Measuring the Efficiency of a Web 2.0 Tool Designed for Teaching and Learning English for Academic Purposes in Tertiary Education

The development of lifelong learning skills for personal development and continuous training is a current concern of educators and employers. Particularly, language and digital skills are considered vital for both study and work. The transition to Web 2.0 created various cost-effective opportunities for developing learning tools. For almost four years, the authors have been using a wiki platform as part of a blended learning programme of English for Academic Purposes for non-native adult learners. The present study aims to determine the efficiency of this tool so as to improve it to match better learners’ needs. Data were collected for the academic year 2011-2012 and the non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis method was employed to estimate efficiency. The input measures were assembled from the number of students, the number of accessed pages and the respective number of views. The output measures were constructed from the exam success rates and the number of edits on personal pages accounting for independent work. By using boundary analysis, we could separate pages that may qualify as efficient for the language learning process from those that may need improvements so that the wiki platform may become more effective. This may involve a better allocation of teaching/learning resources such as instructional design elements and contents. On the other hand, the study may also offer a prototype of measuring the efficiency of a Web 2.0 tool designed for teaching and learning in the larger context of companies delivering lifelong learning and continuous training to their employees.