Smart learning environments: A bibliometric analysis

The journal Smart Learning Environments (SLE) published research work on the issues regarding the reform of learning and teaching methods by advancing existing learning environments. This study presented a systematic review of the 108 SLE articles by using bibliometric analysis. This study aimed to 1) examine the trend in the SLE articles, 2) identify major contributors to the SLE, 3) identify the top influential SLE articles, 4) explore the frequently used key phrases within the SLE articles, and 5) uncover the major research topics and issues concerned by the SLE community. Some interesting results were obtained. First, the annual SLE article number had grown from seven to 29. Second, the USA and the University of North Texas had contributed the most to the SLE community. Also, the “learning environment,” “smart learning environment,” and “learning process” were the most frequently used key phrases. Additionally, we provided the top ten most-cited SLE articles based on the citation counts. This study was helpful in terms of presenting the research status of smart learning environments to researchers and practitioners, as well as raising their awareness of the major issues when considering research topics and project themes. Copyright © 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG.