Fatma Gizem Karaoglan Yilmaz

Cyber bullying and teachers’ awareness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the awareness levels of teachers with regard to cyber bullying. In line with this purpose, the extent of awareness levels of teachers in general, regarding the issue of personal cyber security in their daily lives and the precautions that can be taken in this context have been measured. Design/methodology/approach – Survey method is used in this study. The participants of this research were 184 teachers working at various provinces in Turkey during 2012-2013 academic year. A scale was used in this study. Findings – The findings of the study reveal that the teachers in the sample group of the study have an average level of awareness on cyber bullying, in general. According to the findings of the study, based on branch, gender and frequency of internet use, there are statistically significant differences among teachers’ awareness levels on cyber bullying. Research limitations/implications – The data collection tool used for the study is a self-report scale...

The Impact of Transactive Memory System and Interaction Platform in Collaborative Knowledge Construction on Social Presence and Self-Regulation.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of transactive memory system (TMS) and interaction platforms in computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) on social presence perceptions and self-regulation skills of learners. Within the scope of the study, social presence perceptions and self-regulation skills of students in collaborative groups constructing knowledge in wiki, blog, podcast and Facebook platforms in CSCL processes were compared. The study is designed as a pretest and post-test control group study and was carried out with 97 university students. Social presence and self-regulation scales were administered as pretest in the study. At the end of process, social presence, self-regulation, transactive memory scales and semi-structured student opinion forms were administered as post-test. When the findings were examined, it was seen that interaction platforms and the TMS level of the group did not have a significant impact on social presence perception individually; yet common impact of these two variables was significant. When the impact of interaction platforms and the TMS on self-regulation skills was examined, it was found that whilst interaction platforms had a significant impact, the TMS alone and interaction platforms–TMS common impact were not significant.

Examining pre-service teachers’ opinions about digital story design

Math is a subject in which students are generally not very interested and are unsuccessful compared to other courses. It has been suggested that digital stories designed for educational purposes could be used to prevent students’ lack of interest and failure in this subject. However, designing stories that are fit for purpose is important if the use of digital stories is to be successful. The purpose of this study is to investigate pre-service teachers’ opinions about how they utilized the steps of Gagne’s model while designing digital stories for math lessons. The participants in the study were 49 pre-service teachers studying at a Math Department at a Turkish state university in the spring term of the 2014–2015 academic year. The Pre-service Teachers’ Opinion Form and a Personal Information Form, both developed by the researchers, were used as data collection tools in the study, in which the qualitative method was adopted. Content analysis was utilized to analyze the data collected through open-ended questions. When the findings were examined it was seen that pre-service teachers had designed digital stories in which they often chose to attract attention by creating interesting characters in the “gaining students’ attention” step of Gagne’s teaching model, that the main character stated the objectives/topic in the story precisely in the “informing students of the objectives” step, and that the characters created repeated the previous topic in the “stimulating recall of prior learning” step. In the current study, the integration of digital story design into lesson plans in accordance with Gagne’s model was carried out and pre-service teachers’ opinions about their experiences of this process were investigated.

Social Presence and Transactional Distance as an Antecedent to Knowledge Sharing in Virtual Learning Communities.

Today, the use of social network-based virtual learning communities is increasing rapidly in terms of knowledge management. An important dynamic of knowledge management processes is the knowledge sharing behaviors (KSB) in community. The purpose of this study is to examine the KSB of the students in a Facebook-based virtual community created within the scope of a class in terms of their social presence (SP) and transactional distance (TD) perceptions. Both SP and TD are important factors in the creation of a community feeling and in the interaction of the participants, and it is believed that these two factors will effect KSB in virtual communities. Data were gathered from 217 university students by using three scales: the KSB scale, the SP scale (subdimensions: interaction, ownership, and affective statements) and the TD scale (subdimensions: student–student [S–S] interaction, student–teacher [S–T] interaction, student–content [S–C] interaction, student–interface [S–I] interaction, and student–environment [S–E] interaction). The structural equation modeling showed that students’ KSB were related to their SP and TD perceptions in the process of utilizing virtual learning communities. The results of the study indicate that each subdimension of SP and TD scales are significant predictors on KSB. Further researches and implications are explained and discussed.Today, the use of social network-based virtual learning communities is increasing rapidly in terms of knowledge management. An important dynamic of knowledge management processes is the knowledge sharing behaviors (KSB) in community. The purpose of this study is to examine the KSB of the students in a Facebook-based virtual community created within the scope of a class in terms of their social presence (SP) and transactional distance (TD) perceptions. Both SP and TD are important factors in the creation of a community feeling and in the interaction of the participants, and it is believed that these two factors will effect KSB in virtual communities. Data were gathered from 217 university students by using three scales: the KSB scale, the SP scale (subdimensions: interaction, ownership, and affective statements) and the TD scale (subdimensions: student–student [S–S] interaction, student–teacher [S–T] interaction, student–content [S–C] interaction, student–interface [S–I] interaction, and student–environmen...

Assigned Roles as a Structuring Tool in Online Discussion Groups: Comparison of Transactional Distance and Knowledge Sharing Behaviors:

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of structured discussion by giving participants in online discussion groups different roles in transactional distance perception and knowledge sharing behaviors. In the study, a quasi-experimental design was utilized with pretest and posttest control groups. The study was conducted with 111 first-year undergraduate students at a university for 10 weeks. Quantitative and qualitative data collection techniques were used in the study, and the data were obtained from the Transactional Distance Scale, Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale, and Student Opinion Determination Form. The findings indicate that online discussions carried out by assigning roles to discussion group members (starter, moderator, arguer, source searcher, and summarizer) decreased students’ transactional distance perceptions and improved knowledge sharing behaviors in online discussions. Different suggestions are offered about how to structure online discussions in accordance with the findings of the qualitative data analysis.

The Effect of the Metacognitive Support via Pedagogical Agent on Self-Regulation Skills:

Flipped Classroom (FC) has become an increasingly popular model in many disciplines in today’s educational system. In order for the FC model to be effective, it is important for the student to have self-regulation skills. It is especially important that students have advanced self-regulatory skills so that the online learning process of the FC model can be successfully completed. It is believed that the metacognitive support (MS) provided by the pedagogical agent during the online process of the FC model will contribute to the development of self-regulation skills of the students. The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of MS via pedagogical agent in the FC model on students’ self-regulation skills.The research was carried out according to experimental design, and the participants of the research consist of 102 university students. The data of the study were collected using self-regulated learning scale. As a result of the research, it was seen that the students of the experimental group who were provided MS with the pedagogic agent were found to have a statistically significant higher level of self-regulation skills than the control group students who were not provided with MS. Several suggestions have been made for the use of pedagogical agent-assisted MS in the design of FC courses.