Motivating STEM Students to Use Web 2.0 Tools for Learning: A Case Study

Students enrolled in engineering (STEM) education sometimes do not encounter organized use of Web 2.0 tools in their courses. On the other hand, use of Web 2.0 tools has proved to be helpful in motivating students to learn. The aim of research presented in this paper was to examine the possibility of using Educational Recommender System ELARS in order to motivate students enrolled in engineering education to incorporate Web 2.0 tools into their learning practices. Research was conducted on two consecutive generations of students, and obtained results have shown that majority of students involved in research expressed a positive attitude and interest in incorporating Web 2.0 tools in their learning efforts. On the other hand, research also showed that surveyed students have the habit of non-continuous work on their assignments, thus pointing out that future research efforts should also be directed toward addressing this problem.