Dissertation (MSc Computer Science)
Instructors of Higher Learning Institutions (HLI) are under increasing pressure to use ICTs to impart students with the knowledge, skills and attitude they need to compete academically in the twenty first century. Due to this fact, HLIs need to migrate from instructor-centered lecture based instructions to student-centered interactive learning environment. Despite the open nature of Web2.0 for e-learning initiatives and the increasing population of students interacting with the Web for accessing educational information, preliminary investigation and literature reviews have shown that instructors of HLIs in Tanzania are lagging behind on using these platforms for sharing knowledge with the students. This study attempt to investigate the barriers facing the adoption and utilization of Web2.0 technologies for knowledge sharing in Tanzania Higher Learning Institutions. The population of the study was the students and instructors of The University of Dodoma, St. Johns University of Tanzania and College of Business Education. Observation and questionnaires were used as research tools to collect data from 201 respondents who were proportionally selected. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS. Views of instructors and students towards utilization of Web2.0 for knowledge sharing were collected to constitute the qualitative data. The findings of this study showed that uncontrolled knowledge sharing, security, intellectual property rights lack of skills and privacy issues pertaining the use of Web2.0 for knowledge sharing are among the barriers towards effective utilization of Web2.0 technologies in Higher Learning Institutions. Also it was found that, while most of the instructors do not use Web2.0 for sharing their knowledge with students, most of the students of Higher Learning Institutions rely on search engines like Google in search of materials for their studies. Finally basing on
vi
study findings, the researcher develops a prototype that can serve as a platform for enhancing knowledge sharing in Tanzania Higher Learning Institutions.