An analysis of digital native preferences for design of educational mobile applications: Mixed design research

Abstract

For the new generation, defined as digital native learners, mobile learning and mobile applications constitute a motivation source with no alternative. For individuals who know the language of information technology and the internet and communicate easily by this language, mobile learning has become a matter of concern as a new teaching method. As mobile learning becomes increasingly widespread and digital native learners want to utilize it in their learning, it is also important how mobile learning applications, directly related to mobile learning, should be designed. This study was conducted with digital native learners studying at undergraduate level in the Faculty of Education. The purpose of the study is to reveal the design preferences of digital native learners for educational mobile applications and to reach the principles and guidelines related to mobile designs in this concept. In this study, Sequential Exploratory Mixed Methods Research Design was used. Qualitative data were collected first, and then quantitative data to augment qualitative data in the design. The qualitative dimension of the study includes 10 digital native learners with maximum sample diversity while 285 digital native learners are included in the quantitative dimension with random sampling. Results of qualitative data analysis indicate that the most preferred, by digital native learners, mobile applications are educational applications followed by social media, entertainment and shopping applications. Digital native teacher candidates point out that they prefer to be provided mostly with “pleasant visual design, user friendly menu, rich content, fluency and speed” in the educational mobile application, and when it comes to design aspect, the most important elements of design are "color palette, layout, font selection and smooth transitions" they added. Participants also expressed the importance of "navigation and application logos" in educational mobile application design. The results in analysis of quantitative data, collected to augment qualitative findings, support these findings. The majority of digital natives pointed out that the design should be prioritized in mobile application rather than content/ information. They also stated that the number of users who downloaded the mobile application and the screened images of the mobile application placed on the market affect the downloading behavior for the application; but there is a factor that needs attention here. Digital natives also think that the logo preferred in mobile application will affect the use of mobile applications and that a simple design should be preferred when preparing the mobile application logo rather than complex one. According to them, the logo should not be traditional logos such as universities, schools, diplomas; it should be creative or suggestive logos. In addition, a good mobile design should include blank spaces for the user to feel spacious, and short words should be preferred instead of long ones in mobile application titles due to limited space. Looking at the preferences of digital natives, it seems that the number of elements seen in the menu of a mobile application should be at most 3 to 6. Regarding content, digital natives have stated that there should be as little content as possible on a screen, and that the text should include known/ familiar fonts. Georgia, Comic Sans and Arial fonts are preferred typing characters top to bottom. In regard to mobile design, digital natives are also emphasizing the fact that the unique icons and, if possible, the use of vivid colors in design instead of neutral ones such as black, white and gray will positively influence the use. As a result, designing an educational mobile learning application is not just about combining specific icons, elements and colors, but to try to make sense of the user's effectiveness and to offer a unique experience. As a result of this study, a number of design principles and guidelines based on data on mobile learning applications have been put forward. © The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology.