The development and evaluation of self-directed digital learning material development platform for foreign language education

Foreign language education environments have become more colourful, interesting and effective with the use of digital learning materials over recent years. This research is aimed at developing a platform for designing self-guided digital learning materials to be used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language with an effort to promote the use of digital teaching materials in this field and to contribute to developing teachers’ skills of designing digital materials. To this end, the Self-Directed Digital Learning Material Development Platform (SDLMD) was developed and evaluated by utilising the ADDIE model. The platform, which is free and open to all teachers and learners, is composed of five modules: puzzle, quiz, flashcard, matching and digital poster. The SDLMD is also incorporated with a storage system based on meta-data labels so that teachers can share their digital learning materials with learners and other teachers. The SDLMD was evaluated by 45 foreign language teachers through an online platform evaluation form including a rubric and open-ended questions. The results have revealed that the SDLMD is sufficient in terms of the eight evaluation themes, that it can serve as a valuable tool for both teachers and learners, and that it can contribute to improving teachers’ skills of designing multimedia materials.