Search

The aim of this study was to explore the needs for the identification of design elements of a web-based learning system that would help students develop their science process skills (SPS) to be used in science lessons. A descriptive survey method was adopted as the methodology of the study. Survey data was collected from a sample of 36 teachers and 196 middle school students (grades 5 to 8). The results of the study indicated that students had difficulty in learning science subjects. They thought that they could learn the subjects in the science course better with technological and educational support, and various teaching activities. Teachers stated that the web-based education system should meet the following requirements be simple and understandable, be relevant to real/everyday life, be an interactive system, which is rich in content and images, and include various multimedia elements such as simulations, animations, and 3D materials. On the other hand, many students stated that a web-based learning system that will help them learn the subjects in the science course should have course videos (educational videos), test/solved/sample questions, practice exams, accurate and reliable information. In addition, the students stated that this web-based learning system should be simple and understandable, have easy and rich content, be interactive and have a good technical infrastructure. Both teachers and students thought that "observing", and "experimenting" skills would be improved the most in technology-enhanced learning environments. In addition, teachers stated that the benefits of developing students' science process skills in real life would be "gaining a scientific perspective on events", "awareness of the problem(s) around them", "science literacy", "enabling the student to access the information himself/herself", "expanding perspectives on events", and "able to solve the problems they encounter more easily".

With the changing and developing technology, numerous new systems that cannot be given up and have a great impact are becoming a part of our lives. Augmented reality (AR) is one of these systems which can be claimed as magic. AR has been gaining considerable interest in the field of education, and language learning since Pokémon Go, the most well-known AR location-based game, was launched. There has been much evidence to support the effectiveness of AR in education. The present study set out to review in detail the current research studies published in SSCI/ESCI/ERIC indexed privileged journals in the field of language education and technology within the last five years, on the topic of augmented reality in language learning. The selection of articles was made on the basis of empirical studies on the use of AR in language education. Surprisingly, only seventeen studies seem to fall into the said category in these selected, SSCI/ESCI/ERIC journals. On the grounds that there emerges a lack of such studies and complying with the nature of the present study, all these articles have been reviewed in detail, in terms of three aspects: (1) research features, such as research focus, design, data collection tools, study, and educational context; (2) the use of AR, such as theory behind AR use, and AR applications used in the studies; (3) results of the studies. The results showed that much emphasis has been on vocabulary learning, the learning effectiveness, attitudes, and motivations of language learners with scant attention given to language skills. There is a current paucity of empirical research focusing specifically on different language skills. Hence, it is desirable to examine the effects of AR on different language skills of language learners.

This study examines the effect of using animation-based worked examples (ARAWEs) that are prepared using Augmented Reality (AR) technology instead of using traditional paper-based worked examples (TWEs) on the achievement, motivation, and attitude of high school students during their programming education. The research was designed through the "Nonequivalent Control Group Model", one of the quasiexperimental models. The participants consisted of second year students (N=94) who were taking the "Basics of Programming" course in the Department of Information Technologies a vocational and technical Anatolian high school in Turkey. An achievement test was applied to the participants as pre-test and final test. Motivation of the students was measured by means of the "Instructional Materials Motivation Survey" developed by Kutu and Sözbilir (2011), and participant attitudes towards using AR was measured by means of the "AR Attitude Scale" developed by Küçük, Yilmaz, Baydas and Göktas (2014). According to the results, both the achievement and motivation levels of the students studying on ARAWEs increased significantly compared to those studying on TWEs. There was a high level of correlation between the final test scores and the attitude levels of the students studying on ARAWEs. Considering that instructional materials containing animation-based worked examples prepared using AR technology increase students' interest and motivation in the subject, their use in lessons that include teaching problem solving skills, such as mathematics, physics, and chemistry, can be implemented in future studies.

This study carried out with the participation of 68 pre-service EFL teachers (PET) attending Turkish universities aims to investigate PETs' perceptions as to the use of online instructional tools (OIT). This is a mixed-methods study; both quantitative and qualitative data have been collected. Data were gathered in the academic year of 2018-2019 through an online survey developed by the researchers. The survey was comprised of three sections; (1) demographics, (2) the frequency of teacher educators'(TE) and PETs use of OITs in an English language teacher education program, (3) PETs' intention of using OITs upon graduation. Two open-ended questions were also asked to find out what might motivate or discourage PETs from using OITs when they become teachers. Results indicate that TEs always use and PETs mostly plan to use videos and presentation tools when they start serving as teachers. However, TEs do not make use of MOOCs, online ELT courses, and blogs as much as expected. Similarly, PETs do not plan to integrate them into their teaching. The reasons underlying their choices are presented in the study.

According to the literature, foreign language teacher attrition and retention (FLTAR) have been studied less, the studies on FLTAR have been made in developed countries more, and these studies have generally focused on the reasons of FLTAR. Therefore, the present study aimed to find out the reason(s) that may cause attrition and retention among foreign language teachers (i.e., English language teachers [EL]) in a developing country (i.e., Turkey). 100 Turkish EL teachers participated in this qualitative study. The data collected through a semi-structured written interview were content analyzed. According to the findings, there were three main groups of EL teachers with four or five sub-groups formed depending on the participants' year of teaching experience: the ones who wanted to stay in the job, who wanted to leave the job, and who both wanted to leave and stay in the job. The findings also showed that the participants wanted to stay in the job and/or leave it for several reasons such as passion for teaching, working conditions, and learning something new, which is significant to know because understanding what may cause EL teacher attrition and retention can help sustain teacher quality in English language teaching.

The present study investigated the relationship between organizational learning, department leadership, teacher leadership, job satisfaction, and engagement in a Turkish higher education language institution. It was designed as a quantitative study. 96 Turkish English language instructors participated in the research. The data were collected with four scales and analyzed through independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's r correlation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the participants in terms of their genders, Bachelor's degrees, the status of masters of art, and the departments they worked, but of their teaching experiences concerning organizational learning, department leadership, teacher leadership, job satisfaction, and engagement. They also showed that there were statistically significant relationships among these variables. Besides, they revealed that department leadership and job satisfaction could predict organizational learning positively and explain the 74% of the variance in organizational learning. Department leadership can have a central role in promoting organizational learning by creating a working environment supporting and valuing teacher leadership, so English language teachers/instructors can feel more engaged and satisfied.

Learning and teaching is fostered to a great deal by technology. Cell phones and internet can be utilized as effective tools in providing extended and diversified learning opportunities as well as promoters of learning and teaching. However, early internet-enabled cell phones or more recent smartphones have also become easily accessible avenues of distraction and escape. This study explored if and how intention to cyberloaf acts as a mediator in the relationship between attitudes, subjective norms, and cyberloafing with a focus on descriptive and prescriptive norms with respect to instructors and classmates separately. The research was undertaken at a foundation university in Ankara, Turkey with 214 preservice English teachers. The sample consisted of 152 (71.03%) females and 62 (28.97%) males. Cyberloafing scale developed by Kalayci (2010), adapted versions of Askew et al.'s (2014) attitudes towards cyberloafing scale, subjective descriptive norms scale, cyberloafing intentions scale, and Blanchard and Henle's (2008) norms scale were used as data collection instruments. Mediation analyses were performed using SPSS 22 with the utilization of SPSS macro, PROCESS v 3.4 (Hayes, 2017). The results of the regression analyses indicated that subjective norms and attitudes significantly predicted cyberloafing; and intentions to cyberloaf was found to be a significant but partial mediator between the variables. The results have significant implications both for academic research on cyberloafing and for educational practices.

The present study aimed to determine university students' perceptions regarding EM and EAP courses and how they studied EM and EAP courses and their exams. It was designed as a qualitative study. Eight students participated in the study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysed by content analysis method. The findings of the study indicated that the students who perform well in EM and EAP courses and who perform well in EM courses but have difficulty in EAP courses are motivated to receive EM courses and have positive attitudes toward EM courses. Yet, the students who perform well in EM and EAP courses are more motivated to receive EAP courses and have more positive attitudes toward EAP courses. The findings also indicated that the ways the students study EM and EAP courses and for their exams have both similarities and differences. The findings were discussed. The pedagogical implications and limitations of the study were explained, and suggestions for further research were made.

This study investigated the development of perceptions of critical thinking and problem-solving skills among a group of students taking part in instructional design projects to produce digital materials using different instructional design models. The study participants were students from a computer science teaching department who were enrolled in an instructional design course. Participants were divided into two groups according to instructional design model. The rapid prototyping model (RPM) group consisted of 47 students working in 9 teams on an assignment to develop an e-book for educational use, and the Dick and Carey model (DCM) group consisted of 37 students working in 7 teams on an assignment to design digital materials to enrich courses on a specific subject. Student perceptions of the development of their critical thinking and problem-solving skills were analyzed using a causal-comparative approach, with the Big Five Personality traits as covariance. The RPM group indicated significant improvements in their perceived problem-solving skills, particularly with respect to their confidence in undertaking tasks, whereas the DCM group perceived significant improvements in their disposition to critical-thinking, particularly with respect to self-confidence and analyticity. The Openness to Experience trait was reported to be a significant covariance on the self-confidence sub-factor of both skills, as was the trait Extraversion. The findings are discussed in detail, along with recommendations for further research.

The study investigates the effect of delivery types of (virtual and face-to-face) collaborative learning environments on the development of trust among group members in a graduate course. For this aim, a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent group comparison was used. It comprised a total of 64 participants -- 21 in the face-to-face group, and 43 in the virtual group. Study participants were comprised of students registered in a course entitled 'Web-based Education: Principles of Design and Implementation' in the spring semester as part of either a virtual or traditional face-to-face graduate program in Information Systems at an institute of higher education in Turkey in 2010. Trust levels were measured at two different occasions, namely in the beginning and end of the semester, for both study groups. The participants completed a web-based course material design project as a collaborative group activity. The results indicate that trust increases over time among virtual participants, but declines among face-to-face participants. While levels of trust among virtual course participants are lower than those of face-to-face course participants in the beginning of the semester, trust levels of virtual participants surpass those of faceto-face participants by the end of the semester. This study demonstrates that trust can develop in virtual learning environments. The initial level of trust should be taken into consideration by instructors or managers before forming groups.

Digital native EFL (i.e., English as a foreign language) students grew up with technology, so they are expected to use technology efficiently while learning or studying English. However, they may not use educational technologies to learn English, as they may not be digitally literate. Therefore, the present study aimed to find out the digital literacy levels of the digital native EFL students by focusing on Turkish EFL students. It was designed as a mixed-methods study. 38 Turkish EFL students participated in the study. The data were collected through the digital literacy scale and two open-ended questions appended to the scale. The quantitative data were analysed through descriptive statistics, and the qualitative data were content analysed. The quantitative findings have indicated that Turkish digital native EFL students had a medium level of digital literacy. The qualitative findings have also shown that most of the participants could use educational technologies well, while seventeen considered themselves digitally literate. The study's findings were discussed, and the pedagogical implications of the study were explained. [Paper presented at the International Congress of Research in Education (15th, Online, November 26-27, 2021).]

The current study investigates the attitudes of teachers towards Computer-Assisted Education (CAE) and their knowledge of technology, pedagogy and content via TPACK model that assesses the competencies for developing and implementing successful teaching. There were 280 participants in the study. The results of the study indicate that teachers' attitudes towards CAE scores are much higher than their TPACK scores. There is a low level positive correlation between their TPACK competencies and their attitudes towards CAE. Particularly, teachers' competencies of Technology Knowledge (TK) and Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK) have much higher relationship with their attitude towards CAE when compared to other competencies. Attitude toward CAE is observed to differ by gender. As for TPACK competencies, TK and Technological Content Knowledge (TCK) differ by gender. The TPACK framework explains 20% of attitudes towards CAE. TK is the construct having the highest effect in explaining the attitude towards using CAE.

The number of Generation Z English Language (EL) learners in institutions of higher education has been increasing, so it has become significant for EL teachers to understand the features and learning preferences of Generation Z EL learners to meet their needs and teach English to them effectively. This descriptive study which was conducted with 888 Generation Z EL learners and whose data were collected through a questionnaire aims to contribute to this understanding of EL teachers by finding out the features and EL learning preferences of Generation Z EL learners. The findings indicated that Generation ZEL learners commonly use technological devices such as smartphones, which generally have an internet connection, are generally online, generally prefer to study English alone, and prefer videos that are used more for learning English.

This correlational study investigated the factors affecting cyberloafing behavior in an educational environment, specifically that of a computer laboratory teaching setting. A total of 272 students selected using convenience sampling responded to a questionnaire that collected data about cyberloafing behavior and student demographics, personality type, sense of belonging, motivation, locus of control and teacher evaluation (respect, activities, communication, motivation) as well as computer lab teaching settings and norms. The results indicated that students in computer lab teaching settings cyberloaf mainly for socialization, followed by personal business and news follow-up. Males cyberloaf more frequently than females, especially for personal business and news follow-up. As students' internet skills increase, so does their cyberloafing, particularly for personal business and socialization. A lack of instructor norms in computer lab lectures and student amotivation are also associated with increases in cyberloafing for personal business, whereas instructors' respect for students and negative attitudes towards cyberloafing are associated with decreases in cyberloafing for socialization. This paper discusses the study findings in detail and makes recommendations for additional research.

Online education has expanded and is expected to continue growing rapidly in time along with technological innovations. It is obvious that there is a movement toward online learning which necessitates the need of more empirical evidence on effective learning and learners' achievement. This study investigated effect of the variables: demographics (age, gender, being employed/unemployed, and computer efficacy); Internet self-efficacy; satisfaction (student-student, student-instructor, student-content interaction); and the reasons for online education preferences of students' on their achievement. Differing from previous studies the current study particularly investigates the effect of students' reasons for their preferences of distance education on their success besides all other variables. The results indicated that there is a positive correlation between students' reasons for their preferences of distance education and their achievement scores which was measured by their final test scores. Besides, according to results of the regression analyses, preferences related to achievement was the only variable to affect regression equation in the online course regression analyses. That was accounted for about 5.1% of the variance in students' final grades.

Portfolio assessment has been implemented in many core disciplines for quality assurance and consistent assessment of learner outcomes. For English language learning, for which varying proficiency levels of learners exist, portfolios are suggested to assess individual learners' progress. The current study was carried out in an online English language course at a higher education institution in Turkey. After the portfolio implementation, the researcher collected learners' perceptions regarding it as an assessment tool through open ended questions. The findings indicated that learners had very positive feelings towards portfolio use in the course because it helped them to see how they were using the target language. They were able to reflect on what they learned, acquired ownership of their work, and took responsibility of their learning process with enthusiasm and enhanced motivation towards the online English language course.

Internet addiction among college students in terms of causes and effects are investigated. Correlation study method is utilized; structural equation modelling is applied to analyze the data. There are fifteen hypotheses generated for the model. The data is collected via numerous instruments proven as reliable and valid by the previous studies. There are 159 undergraduate students as participants of the study. Antecedent variables are game addiction, bad relationships with friends, family and professors, neglecting daily chores, hindrance of sleep pattern, use internet for researching, weekly internet use hours, leisure time activities, reading and playing computer games. Consequence variables are self-esteem, self-confidence, social self-efficacy, loneliness, and academic self-efficacy. The results indicates that game addiction, neglecting daily chores, bad relationships with professors are significantly associated with internet addiction. Internet addiction decreases one's self-esteem, self-confidence, social self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy and triggers loneliness. Parents, professors and educational institutions may be illuminated about prevention or monitoring of internet addiction. The current study investigates Internet addiction with respect to its implications for social behavioral, and psychological phenomenon but not in a clinical sense. Hence, studies on Internet addiction merely concentrate on antecedents and features that may cause more addiction; however, both antecedents and consequences are not examined. The value of the current study is to provide more systematic, comprehensive, and theory-based empirical causations via structural equation models. The model may help to diagnose Internet Addiction and illuminate college students its potential harmful socio-psychological consequences.

The purpose of this research study is to investigate the effect of the 5E-learning model supported with WebQuest media on the achievement and satisfaction of students. Therefore, two groups of students were compared in an experimental research design model. The experimental group was exposed to the 5E-learning model supported with WebQuest media; the control group was exposed to only the 5E-learning model in the classroom. The study was carried out with 104 students at a K12 school in Turkey, in the 2010-2011 spring semester. Of 104 students, 52 were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups, respectively. The data were collected through an achievement test and a scale. The findings indicated that the 5E-learning model supported with WebQuest media promotes students' learning and the instruction provided through this environment satisfies students, particularly the female ones. It is suggested that, considering the significant difference between the groups of students in terms of their achievement and the positive effect of WebQuest on students' learning, WebQuest may be embedded into teaching. High satisfaction levels of the students with the WebQuest intervention is expected to contribute to students' motivation, which also positively affects their learning.

There has been a growing body of research on the identification of particular characteristics or factors that can be used to predict learners' success in online learning environments. However, there still exists much uncertainty about the conditions that are essential to create a successful online venture for both learners and educators. The purpose of the study is to investigate the factors that support online learners' success from the online graduates' perspective without constraining it to one or two constructs. The study included 40 participants who graduated from Online Information Technologies Certificate Program in 2009. The qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. The findings were categorized under four main factors: demographic and personal characteristics, studying strategies, motivation and interaction. The results of the study might be worthy of consideration for future research studies and other online learning institutions who knows little about how to assist learners to be successful. (Contains 6 tables.)

In this study, the effects of narrative, descriptive and prediction-personal reaction task types with visuals on the oral performance of intermediate level English language learners were compared. The study was carried out at Gazi University Preparatory School, Research and Application Center for the Instruction of Foreign Languages with the participation of eighty five students. The students' oral exam marks based on the assessment of narrative, descriptive and prediction-personal reaction task types for each group were compared and focus-group interviews were carried out with the students in order to get in depth data on the issue. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the narrative, descriptive and prediction-personal reaction task type groups in terms of oral performance scores. However, qualitative data showed that the narrative group students felt more relaxed and free to express themselves in the assessment sessions.

Many teachers have the tendency to look at only the standardized test scores of their students while ignoring how or why various dimensions of language proficiency has improved or not improved. Portfolio, however, reveals a clear picture of the student's growth and development. This study reflects that traditional approaches to assessment of student progress in EFL writing lack indicators of students' development of the skill and aims to answer the following questions: what are the learning gains of students who keep an e-portfolio as part of an elementary-level English course and what are student perceptions about the online course, using an e-portfolio and their learning gains? For this aim, the researchers worked with two groups of students: the e-portfolio group who kept an electronic portfolio in the online elementary level English language course and the traditional assessment group who did not keep an e-portfolio. Although there were not significant differences between the post-test scores of the two groups, there were significant learning gains in both groups. The perceptions of the students in the e-portfolio group reflected that they benefited from and enjoyed keeping a portfolio. (Contains 10 tables.)

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of elementary-level English language learners towards web-based, multimedia-annotated grammar learning. WEBGRAM, a system designed to provide supplementary web-based grammar revision material, uses audio-visual aids to enrich the contextual presentation of grammar and allows learners to revise target grammatical structures using interactive exercises such as gap-filling, combo-box and drag-and-drop exercises. This study gathered quantitative data on learner satisfaction, attention and participation and qualitative data with regard to the material's content, visual and instructional design, usability, practicality and effectiveness. The findings indicate that learners enjoyed using the material and developed a positive attitude towards the system.

Web-based education as an alternative to face-to-face teaching is now being extended as an application to higher education. Much effort is undertaken to provide multimedia rich, attractive content to learners. While the use of multimedia technologies has a noticeable effect on students' learning, so does the selected teaching methodology. Underpinned by the Constructivist approach, problem-based learning is one of the methods that could be applied in web-based learning environments. The current study investigates the effects of problem-based learning on students' classroom community perceptions and their achievement. It focuses on the tertiary level course "Introduction to Computers" offered by the Department of Business Administration of the Distance Education Program at a higher education institution in Turkey. The results indicated that students who worked on problem-based projects felt much more "connected" to other class members when compared to the control group. They achieved higher scores in the post-tests although their online midterm and final examination scores did not indicate any difference between the groups. (Contains 10 tables.)

With the changing and developing technology, numerous new systems that cannot be given up and have a great impact are becoming a part of our lives. Augmented reality (AR) is one of these systems which can be claimed as magic. AR has been gaining considerable interest in the field of education, and language learning since Pokémon Go, the most well-known AR location-based game, was launched. There has been much evidence to support the effectiveness of AR in education. The present study set out to review in detail the current research studies published in SSCI/ESCI/ERIC indexed privileged journals in the field of language education and technology within the last five years, on the topic of augmented reality in language learning. The selection of articles was made on the basis of empirical studies on the use of AR in language education. Surprisingly, only seventeen studies seem to fall into the said category in these selected, SSCI/ESCI/ERIC journals. On the grounds that there emerges a lack of such studies and complying with the nature of the present study, all these articles have been reviewed in detail, in terms of three aspects: (1) research features, such as research focus, design, data collection tools, study, and educational context; (2) the use of AR, such as theory behind AR use, and AR applications used in the studies; (3) results of the studies. The results showed that much emphasis has been on vocabulary learning, the learning effectiveness, attitudes, and motivations of language learners with scant attention given to language skills. There is a current paucity of empirical research focusing specifically on different language skills. Hence, it is desirable to examine the effects of AR on different language skills of language learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the literature, foreign language teacher attrition and retention (FLTAR) have been studied less, the studies on FLTAR have been made in developed countries more, and these studies have generally focused on the reasons of FLTAR. Therefore, the present study aimed to find out the reason(s) that may cause attrition and retention among foreign language teachers (i.e., English language teachers [EL]) in a developing country (i.e., Turkey). 100 Turkish EL teachers participated in this qualitative study. The data collected through a semi-structured written interview were content analyzed. According to the findings, there were three main groups of EL teachers with four or five sub-groups formed depending on the participants’ year of teaching experience: the ones who wanted to stay in the job, who wanted to leave the job, and who both wanted to leave and stay in the job. The findings also showed that the participants wanted to stay in the job and/or leave it for several reasons such as passion for teaching, working conditions, and learning something new, which is significant to know because understanding what may cause EL teacher attrition and retention can help sustain teacher quality in English language teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]