Ertugrul Usta

The examination of individuals' virtual loneliness states in Internet addiction and virtual environments in terms of inter-personal trust levels

We aimed to define virtual loneliness concept.We tested Internet addiction and visual interpersonal trust levels as a predictor.We used descriptive scanning model.Virtual loneliness is predicted by loneliness, trust and Internet addiction. The aim of this study is to put forth what kind of a relationship there is among the loneliness states of the individuals, the Internet addiction and interpersonal trust levels in virtual environments by examining these states felt by the individuals in virtual environments; and to try to define the virtual loneliness concept in this way. This study is a descriptive study. It has been carried out in scanning model. The study group of this study consists of 225 women, 129 men, 354 people. Data were collected using Virtual Environment Loneliness Scale, Virtual Environment Interpersonal Trust Scale and Internet Addiction Scale. The analyses of arithmetic mean, standard deviation, modes, median, frequency, t, Anova, LSD, Correlation ve Regression have been carried out on. As a result: Virtual environment loneliness is predicted by loneliness factor, interpersonal trust and Internet addiction factor. The order of importance of predictor variable in terms of factors: virtual distrust, virtual honesty, the loss of control and desire for being online for more. These factors are meaningful predictors of virtual level and regression equality is: virtual loneliness=48.073-0.156, virtual dishonesty +0.172, virtual honesty +0.113 the loss of control +0.052 desire for being online for more.

Lessons learned from robot-in-class projects using LEGO NXT and some recommendations

An increasing lack of interest among teenagers towards a career in engineering and technology is a phenomenon reported in literature. Although there are various reasons behind this fact, misperception about the nature of science and engineering seems to be the predominant cause among the others. In this paper, we are going to discuss the experiences acquired from a project, which has been supported, by Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) within Science & Society Program. The aim of the project is to bring out good samples of teaching activities that integrate technology education with pre-conditions of scientific literacy by focusing on design and engineering exercises to help students develop a positive attitude towards engineering and technology and to eliminate their prejudices and misconceptions. LEGO Mindstorms NXT robots have been used as a suitable platform. The results obtained by pre-test and post-test indicate that the robotic activities within the project contribute considerably to the perception of nature of science positively. A plan to have a wider impact and sustainability will be also recommended by modifying the structure of the project to include activities related to teacher training.