WEB 2.0 and higher education: Its educational use in the university environment: Content creator vs. information consumer

The aim of this study is for teachers in higher education to provide relative information about the use of the Web 2.0 resources within its context and within the framework of the university staff training program. In this context, we have developed a tool in order to study the attitude of 400 teachers, the use and perceived usefulness of web 2.0 resources at the Spanish National University of Distance Education (UNED: largest distance university in Europe). Findings indicated that while some teachers feel that some Web 2.0 applications can be effective at increasing satisfaction with a course, improving their learning and their writing ability, and increasing teachers interaction with students; few choose to use them in educational contexts. Additional results indicated that teachers use the 2.0 resources in accordance with the role of “content consumer” more than a “content creator.