This study aims to determine the benefits, risks, awareness, cultural factors, and sustainability, allied to social networking (SN) use in the higher education (HE) sector in Middle Eastern countries, namely Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Using an online survey, 1180 complete responses were collected and analyzed using the statistical confirmatory factor analysis method. The use of SN in the Middle Eastern HE sector has the capacity to promote and motivate students to acquire professional and personal skills for their studies and future workplace; however, the use of SN by tertiary students is also associated with several risks: isolation, depression, privacy, and security. Furthermore, culture is influenced by using SN use, since some countries shifted from one dimension to another based on Hofstede's cultural framework. The study new findings are based on a sample at a specific point in time within a culture. The study findings encourage academics to include SN in unit activities and assessments to reap the benefits of SN, while taking steps to mitigate any risks that SN poses to students. Although other studies in the Middle East examined the use of Learning Management System and Facebook in, HE as a means of engaging students in discussions and communications, however, this study contributes a better understanding of the benefits and risks, awareness, culture, and sustainability, associated with the use of SN in the HE sector in the Middle East. Finally, the paper concludes with an acknowledgment of the study limitations and suggestions for future research.

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Prompt feedback is one of the critical components of teacher education programs. To reap the greatest benefit from the teaching practicum process, the quality of feedback as well as its implementation by stakeholders, supervisors, cooperating teachers, and teacher trainees, takes on great importance. The purpose of this study is to examine how Web 2.0 tools support a teaching practicum course at a large public university and to discuss Facebook in relation to feedback and informal learning. The use of Facebook in a university setting aims to encourage interactions among stakeholders, thus enhancing instant and appropriate feedback mechanisms and informal learning. Data were obtained by monitoring posts within a closed Facebook group and from a teacher trainee survey whereby teacher trainees indicated the ways in which they adapted to this technology. Findings indicate that teacher trainees have benefited from Facebook in receiving prompt feedback; communicating with their peers, supervisors and cooperative teachers; sharing knowledge; collaborating with their peers; and improving their professional performance. The observed benefits of Facebook use by teacher trainees should therefore be an important consideration for teacher education programs in the 21 st century.

ÖZETEğitim sistemindeki köklü değişimlerden biri de ilkokuma-yazma öğretiminde çözümleme-bireşim yönteminden Ses Temelli Cümle Yöntemine geçilmesidir. Yöntem değişiminin beraberinde okuma yazma öğrenme sürecinin desteklenmesine yönelik mevcut yöntem ve programa uygun olarak çeşitli eğitsel yazılımların geliştirildiği görülmektedir. Bu çalışmada okuma yazma öğretimi amacıyla farklı yayınevleri tarafından hazırlanan eğitsel yazılımların çok yönlü olarak değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmaktadır. Bu amaçla araştırmada çözümlenen eğitsel yazılımlara yönelik araştırmacılar tarafından bir değerlendirme formu geliştirilmiştir. Araştırma sonuçları, incelenen yazılımların, öğrencilerin bilgilerini yapılandırmalarını destekleyecek şekilde düzenlenmediği ve hedef kitlenin gereksinimlerini tam olarak karşılamadığını göstermektedir. Bu durumun öğrenenlerin hem motivasyonunu hem de öğrenme isteğini doğrudan olumsuz bir şekilde etkileyeceği düşünülmektedir. Oysa eğitsel yazılımların öğrencilerin keşfe ve etkileşime dayalı bir öğrenme sürecinde yer alabilecekleri şekilde çok disiplinli yaklaşımlarla geliştirilmesine gereksinim duyulmaktadır.Anahtar Kelimeler: Okuma yazma öğretimi, eğitsel yazılım, yazılım değerlendirme THE MULTIDIMENSIONAL EVALUATION OF EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE FOR TEACHING OF READING AND WRITING ABSTRACTThe radical change made in the primary education literacy program was the transfer from the synthesis analysis method to the sound based sentence method. With the change of the method in literacy teaching, it is seen that a variety of educational softwares are developed in accordance with the current method and program for supporting the reading-writing learning process. In this study, it is aimed to evaluate two educational software products prepared by different publishing companies for the purpose of teaching literacy. An evaluation form was developed by the researchers to analyze the educational software products. The results of the research show that the software products are not organized to support learners to construct their knowledge and do not meet the needs of the target group. This adversely affects students' motivation and desire to learn. However, educational software products need to be developed through multidisciplinary approaches in which learners can take part in a learning process based on discovery and interaction. 1.GİRİŞOkuryazarlığın temelleri üzerine yapılan araştırmalar, erken çocukluk döneminde çocuğa okunan uygun kitaplarla, yakın çevreyle ve akranlarla etkileşim ile interaktif etkinliklerin çocukların sözlü ve yazılı dil becerileri üzerinde önemli etkilerinin olduğunu göstermektedir (Sulzby & Teale, 1991; Yaden, Rowe, & MacGillivray, 2000 aktaran Segers & Verhoeven, 2002Çelenk, 2003;Gül, 2007). Alan yazında yeşeren okuryazarlık veya "kuluçka dönemi" olarak adlandırılan erken okuryazarlığın temelleri yaşamın ilk yıllarına uzanır. Clay (1966) Araştırmanın ÖnemiGeliştirilen eğitsel yazılımların eğitsel özellikleri, hedef kitlenin (ilkokul 1. sınıf düzeyi) öğrenme gereksinimlerini karşılaması,...