The Impacts of Tablet Use for Eliminating the Time-Space Barriers in University Education: a Turkish Experience

Abstract

Mobile learning applications are widely used in various levels of education process. In developing and developed countries, educational institutions use tablets and personal computers for supporting learning processes. Mobile learning practices are generally used for overcoming time-space constraints in traditional learning process. This study covers both lecturer’s and students’ tablet usages and achievements of tablet usage on Introduction to New Media Course in Kadir Has University undergraduate New Media program, including a comparison with traditional and online-blended lectures in previous years Thanks to mobile course tablet application developed, students have been able to watch live broadcasts and video records of lectures, see lecture presentations and read e-materials submitted online, while they were able to submit their assignments, exams and response papers. Interaction between lecturer and students is improved by tablet application, lecture narrations were followed online and archived. Mobile application is integrated to Facebook for improving students’ social interactions with the course materials and lecturer which paves the way for social learning concept. A course which has already been complemented by social networks and another online education software was chosen for the study. With almost same syllabus that was used for two years before, comparative data about student and lecturer performances have been obtained. It is found out that average class success increased by %8 compared to previous years, mobilization and online interaction level increased, average time spent for class increased and 3G was used more than Wifi technologies during the semester that enables the mobility and allows time-space independency for the students. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014.