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This study is a pilot study providing preliminary findings for an impending study aiming to investigate the usability of the Website of Uludag University. The study utilizes a website assessment questionnaire, containing twenty two items inquiring how the university's website is being used by the students. It was administered to 445 students in different grade levels and enrolled in several different faculties of Uludag University. There were differences in the responses of males and females. The study provides important directions for how the upcoming usability testing should be conducted, which would potentially yield refinements to the current website.

The number of relationships between important concepts is higher in physics courses than in other courses. As well as the definitions of complicated concepts, the feature of concepts should be learned. Using traditional instructional methods are sometimes not enough to teach physics concepts like velocity and displacement. Based on implications in the literature, Computer Simulated Experiment (CSE) seems to be a satisfactory approach that can be used to promote students' science achievement, and it is important to test how successful it will be when compared to Hands on Laboratory (HOL) study. Purpose of Study: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of CSE over HOL study on the understanding of velocity and displacement concepts when both teaching methods were used as a supplement to regular classroom instruction. The second purpose was to identify whether logical thinking ability accounted for a significant portion of variation in achievement related to velocity and displacement concepts. Methods: In this study, the pretest/post-test control group design was used. Each treatment (CSE & HOL) was randomly assigned to the experiment group and the control group. Both groups were administered a pretest of Velocity and Displacement Concepts Achievement Test (VDCAT) and a Logical Thinking Ability Test as dependent variables. Then, both groups were post-tested with the same VDCAT. The sample of the present study consisted of 61 tenth grade students enrolled in two physics classes of the same teacher in a high school. Findings and Results: Post-test scores revealed that a significant difference was obtained between the mean scores attained by the CSE group and hands-on group with respect to physics achievement. The CSE group scored significantly higher than the hands-on group with respect to achievement in physics related to velocity and displacement concepts. On the other hand, logical thinking ability accounted for a significant portion of variance in physics achievement. Conclusions and Recommendations: Computer-simulated laboratory experiments, together with classroom instruction, appear to be a practical strategy in implementing a physics program. They can be organized such that the application of physics concepts is stressed. This approach will improve understanding of physics subject matter. Well-designed computer simulations can be used for teaching some concepts without extra effort and time from the teacher to prepare materials.

Bu çalışma, 04-08 Şubat 2010 tarihleri arasında İstanbul[Türkiye]’da düzenlenen 2. World Conference on Educational Sciences (WCES-2010)’da bildiri olarak sunulmuştur. The study investigates whether student opinions about course content relate to achievement and how their opinions characterize them about engagement with coursework in computer literacy classes. 212 undergraduate students' achievement, opinions about course content, and engagement with coursework were identified in fall 2007. Students were asked to list the topics they found beneficial and unbeneficial. According to the results, students who found the least favorite topic unbeneficial were less successful. Students with different opinions about the content had different engagement characteristics, too. Findings are a call for more careful consideration of student opinions for improved overall success in school.

This exploratory case study provides a quantitative report on the integration of a specific online information system into the science curriculum using authentic tasks in a class setting. It aims to investigate the effects of a Web-based learning tool in a science course on students' achievement and attitudes toward science learning. The subjects are 21 seventh grade students. The Science Achievement Test (SAT) and attitude scales for science learning were applied as pre-tests and post-tests. Students' total time of using the course web site was kept by Web log-system. The quantitative findings of the study indicated that there were significant differences between the pre-tests and post-tests. In addition, there was a positive relationship between the site usage time with achievement and attitude of the students towards science learning. The study contributes to an understanding of online learning and provides a basis for empirical study of learners performing real educational tasks.