The use of mobile technologies in multimedia-supported learning environments

Abstract

The aim of the study is to reveal the students' opinions about the use of PDAs (Personal Digital Assistant) in learning environment within the context of multimedia based applications. Through purposeful sampling, 17 undergraduate students attending the elective course of BTÖ 323 Character Design in Computer Environment in the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology at Anadolu University were involved in the study. Additionally, the present study was conducted in two phases; in the first phase, within the scope of the course, an interactive Learning content including the subject of "Interactive Multimedia Design" was prepared and installed on PDAs. Then, the PDAs installed with these prepared contents were distributed to the students, and two-hour training on how to use the PDAs was given to the students. In the second phase of the study, a three-week application regarding students' following the course content via PDAs was conducted. Throughout the application, the students communicated with the instructor for extracurricular feedback by means of PDAs. After the application, semi-structured interviews were held with the students regarding the course application performed via PDAs and its effectiveness. The interview data collected were examined with descriptive analysis. The results demonstrated that most of the students explained the hardware inadequacies in the use of multimedia environment facilities via PDAs such as visual images, videos, animation particularly in learning content. Besides this, for the interactive dimension and communication, the students mentioned negativities particularly regarding file sharing. Consequently, it was concluded that the students had negative opinions about the presentation of multimedia-supported Learning content via PDAs.