Mobile Learning in Turkey: Trends, Potentials and Challenges

Abstract

Several components of learning including learners, teachers, schools, learning methodologies, learning content and evaluation criteria are affected by changing technologies. Like other technology-based learning methods, mobile learning is also a product of a period in which new technologies and education are intertwined. As new learning and technologies become more personalized, learner-centered, connected, portable and ubiquitous, skills such as cooperation, communication, critical thinking and creativity start to stand out. Mobile learning has a potential to address these skills and better cater for today's digital native learners thanks to the aforementioned affordances. This potential of mobile learning is the starting point for this study. The aim of this study is to see the trends of mobile learning over the years and to discuss its potentials and challenges. In line with this purpose, the graduate theses published in Turkish Higher Education Council Thesis Database between 2010 and 2019 were reviewed by content analysis method. The results of the study revealed that mobile learning in graduate studies offer the potentials to positively effect on academic achievement, facilitate positive attitude towards mobile learning, increase motivation and develop positive attitude towards the course. In addition, the results also demonstrated that mobile learning is time and place independent, easy, fun and helpful for vocabulary learning and increasing interaction. However, there were also challenges reported associated with mobile learning such as technical and infrastructural problems and lack of hardware and software used in mobile leaning tools.

Evaluation of Student Nurses’ Use of the Internet and Technology in Education and Self-Efficacy Perceptions of Computer Use

“…Various studies have reported that most of the students prefer mobile learning and mobile technologies in their education (Abu-Al-Aish & Love, 2013; Kıcı, 2010), and they use mobile devices and smart phones to access information, share and access the course materials (Seliaman & Al-Turki, 2012). Also, mobile devices improve learners' ability to use and share information, access information, and problem-solving skills which positively affect their learning motivations (Chen et al, 2008, Özsarı & Saykılı, 2020. The fact that mobile technologies provide users with "anytime and anywhere" learning opportunity enables these applications to be applied more frequently in learning environments (Stockwell, 2008).…”

Examination of the Attitudes of Nursing and Midwifery Students Receiving Distance Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic towards Mobile Learning

“…Rapidly adapting to the developing technology, this Y-generation of students defined as digital natives, want to receive education in a learning style most appropriate for them because of technological developments at the time and under conditions they want. At this point, mobile learning (M-learning) has emerged as an educational model that responds to the demands of students (Özsarı and Saykılı, 2020;Şahin and Başak, 2017). M-learning, an innovative educational approach, is a method of learning in which learning is performed using mobile communication tools such as smartphones and tablets, regardless of time and place (Gambo et al, 2017;Şahin and Başak, 2017).…”