Faculty Members’ Utilization of Open-Authoring Websites (Wikis) on the Internet: A Field Study in Light of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the extent to which faculty members at Omar Al-Mukhtar University benefit from open-authoring platforms (Wiki) on the Internet, with a focus on usage patterns and the factors influencing the adoption of these educational platforms according to the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The study employed a descriptive-analytical approach and utilized an electronic questionnaire distributed to a stratified random sample of faculty members, reflecting the actual distribution of the original population of 1,494 members. The final sample consisted of 180 participants who completed the questionnaire fully and whose responses were valid for statistical analysis. The findings revealed that 97.8% of respondents use wiki websites, with 82.8% being regular users. Wikipedia emerged as the most commonly used platform (97.2%). The results also showed that most participants limit their engagement to reading without contributing editorially (76.1%), and that English is the most frequently used language (85.8%). The mean scores for perceived ease of use (4.04), perceived usefulness (3.93), attitude toward use (3.56), and intention to use (3.69) were generally positive. However, the correlations among the TAM variables were weak and statistically non-significant. The results suggest that wikis serve primarily as complementary knowledge sources rather than tools for scholarly production, and that low levels of editorial contribution are attributed to cultural, linguistic, and technical factors. The study recommends promoting a stronger culture of academic participation in open authorship, integrating wiki-editing skills into university training programs, and supporting open Arabic content to enhance the effectiveness of these platforms in higher education.