Exploring the Awareness and Use of Web 2.0 Tools by the First Year Information Science Students, Walailak University, Thailand

Abstract

[…] a network platform, spanning all connected devices. Web 2.0 applications are those that make the most of the intrinsic advantages of that platform: delivering software as a continually-updated service that gets better the more people use it, consuming and remixing data from multiple sources, including individual users, while providing their own data and services in a form that allows remixing by others, creating network effects through an "architecture of participation," and going beyond the page metaphor of Web 1.0 to deliver rich user experience.In Thailand, the use of the Internet is increasing day-by-day. According to the statistics of December 2012, in Thailand, 20 Universities such as University of Edinburgh have been using Blogs, RSS feeds, Social bookmarking, and Podcasts for knowledge sharing in a collaborative way [3].Libraries and academic health science libraries have been using Facebook mainly for marketing the libraries, for example, delivering announcements to library users, posting photos, and providing chat reference [4]. The Ohio University library has been using RSS feeds to promote news and events, such as arrivals of new books, new items in the collection etc. (http://www.osu.edu/rss.php). Also, most of state university libraries in Thailand have used Blogs and Wikis to promote of library news and activities, announcement in their organization and knowledge management. Additionally, Instant messaging can be used in reference services in order to communicate with library patrons [5].But little has been done on the students' awareness and use of Web 2.0 tools in universities in Thailand. Many of these studies focus on one particular Web 2.0 application in teaching and learning, for example, the application of Facebook, such as [6]- [12]; Blogs, such as [13]. Arising from this realization, this study attempted to investigate the awareness and use of most Web 2.0 tools by the first year IS students in WU, Thailand. To do this, the following research objectives were raised: 1) to investigate the awareness and use Of Web 2.0 tools by the first year IS students in WU; 2) to identify the reasons of the first year IS students in WU using Web 2.0 tools; 3) to determine the means through which students learnt the skills to use Web 2.0 tools.