A Study on Developing a Scale for Determining the Educational Usage of Mobile Communication Apps

Zehra Ozcinar (Ataturk Teacher Training Academy, Turkey)

Nihat Ekizoglu (Near East University, Turkey)

Sezer Kanbul (Near East University, Turkey)

Abstract: The aim of this study was to develop a scale to determine the educational usage of mobile communication apps among teacher candidates. 52 draft statements were prepared by researchers through literature review and opinions of teacher candidates. Statements were reduced to 40 statements based on expert opinions. The draft scale was administered to 412 teacher candidates who applied to the Pedagogical Formation Certificate Program at Near East University during the academic year of 2014-2015. Factor analysis was applied for the structural validity of the scale and Cronbach Alpha coefficients were calculated. Exploratory factor analysis was applied for the construct validity and Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficients were calculated for the reliability of the scale. 4-factor scale consisting of 33 statements was obtained based on the factor analysis. Cronbach Alpha internal consistency coefficient of the scale was calculated as 0.94. According to these results, it is revealed that the scale is highly reliable and this scale is considered to be a guide for the researchers who would like to use mobile communication technologies for educational purposes.

Keywords: educational mobile communication apps, scale development, teacher candidates

Categories: K.3, L.0.0, L.3.0, L.3.5