USING WEB 2.0 TOOLS IN AND BEYOND THE UNIVERSITY CLASSROOMS: A CASE STUDY OF EDMODO

Abstract

New internet technologies have not only transformed communication but alsorevolutionized teaching and learning. One of the greatest steps forward in this area was Web2.0 technology. In addition, new technologies such as podcasts, social networking, and onlinelearning communities started to shape communication between teachers and students, andthese became tools for sharing educational content. This paper examines the use of Web 2.0tools in higher education, specifically in a case study of Edmodo. The first section of thepaper provides information about the relationship between Web technologies and education.The second section focuses on a case study using Edmodo as a Web 2.0 tool to teach classicalTurkish literature to third-year undergraduate students. The main purpose of the case study isto identify and classify the purposes for which the students and teacher preferred to useEdmodo for communication and in which ways they communicated with each other. A mixedresearch methodology with a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was usedto collect the data. An open-ended survey was also conducted via SurveyMonkey(www.surveymonkey.com) in regard to students’ perceptions of Edmodo. The result of thestudy showed that student-initiated communications via Edmodo were much fewer thanteacher-initiated communications.