The use of digital nudges in distance learning environments

Digital nudging is a subtle approach to guiding user behavior in digital environments by utilizing design, information, and interaction elements without restricting individual freedom of choice. Digital nudges have emerged as effective strategies in various domains, including e-commerce, healthy living and nutrition, public policy, environmental science, transportation, and energy conservation. In traditional education, digital nudges are also employed to positively influence student behavior and enhance academic performance. While the application of digital nudging strategies in online learning environments is a relatively new field, the existing literature remains limited. Especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, the intensive use of online education platforms has led to an increased implementation of nudging techniques to address several challenges such as low participation, lack of motivation, self-regulation difficulties, procrastination, and even dropout. This thesis argues that digital nudges hold significant potential for enhancing students' educational experiences in online learning environments. It proposes that digital nudges can be utilized to mitigate some of the inherent challenges of distance education and to support the improvement of students' academic experiences. In this context, the study aims to increase distance education students' engagement with the system through the use of digital nudges. Adopting a Mixed-Methods Approach, the research follows a four-step design: (1) conducting a literature review on digital nudges in distance education, (2) determining the distance education platform and courses where digital nudging will be implemented and deciding on the appropriate nudge types and contents, (3) developing a Flutter-based mobile application that provides digital nudge notifications and delivering these notifications to students, and (4) examining the effectiveness of digital nudging. In this context, various types of nudge notifications were sent to two different groups of graduate students enrolled in a distance education program at Sakarya University across two separate academic terms. In the first implementation, behavioral data from 21 students, collected via the learning management system, were reported to evaluate the impact of digital nudges on students' interactions with the distance education platform. This was followed by a focus group interview with 11 participants, and the qualitative data were thematically analyzed using MAXQDA software. In the second implementation, nudge notifications were delivered to 47 students throughout the term. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 volunteer participants from this group, and the qualitative data were again thematically analyzed using MAXQDA. During the interviews, students were also asked to rank and rate the effectiveness of the different types of nudges they received, and these quantitative data were reported accordingly. The quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that digital nudges were an effective tool in overcoming the challenges encountered in distance education. Digital nudges were found to positively affect students' interaction with the online platform, support task management and tracking, improve time management, facilitate learning processes, guide and sustain participation behavior, and enhance motivation. This study highlights the importance of increasing the use of digital nudges in distance education and is expected to contribute to the literature in this regard. The findings are considered to have the potential to serve as a guide for educational institutions and educational technology developers.