Script Towards Research 2.0: The Influence of Digital and Online Tools in Academic Research

Abstract

The new Internet technologies have infiltrated in a stunning way the academic environment, both at individual and at institutional level. Therefore, more and more teachers have started educational blogs, librarians are active on Twitter, other educational actors curate web content, students post on Instagram or Flickr, and university departments have Facebook pages and/or YouTube accounts etc.Today, the use of web technology has become “a legitimate activity in many areas of higher education” (Waycott, 2010) and a considerable shift to digital academic research has gradually occurred. Teachers are encouraging students to take up digital tools for research and writing, thus revealing new ways of using information and communication technologies for academic purposes and not just for socializing.The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effects of integrating diverse digital, Web 2.0 tools and resources and OERs/MOOCs in research and in the construction of students’ academic texts. We aim to stress the increasing influence of digital and online tools in academic research and writing.Teachers, specialists, and students alike are affected by this process. In order to show how, we explore the following issues: What is Research 2.0? Which digital/online tools have we used to assist our students? What are the challenges for academic research using digital / web 2.0 tools? And how do digital tools shape academic research?