Today’s educational institutions are expected to create learning opportunities independent of time and place, to offer easily accessible learning environments and interpersonal communication opportunities. Accordingly, higher education institutions develop strategies to meet these expectations through teaching strategies, such as e-learning, blended learning, mobile learning, etc., by using teaching technologies. These new technology-based teaching strategies are mainly shaped by decision-makers in education. This study seeks to analyse the individual factors that affect learners’ mode of teaching and learning delivery preferences. In this study, blended and online learning is considered as preferences of learners’ mode of teaching and learning delivery. The individual factors discussed in this research are cognitive learning strategies, e-learning readiness, and motivation. The data were obtained from the pre-service teachers at the end of the academic semester when they experienced online and blended learning. Data were analysed using optimal scaling analysis. The analysis method provides a two-dimensional centroid graph which shows the correlations between the variable categories. According to study findings, there is a correlation between the preferences of the learning environment, and the constructs of self-efficacy, e-learning motivation, and task value. It can be said that the motivational variables are more effective in the learning environment preference. The students with high task value, e-learning motivation, and self-efficacy preferred studying in blended learning environments. Cognitive strategies, self-directed learning, learner control, and test anxiety factors are independent of the learners’ learning delivery preferences.
Most universities worldwide had to temporarily interrupt face-to-face education and start Emergency Distance Education (EDE) due to the COVID-19 outbreak. It is useful to identify the difficulties and problems that universities faced in this process in order that they can carry out a similar process more efficiently in the future. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct an in vivo examination of EDE from the institutional perspective within the scope of universities during the pandemic period in Turkey. To this end, all state university websites were searched according to 27 criteria which were determined to set out the EDE readiness status of universities. The results revealed that higher education institutions had difficulty in providing sufficient pedagogical and technical guidance to academic staff due to the rapid transition. With respect to students, distance course contents, activities and announcements were not equitably accessible for students from foreign countries and those with disabilities owing to the lack of information and communications technology (ICT) tools, internet connection, translation, etc. A remarkable number of higher education institutions preferred the features of distance education tools such as cost, familiarity, stability, availability of technical support, and short preparation time rather than their pedagogical affordances.
This study aims to analyse the psychological constructs of loneliness and family support on game addiction among children, who are a major risk group for game addiction. The study explores: a) the effect of the secondary-school students' perception of family support on game addiction; b) the mediation effect of the feeling of loneliness experienced by children in the effect of family support on game addiction; and c) the moderating effect of gender on the mediation model. The study group is composed of 575 students studying in a secondary school in the city of Ankara. For the analysis of the data, the study employed factorial and structure validity analyses, a reliability analysis, a structural equation model, and mediator and moderator variable analyses. The study concluded that although family support had a significant effect on game addiction, a major part of such effect resulted from the individual's perception of loneliness, which was more evident among the female students.
Studies and statistical data on safety issues related to farm tractors and machinery are very limited in developing countries, including Turkey. This study was carried out to investigate tractor-related incidents in the Hatay province, located in the midsouth of Turkey. A questionnaire was conducted with 107 tractor operators using face-toface interviews. Data were evaluated according to the incident type, machinery involved, and mechanism of injury or fatality. A total of 101 incidents were reported by 77 of the 107 respondents. Most of the incidents were due to tractor rollovers (65.4%), 14.8% of the incidents were due to entanglement of body parts in moving machinery, and 12.9% involved crashing into other vehicles or obstacles. The leading cause of the incidents was personal mistakes (60.4%). Fatalities resulted from 25.7% of the incidents, while 45.5% of the incidents caused non-fatal injuries. Only 5.6% of the tractors had a ROPSenclosed cab. The percentage of ROPS-equipped tractors was 19.6%, while 41.3% of the tractors had a shade cover and 33.6% had no protective structure. Only one of the respondents used a seatbelt, although 44.9% of them stated that seatbelts should be used. It was also found that only 13.5% of the operators had training in work safety, while 95.1% stated that incidents might be reduced if people were trained. Development of appropriate policies and training programs are needed for safer operation of agricultural machinery to reduce injuries and fatalities due to farm accidents.
During the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, over 1.5 billion students worldwide have been deprived of access to traditional learning. This situation has necessitated the use of social distancing-based educational methods; consequently, a tremendous shift towards e-learning has been observed. This study assesses medical students' social anxiety levels in e-learning environments. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the original Turkish Social Anxiety Scale for E-Learning Environments (SASE) was adapted in English and tested for validity and reliability. This instrument has two subscales: social anxiety in learner-learner interaction and in learner-instructor interaction. In the second stage, we explored the associations of gender, age, and perceived academic performance with medical students' social anxiety levels in e-learning environments. A total of 325 responses were analysed. Consistent with the original version, the adapted scale is a reliable and valid measure of social anxiety in e-learning. Social anxiety in e-learning was related to gender (p = 0.008) and age (p = 0.013). Social anxiety levels were higher in students with lower perceived performance during e-learning compared to students with enhanced performance, but the difference was not significant. The SASE is a useful instrument for evaluating social anxiety in e-learning environments across English educational frameworks. Considering the shift in social interaction environments, efforts are required to reduce medical students' social anxiety levels and enhance learning.
This study aims to examine e-learning experiences of the learners by using learner system interaction metrics. In this context, an e-learning environment has been structured within the scope of a course. Learners interacted with learning activities and leave various traces when they interact with others, contents, and assessment tasks. Log data were formed on these e-learning interactions. In the data analysis phase, firstly, a data pre-processing was performed, and then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test how well the measured learning activity variables represent the latent system component variables. Then it was tested whether these components compose a latent e-learning experience variable (second-order CFA). The results showed that the learners interacted with five different system components: hypertext, the content package, video, discussion, and eassessment. In conclusion, there is a factorial relationship between the system components and learning activities. These components taken together constitute an elearning experience variable. When the factor loadings between the e-learning experience structure and subcomponents were examined, the discussion interactions in which the learner structured knowledge highlighted. In summary, the discussions, formative assessments, and content activities formed the learners' e-learning experience together. In order to form a well-structured e-learning environment, these activities together should be experienced by the learners. Research Article * This article is based on PhD thesis titled "Determining user profiles for adaptive feedback system design" completed by the first author under the consultancy of the second author.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.