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.