Very Large Scale E-Learning Practices in the Open Education System at Anadolu University
•Download as PPT, PDF•
1 like•307 views
The document summarizes very large scale e-learning practices at Anadolu University in Turkey. It discusses: 1) The history of Anadolu University's Open Education Faculty and its transition to distance education in the 1980s serving over 100,000 students. 2) Current e-learning services including e-books, e-television, e-practice exams, and online graduate programs, which saw over 290,000 students in 2005-2006. 3) Future goals of transitioning more programs and services online while maintaining a flexible model to meet the educational needs of Turkey through television and internet-based education.
Recommended
Recommended
More Related Content
What's hot
What's hot (19)
Viewers also liked
Viewers also liked (17)
Similar to Very Large Scale E-Learning Practices in the Open Education System at Anadolu University
Similar to Very Large Scale E-Learning Practices in the Open Education System at Anadolu University (20)
More from Mehmet Emin Mutlu
More from Mehmet Emin Mutlu (20)
Recently uploaded
Recently uploaded (20)
Very Large Scale E-Learning Practices in the Open Education System at Anadolu University
- 1. Very Large Scale E-learning Practices in the Open Education System at Anadolu University Prof. Dr. Engin Ataç Ass. Prof. Dr. M. Emin Mutlu E-Learn 2006 World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate, Government, Healthcare, & Higher Education Honolulu, Hawai October 13-17, 2006
- 2. Open Education System The open education universities which have more than 100,000 students are labeled as “mega universities” by Sir John Daniel (Daniel, 1999).
- 3. Open Education System (Cont.) In the mid 1990s, Internet technology began to be used widely in education and the educational opportunities the Internet technology provides became to be known as e-learning.
- 4. Open Education System (Cont.) The core material for courses remains to be course books but supported by e- learning services. Designing the content of e-learning this way and offering it to vast masses is called “large-scale e-learning”.
- 5. Open Education System (Cont.) History of the Open Education Faculty, e-learning at Anadolu University, Open Education Faculty English Language Teacher Training Program, the e-Learning Portal, Graduate Programs offered by the Open Education Faculty will be mentioned.
- 6. History In 1982: Transformation of the former Faculty of Communication Sciences to the Open Education Faculty (OEF). 1982-1983: Offering two four- year undergraduate distance education degree programs in Business Administration and Economics. 1998: An everlasting re-engineering process, consisted of integrating modern technologies, strategies and models into the distance education system
- 7. History (Cont.) Redesigning or updating all the conventional materials (textbooks, TV programs, etc.); Abolishing the quota for student admission ; Employing new pedagogical (e.g.; Online Exam Preparation and Multimedia Programs on CDs) and social support services (e.g.; News from Our University a TV Program aired nationally on TRT4 Channel, Anadolu Haber a weekly newspaper)
- 8. History (Cont.) Offering new programs such as English Language Teacher Training Pre-School Teaching B.A. programs Information Management associate degree program
- 9. History (Cont.) 8 different B.A. degrees 22 associate degree programs to students in Turkey, the Northern Cyprus Turkish Republic some European countries such as Germany, Netherlands, and France.
- 10. e-Learning at Anadolu University The distance programs of Anadolu University are primarily print-based, correspondence type and require self-study.
- 11. e-Learning at Anadolu University (Cont.) Correspondence study is also supported with several services such as broadcasted television programs aired by a state channel throughout the country, video and radio programs distributed on cassettes, CDs or DVDs, remote evening classes, computer-supported learning environments.
- 12. e-Learning at Anadolu University (Cont.) 12.5 % of the population has computers at home only 7 % have an internet connection (TUBITAK, 2000). The majority of Anadolu University’s distance programs are still correspondence-based. The number of learners in online (only 2 % of all learners) and hybrid (10 %) programs is quite limited despite the improvements.
- 13. e-Learning at Anadolu University (Cont.) 1999-2000 Internet-based practice exam 2000-2001 Open Education Multi-Media CD-ROMs Anadolu University online courses (cevrimici.aof.edu.tr) 2001-2002 Internet-based Information Management Associate Degree Program 2002-2003 Internet-based practice software
- 14. e-learning at Anadolu University (Cont.) 2003-2004 Internet-based course books 2004-2005 Internet-based TV programs On-line courses for the 3rd and 4th year of the English Language Teacher Training Program Open Education e-learning portal Academic Facilitator Service in the Internet e-audio book Graduate programs on the Internet
- 15. Open Education Faculty English Language Teacher Training Program (ELTT) 1st and 2 nd years: face-to- face, 3rd and 4th years: distance education methods. Number of students: 9,529 http://iolp.aof.edu.tr/
- 16. ELTT Online Courses 10 courses in the 3rd and 4th years
- 17. ELTT Facilitator Services Responding to discussion groups within 24 hours Responding to student letters within 48 hours Over 100 field experts and designers 45 tutors are conducting the tutorials 6,295/7,707 students benefited from this service. http://iolp.aof.edu.tr/
- 18. Open Education e-learning Portal http://eogrenme.anadolu.edu.tr http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr
- 19. Number of visitors to the e-learning Portal on a daily and monthly basis: over one million student records 285 million hits a total of 3,871,077 visits over 42 TB transactions.
- 20. Services Included by the Open Education e-Learning Portal e-Book e-Television e-Practice e-Exam e-Facilitator e-AudioBook
- 21. e-Book 209 e-books (PDF and Flash Paper format of the print textbooks) 2,717 units May 2005 - March 2006, 134,935 students 1,128,679 times. http://eogrenme.anadolu.edu.tr http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr
- 22. e-Television 1,145 TV programs (digitized broadcast TV programs) 156 courses on the Internet • May 2005 -March 2006, 133,230 students 1,123,176 times e-television programs with a size of nearly 2 TB http://eogrenme.anadolu.edu.tr http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr
- 23. e-Practise May 2005 - March 2006 738 e-practice units of 50 courses on the Internet 131,143 students 3,659,118 units http://eogrenme.anadolu.edu.tr http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr
- 24. e-Exam most commonly used e- learning services by distance students More than 11,000 questions 124 courses May 2005 - March 2006, 202,539 students 8,575,818 e-exam sessions
- 25. e-Facilitator Service Students ask their questions related to the course content Students can see other students’ questions and the tutor’s answers one tutor is responsible for each course May 2005- March 2006, students asked 3,052 questions http://eogrenme.anadolu.edu.tr http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr
- 26. e-AudioBook audio-recorded books CD ROMs containing MP3 files August 2005 - March 2006, 49,548 students used this service 168,926 times http://eogrenme.anadolu.edu.tr http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr
- 27. Graduate Programs Anadolu-SUNNY, ESC, e-MBA master’s Program e-Accomodation master’s program Teaching Developmentally Disabled Children master’s program
- 28. Anadolu-SUNNY, ESC, e-MBA Program (2004-2005) a dual diploma e-MBA master’s program with the collaboration of Anadolu University and the State University of New York (http://emba.anadolu.edu.tr) approved by the Higher Education Council
- 29. e-Accomodation master’s program Aim: to prepare qualified workforce for the tourism sector and to furnish those in managerial positions with the skills and expertise required by the sector (http://ekon.anadolu. edu.tr).
- 30. Teaching Developmentally Disabled Children a distance education MA degree program Aims: to train those teachers who already work in schools and centers around Turkey but who do not have the necessary training in teaching developmentally disabled children. to increase the knowledge and skills of teachers with a formal education in this field (http://geycop.anadolu.edu.tr).
- 31. Conclusion modern distance education model that is equipped with a very flexible structure a strong organization to meet the educational needs of Turkey qualified and productive human resources education through television vs. internet-based education
- 32. Conclusion (Cont.) Number of students regularly used the e-learning services in the 2005-2006 academic year: over 290,000
- 33. Better Education… Better Future... Prof. Dr. Engin Ataç Ass. Prof. Dr. M. Emin Mutlu
Editor's Notes
- In the 1980’s, many higher open education systems, modeled after the British Open Education University, were implemented across the world to solve the higher education problems of their respective countries. Today, open education universities attract far more students than conventional higher educational institutions. Thus, the open education universities which have more than 100,000 students are labeled as mega universities by Sir John Daniel (Daniel, 1999).
- In the mid 1990s, Internet technology began to be used widely in education. The educational opportunities the Internet technology provides became to be known as e-learning. The initial implementation of e-learning in higher education was such that the teacher and the students were brought together on the internet as if in a classroom, the only difference being from a distance. Thus, virtual and online universities were founded based on e-learning technology and departments offering distance education programs at formal universities were established. A number of universities with distance education opportunities have also formed e-learning networks, making collective use of their efforts (Trindade et al., 2000).
- One of the most effective ways of making use of e-learning technologies in open education universities is to design high quality e-learning services as a means of support for courses and deliver them to the students . In such a system, the core material for courses remains to be course books but supported by e-learning services. Designing the content of e-learning this way and offering it to vast masses is called “ large-scale e-learning ”. Large-scale e-learning at Open Education System at Anadolu University has gained great importance in recent years. There are also intensive e-learning applications in some associate degree and graduate programs which have much fewer students .
- I n the following sections, the history of the Open Education Faculty, e-learning at Anadolu University, Open Education Faculty English Language Teacher Training Program, the e-Learning Portal, and the Graduate Programs offered by the Open Education Faculty will be mentioned.
- Anadolu University was established in 1981 from an older institution, the Academy of Eskisehir, Economics and Commercial Sciences (EAECS). In accordance with the Higher Education Act of 1981, it was also authorized to provide distance education in Turkey on a national scale. As a result in 1982 the former Faculty of Communication Sciences of the EAECS was transformed to become the Faculty of Open Education, or, as it is called commonly, the Open Education Faculty (OEF). In the 1982-1983 Academic Year, the Open Education Faculty started to offer two, four year undergraduate distance education degree programs in Business Administration and Economics. That year 29,478 students enrolled in the programs. 1998 marked a new era for Open Education System at Anadolu University. An everlasting re-engineering process, consisted of integrating modern technologies, strategies and models into the distance education system has been launched.
- Consequently, a ll the conventional materials (textbooks, TV programs, etc.) have been redesigned or updated; the quota for student admission has been abolished;new pedagogical (e.g.; Online Exam Preparation and Multimedia Programs on CDs) and social support services (e.g.; News from Our University a TV Program aired nationally on TRT4 Channel, Anadolu Haber a weekly newspaper ) were employed;
- In addition, new programs such as English Language Teach er Training and Pre-School Teaching bachelor’s degree programs in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, completely online Information Management associate degree program have been offered.
- Today, the Open Education Faculty , along with other two distance education faculties, is offering 8 different BA degree and 22 associate degree programs to students in Turkey, the Northern Cyprus Turkish Republic and some European countries such as Germany, Netherlands, and France.
- The distance programs of Anadolu University are primarily print-based, correspondence type and require self-study. In other words, students are expected to study their textbooks at their own pace, alone, and to take scheduled centralized exams administered at remote locations.
- Correspondence study is also supported with several services including broadcast television programs aired by a state channel throughout the country, video and radio programs distributed on cassettes, CDs or DVDs, remote evening classes, and computer-supported learning environments.
- Distance learning is a necessity for Turkey rather than a convenience owing to the shortage of higher education institutions and the increasing demand for education. Since printing and mailing do not cost as much as advanced technologies, Anadolu University is able to accept thousands of learners every year into its programs. In addition, recent figures show that the majority of distance education students cannot access computers and other technologies, despite the improvements in technology distribution . In general figures show that only around 12.5 percent of the population has computers at home and only 7 percent have an internet connection (TUBITAK, 2000). Although the number of students who are able to access the Internet at work or in Cyber Cafés is growing, students are having difficulties (such as heavy work conditions and high costs) using the Internet for learning. Thus, the majority of Anadolu University’s distance programs are still correspondence-based. The number of learners in online (only 2 percent of all learners) and hybrid (10 percent) programs is quite limited despite the improvements.
- Despite the access problem, the administrators of the University are aware that computers and Internet can provide vast opportunities to overcome the problems of the distance learning system and to transform it from being traditional to being innovative. Therefore, the University has been in search of integrating computers and online tools into its programs since late 1990s. Development of the I nternet-based practice exam , Open Education Multi- Media CD - ROMs , Anadolu University online courses , I nternet-based Information Management Associate Degree Program , Internet-based practice software ,
- Internet-based course books , Internet-based TV programs , On-line courses for the 3rd and 4th year of the English Language Teach er Training Program , Open Education e-learning portal , Academic Facilitator Service in the I nternet , e-audio b ook , G raduate programs on the I nternet are the milestones of this everlasting integration process (Ozkul, 2003).
- English Language Teacher Training Program began to admit its first students in the 2000-2001 in accordance with the protocol signed by the Ministry of Education and Anadolu University to help meet the increasing demand for English teachers at primary and secondary education. The program is equivalent to other English Language Teacher Training programs in Education Faculties across Turkey. Thus, graduates of this program receive a bachelor’s degree. English Language Teacher Training Program employs a blended approach. In other words, during the first two years of the program, students must attend the on-campus courses but later during the last two years, they are required to study by themselves via their textbooks and are voluntarily able to attend the online pedagogical support courses. The program had its first graduates at the end of 2003-2004. Totally, 9529 students are enrolled in the ELTT program.
- Online instructing environment for 10 courses in the 3rd and 4th years have been prepared and published. These online courses, designed to accompany the textbooks, contain audio, animations, detailed lectures, and drill and practice components. These courses are designed and produced in a short time period (8 months) by course teams which consisted of instructional designers, content experts, computer experts, and graphic artists.
- Each online course has a coordinator and a number of tutors. The number of tutors assigned for a course depends on the number of students registered for that course. The purpose of the tutorials is to moderate the students’ discussions regarding the content and answer students’ questions. The tutors respond to discussion groups within 24 hours and to student letters within 48 hours. Over 100 field experts and designers worked to prepare the on-line courses, 45 tutors are conducting the tutorials in the 2005-2006 academic year . In the 2005-2006, out of the 7707 3rd and 4th year students, 6295 benefited from this service.
- Open Education e-Learning Portal
- E-learning services that are offered to distance education students on the internet did not have a standard structure as each was developed independently at a different time within a different project. Because each service was designed differently, when a student wanted to use these services synchronously s he or he needed to open a new session for each one. To provide easier access for the student, and to enable the system manager to monitor the students’ activities, Open Education e-learning Portal ( http://eogrenme.aof.edu.tr ) was designed and implemented . This e-learning portal enables students to access all the e-learning services through only one login process. In the student database, there are over one million student records. Annually, Open Education e-learning Portal receives over 285 million hits, a total of 3,871,077 visits and over 42 TB transactions.
- The e-learning portal contains the following services : e-book, e-TV, e-practice, e-exam, e-facilitator service, and e-audio book.
- e-B ook Currently, 209 e-books (PDF and Flash Paper format of the print textbooks) with a total of 2717 units can be accessed from the Internet. Between May 2005 and March 2006, 134,935 students used this service 1,128,679 times.
- e-TV There are 1145 TV programs (digitized broadcast TV programs) for the 156 courses on the Internet. Between May 2005 and March 2006, 133,230 students have used this service 1,123,176 times. E-television program files with a size of nearly 2 TB are downloaded monthly.
- e-Practice This drill and practice type of multimedia material help learner practice the theoretical information provided via textbooks. Front-end analyses had shown that a big number of students needed and in fact asked programs that prepare them to the exams. So, drill and practice strategy was attracted more attention by the students. There are 738 e-practice units of 50 different courses on the Internet. Between May 2005 and March 2006, 131,143 students have used e-practice of 3,659,118 units.
- e-Exam E-exam service is the most commonly used e-learning services. Prior to actual exams, students are able to evaluate themselves through this service. There are over 11,000 questions for 124 courses. Between May 2005 and March 2006, 202,539 students have participated in 8,575,818 e-exam sessions.
- e-FACILITATOR SERVICE This service enabled students to be able to ask their questions related to the course content. In addition , this service allows a student to see other students’ questions and the tutor s’ answers. At the moment, one tutor is responsible for each course. As the number of open education students who use this system increase d , the number of tutors per course also increased. Between May 2005 and March 2006 , students asked 3 , 052 questions .
- E-Audio Book In the open education system, there are a number of physically disabled students, some of whom having visual disabilities. To accommodate such students’ needs audio-recorded books are prepared. Thus, those students will be provided with CD ROMs containing MP3 files. Not only students with visual disabilities but also other students who are interested in audio textbooks can use this service. Between August 2005 and March 2006 , 49,548 students used this service 168,926 times
- Graduate Programs Same as undergraduate studies, there is a big gab between demand and supply for graduate education. Due to mainly legal and organizational issues as well as shortage of faculty, limited number of graduate programs is offered during work hours and mainly individuals who aim academic careers are able to attend the graduate studies. This situation also increases the gap between industry and university. Anadolu University has been trying to decrease these gaps by offering various online graduate education opportunities since 2004. e-MBA, e-Accommodation , and Teaching Developmentally Disabled Children masters’ degree programs are online graduate programs Anadolu University offers .
- Anadolu-SUNNY, ESC, e-MBA P rogram Anadolu-SUNY, ESC, eMBA program is a dual diploma business administration program with the collaboration of Anadolu University and the State University of New York, approved by the Higher Education Council, based on distance education techniques and accessed on the Internet .
- e-Accomodation master ’ s program e-Accommodation master s ’ degree program aims to prepare qualified workforce for the tourism sector and to furnish those in managerial positions with the skills and expertise required by the sector .
- Teaching Developmentally Disabled Children Teaching Developmentally Disabled Children is a distance education MA degree program aiming to train those teachers who already work in schools and centers around Turkey but who do not have the necessary training in teaching developmentally disabled children. It also aims at increasing the knowledge and skills of teachers with a formal education in this field .
- Anadolu University Open Education System is a modern distance education model that is equipped with a very flexible structure and a strong organization to meet the educational needs of Turkey. With its advanced infrastructure in technology and qualified and productive human resources, Anadolu University constantly improves and renews its distance education model. And through its distance education model, Anadolu University has contributed to the higher education in Turkey. The open education model, which has been conceived as education through television by the community since its establishment, has begun to be conceived as internet-based education due to the advancements in the 2000s.
- In the 2005-2006 academic year, over 290,000 of the 1 million students regularly used the e-learning services. The number of students benefiting from open education services is expected to increase as the number of internet-based courses and e-learning services increase and as the Internet infrastructure of Turkey develops.