Dr. Göknur KAPLAN completed her  undergraduate education at Hacettepe University, Mathematics Teaching in German in 2001 and ranked first in her graduating class of the Faculty of Education. In 2004, she received her master's degree from METU Computer and Instructional Technologies Education Department with her thesis titled "FIDGE Model: Instructional Design / Development Model Proposal for Game-like Learning Environments", which was nominated for many national and international awards. She completed her doctorate in 2010 from Penn State University's Instructional Systems Program with her thesis titled "ESPN Fastbreak Community Information Exchange Patterns". Dr. Kaplan currently continues to work as an assistant professor in the Department of  Computer Education and Instructional Technology.

Kaplan currently continues to work as a faculty member in the Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology. She also works as the assistant director of ODTÜ BİLTEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Application and Research Center). Within the framework of the cooperation of BİLTEMM Center and LEGO Education, the BİLTEMM Lab was established and she continues to conduct studies on aligning LEGO Education curricula with the national curriculum and organizes workshops on a variety of topics.

She also works in "the Digital Teachers" project that has received the 1st prize in the 2021 TEGEP Best Social Contribution Development Program, which is being implemented in cooperation with ING Turkey and Habitat Association and aims to provide and improve digital literacy skills of primary and secondary school teachers.The project received first prize in the Best Social Impact Development Program category at the 2021 TEGEP Awards and was recognized with a WSIS Prize in 2024. In 2026, Dr. Kaplan assumed the role of project coordinator and continues to lead the project’s activities.

Dr. Kaplan, who was selected as “Academic All-Star” two years in a row by Microsoft Research and Serious Games Summit, has national and international publications on various topics. Her research interests constitute an eclectic and interdisciplinary set of areas, including, but not limited to, technology integration in education, mobile learning, instructional design, games and gamification, human–computer interaction, and cultural theory.

She is currently conducting research on gamification, digital literacy, digital intelligence, instructional design, teacher education, virtual reality, and the integration of Web 3.0 technologies into education as part of distance learning.