RESEARCH INTO THE IMPACT OF MOBILE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENTS’ MOOD AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS

Özet

Mobile learning is a contemporary model that removes time and space limitations. It has been widely used to support traditional education or to provide distance education. In the past, the first mobile learning applications were realized with the widely used Personal Digital Assistances (PDA). Today, mobile learning activities are carried out on smart phones and tablet devices that are increasingly becoming popular. The aim of this study is to determine and evaluate the views of university students in various departments of Higher Education on mobile learning and its impact on students’ mood and academic achievement. We asked two open ended question to the participant students to obtain the data: What are the most important effects of Mobile Learning Environment on your mood?” and “In what extent does mobile learning environment contribute your academic achievement?” We used a qualitative research method to evaluate and compare the views of the students over the impacts of Mobile Learning Environment on academic achievement and the moods of the students. The research was carried out with the participation of twenty-five students in various departments of the Faculty of Education in Erzincan University and the Faculty of Science and Letters in Namık Kemal University. The views of the students obtained through face-to-face interviews show that mobile learning environment has a significant effect on student’s mood and academic achievement. We concluded from the study that mobile learning environments such as student hostel, private study room, private house, dormitory room and even desk in the canteen make the students feel comfortable, far away from stress of teacher, free movement, which contribute the students’ well-being and their mood in positive way, thus resulting in their academic achievements.