with other students and faculty; thus changing the
students' role from passive to active learners, allowing them to better
create and retain knowledge (Maloney, 2007).
The results also indicate that the faculty attitude and their perceived
behavioral control are strong predictors to their intention to use Web 2.0.
That is, in turn, a strong predictor of their actual behavior. This suggests
that administrators interested in increasing the use of Web 2.0 in the
classroom might focus their attention, efforts, and investments on improving faculty attitude and enhance their perceived behavioral control
of Web 2.0 use. More specically, these efforts should focus on improving
the perceived usefulness, ease of use, and compatibility (with current
practices) of Web 2.0 applications, as well as improving faculty's selfefcacy with these emerging technological tools. Additionally, while
these tools show pedagogical promise, best practices models are
needed to further facilitate the adoption of these emerging technologies
as tools for improving teaching and learning in higher education.
From a research perspective, the study results demonstrate the
usefulness of the decomposed theory of planned behavior in explaining the determinant and use of Web 2.0 applications by faculty to
supplement in-class learning.
7. Recommendations for future research
The goal of this study was to assess faculty's awareness of the
benets of Web 2.0 to supplement in-class learning and assess faculty's
decisions to adopt these tools using the decomposed theory of planned
behavior. While the initial results related to faculty awareness of
pedagogical benets of Web 2.0 applications were encouraging at
times, they also lead to new questions and concerns. The results of this
study provide a foundation for future research examining more
specic factors that promote and inhibit faculty use of Web 2.0 applications, as well as methods of fostering support for faculty use of
Web 2.0 applications. Based on the ndings of this study, as well as the
disparity of empirical studies related to the use of Web 2.0 in higher
education, the following are suggestions for future research:
While this study examined faculty awareness of benets for teaching
and learning of Web 2.0 applications, there was no examination of
factors in place to support faculty integration of technology into their
courses. For example, did faculty members participate in any technology-based professional development; do colleges provide technological
support for open source applications, of which many Web 2.0 applications are; is the use of Web 2.0 applications encouraged by superiors,
mentors, or students? As a result, it would be benecial to further study
factors in place to support the integration of technology into courses, as
well as the effectiveness of these support factors.
Another interesting future research idea would be to apply the
same decomposed theory of planned behavior to understand and
predict student's intentions and behavior to use Web 2.0 technologies
to supplement their in-class learning. After an analysis of the student
data, it could then be compared with faculty expectations from Web
2.0 use in an attempt to understand whether there is a gap in understanding among the students and the faculty and whether or not
the same factors inuence student and faculty use.
One limitation of this study was that all faculty members were from
the same university, future studies could collect data from multiple
universities and colleges. An interesting extension to this study would
be to compare the use of Web 2.0 technologies in research-oriented
universities and teaching-oriented universities and colleges, to
examine whether differences in factors predicting Web 2.0 technologies intention and usage exist.
Another limitation is the general focus of this study on Web 2.0
technologies. There are several types of Web 2.0 technologies and
their use and impact on teaching could differ. In order to elevate this

80

H. Ajjan, R. Hartshorne / Internet and Higher Education 11 (2008) 7180

confounding effect, there was a focus on only a few Web 2.0 technologies (e.g. wikis, blogs, social networks, and social bookmark). Still,
the effect of each of these on the learning environment could vary.
Future studies could control for the type of Web 2.0 application and
examine differences in their impact on the learning environment and
student achievement.
The use of Web 2.0 technologies offer many powerful information
sharing and collaboration opportunities for learners and learning. In
this study factors that inuence faculty perceptions of several Web 2.0
applications in teaching and learning, as well as actual use of these
Web 2.0 technologies, were explored. Future research is still necessary
in order to identify the most effective methods of utilizing Web 2.0
technologies to improve teaching and learning productivity; and to
better support active, social, and engaging learning environments.
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