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The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of WhatsApp use for education and determine the opinions of students towards the process. The study was designed in mixed research model which combines both qualitative and quantitative data. In the quantitative aspect of the study, quasi-experimental design, with a pretest-posttest control group, was used and the data were analyzed by two factor variance analysis for mixed measurements. The analysis indicated that both learning environments have different effects on the success of students and that supporting the traditional environment by using WhatsApp is more effective for the increase of success. For the qualitative aspect of the study, content analysis techniques were employed to analyze the data which were collected by open-ended question forms. The analysis showed that students developed positive opinions towards the use of WhatsApp in their courses. They demanded the same practice in their other courses as well. They reported that learning could also take place unconsciously and the messages with images were more effective for their learning. However, a few students have expressed adverse opinions about the timing of some posts and the redundant posts within the group. Finally, it is suggested that use of WhatsApp in education process be encouraged as a supportive technology.
Keywords: WhatsApp, instant message, social network, mobile social learning, students' performance
Introduction
With their increasing time, scope, and frequency of use, internet technologies have started to shape the way people form and share content and their way of communication. Social networks, which are very popular among young people, are becoming prevalent due to their nature to meet the needs of individuals towards socialization. Their nature that focuses on individuals, started to shape users' process of interaction and has become one of the important elements of the daily life. The high number of people joining social networks, which are defined as programs that ease the interaction between individuals and groups, provide various opportunities for social feedback and support the formation of tangled social relations (Boyd, 2003), show how immense the people's need is for these networks. Within the framework of these needs, development of mobile versions of these programs that carry the social structure from real life to virtual environment and eliminate the time and space limitations, has...