Smartphones are among the most used devices. Considering the high rate of usage by university students, these devices' intended usage is a matter of curiosity. The purpose of this study is to determine the smartphones usage duration and purpose of using for university students. The study was carried out with a qualitative design. In the first stage of the study, smartphones' usage duration were obtained from 29 participants via a smartphone application. Considering these data, in the second stage, data were collected from seven participants via semi-structured interview form. Among the study results, it was determined that smartphones and smartphone applications were used extensively. Although this intensive usage causes on students' physical problems, there is no change in use intensity. According to the results, it was determined that the level of use of smartphones for following the educational processes or for improving learning is in the last place. Besides, problems were identified in students' participation in learning processes and focusing on lessons. The most used application types are messaging, social networks, video watching and editing, and game applications. Among the study's suggestions, reducing students' intensively usage and guiding students for using smartphone applications that support learning processes are stated.

It is observed that majority of recent studies on cognitive learning are dealing with metacognition. Metacognition is used to follow and regulate cognitive processes such as learning, problem solving, comprehension, reasoning and memory. Therefore, it is possible to gather all information about a problem encountered by the individuals, including its solution, comprehension of its outline or essence and reasoning for solving it. Individuals’ development of metacognitive thinking skills will allow them to act more efficiently in their professions. In this research, a scale was developed in order to measure these metacognitive thinking skills. The scale was proved valid and reliable through employment of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis.

With the rising influence of technology, students have become heavy users of instant messaging applications. It makes one wonder about students’ motivations in using these applications and their usage habits. The aims of this study were to analyze the messaging activities of university students in blended classroom groups, to investigate the effect of these applications on learning processes, and to understand why student usage is so heavy. The research design was based on a mixed model strategy. Quantitative data were retrieved from a blended classroom group. In the second stage of the research, opinions of participants in the message group and advisors of the participants in their relevant classrooms were included in the research via a semi-structured interview form. Findings of the study revealed that, in a blended classroom group, university students most heavily messaged during the first months of the fall term, but the frequency decreased over time. Furthermore, it became evident that, as time passed, students preferred to conduct messaging in smaller groups. An implication of this research is that any information that a student wants to know about could be shared at specific time periods when students were more active in the blended classroom groups.

Akıllı telefonların sahip olduğu özellikler ve insanlar arasında kullanım oranlarının artması bu cihazlara yönelik algıları da değiştirmiştir. Günümüzde bu cihazları kullanan bazı kullanıcılarda bağımlılık düzeyinde bulgular görülebilmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, üniversite öğrencilerinin akıllı telefon bağımlılığına yönelik görüşlerin incelenmesidir. Çalışma nitel tekniklere göre gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma durum çalışması deseni olarak kurgulanmıştır. Bu kapsamda yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşme, gözlem ve metaforik algı formları üzerinden veriler toplanmıştır. Yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşme formu üzerinden yedi katılımcıyla yüz-yüze görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Çalışmanın metaforik algı boyutunda 68 katılımcıdan akıllı telefonlara yönelik metaforik algı verileri toplanmıştır. Çalışmanın tüm aşamalarındaki katılımcılar gönüllülük ilkesine göre çalışmada yer almıştır. Elde edilen tüm veriler dijital ortama aktarıldıktan sonra içerik analizine tabi tutulmuştur. Metaforik algı boyutundaki veriler yüzde ve frekans şeklinde çalışmada yer almıştır. Yapılan analizlerde, bazı katılımcıların bu cihazları kontrollü şekilde kullanabildikleri belirlenmiştir. Buna karşın diğer katılımcılarda bağımlılık düzeyinde akıllı telefon ve internet kullanımı ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu bağımlılık derslere odaklanmalarına ve akademik başarılarına olumsuz şekilde etki etmektedir.

The convergence of Internet of Things (IoT), embedded microcontrollers, and robotics has significantly transformed industrial and service applications under the Industry 5.0 paradigm. IoT-enabled automation not only reduces human intervention but also improves system efficiency, safety, and adaptability across multiple domains. The growing integration of automation technologies in manufacturing lines has significantly reduced human intervention while improving productivity and operational safety. Robotic arms play a crucial role in modern industrial environments, particularly for repetitive, hazardous, or precision-demanding tasks. This study presents a cost-effective robotic arm system for product selection, sorting and processing in automated production lines. The system operates in both automatic and manual modes and utilizes an ESP32-based controller, radio frequency identification (RFID) modules, and low-cost sensors to identify and transport products on a conveyor. A mobile, IoT-enabled interface provides remote real-time monitoring and control, while integrated safety mechanisms, current-voltage protections, and emergency stop circuitry enhance operational reliability. Using cost-effective components to reduce total cost, the system has been successfully validated through experiments to reduce labor dependency and operational errors, proving its scalability and economic viability for industrial automation. Compared to similar systems, this study presents an Industry 5.0 approach for low-cost IoT-based automated production lines.