An Examination of Teachers’ Integration of Web 2.0 Technologies in Secondary Classrooms: A Phenomenological Study

Web 2.0 tools may be able to close the digital gap between teachers and students if teachers can integrate the tools and change their pedagogy. The TPACK framework has outlined the elements needed to effect change, and research on Web 2.0 tools shows its potential as a change agent, but little research has looked at how the two interrelate. Using a rigorous phenomenological research methodology, the “lived experiences” of seven teachers successfully adapting pedagogy with Web 2.0 tools were examined giving an in-depth qualitative analysis of how and why teachers integrate Web 2.0 to change pedagogy. The research validated the use of TPACK as a framework as well as the use of phenomenological research methodology in researching about educational technology.