Incorporating Web 2.0 Technologies in Education: Opportunities and Challenges

The emergence of Web 2.0 technologies in the last few years has resulted in a significant change in the way education is delivered. However, the integration of these new digital tools in education settings has recently given rise to much debate. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to explore the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of these technologies in education. In this context, it was found that Web 2.0 platforms present a lot of benefits. In fact, it has been shown that they promote students' engagement in the learning process, foster communication, interaction and collaboration among students and between teachers and students, and they serve as a valuable digital library in which any user can have access to a wide range of teaching and learning materials. Nevertheless, there are many human, technical and technological stumbling blocks that seem to hinder the integration of Web 2.0 in education. Despite all these barriers, we strongly believe that the opportunities that these technologies offer outweigh all these obstacles. Accordingly, given that students are immersed in these online platforms, policymakers, education experts and teachers should all collaborate to ensure the successful incorporation of these social online platforms in education environments.