Systematic literature review of learning using Web 2.0 tools in education and training

The Internet has fundamentally changed the way people work, communicate and spend their leisure time. Within education, we have seen the move to online learning with the convenience and flexibility that it offers with its ‘anytime, anywhere, anyplace’ nature. Since its inception, changes in Web tools have been rapid and some people have adapted to the new technologies more easily than others. While much has been written about social media and, more generally Web 2.0, in people’s social life and much has been written about the use of Web 2.0 in learning and training, it is less clear exactly what high quality empirical evidence exists that learning using Web 2.0 tools brings about increased learning outcomes than other traditional or non-traditional methods. This paper presents the results of a systematic literature of Web 2.0 tools within education and training to identify the evidence that exists to prove this approach is at least as effective as other methods. Despite finding a significant number of papers on Web 2.0 tools within education and training, there is a dearth of evidence to support their usage and more research is needed to fully understand the impacts and outcomes that these tools can achieve.