Gulsun Eby

Project Management Approaches for Online Learning Design.

Gulsun Eby is an associate professor in applied communication at the College of Open Education of Anadolu University. She undertook graduate studies at Anadolu University, Turkey (MA. Educational Technology), and the University of Cincinnati, USA (Ed.D. Curriculum & Instruction). She also has worked a post-doctoral fellow at the College of Education at New Mexico State University, USA (2001-2002). She is currently a graduate student in the Department of Computer and Instructional Technologies, and also an undergraduate student in the Computer Engineering at the College of Informatics Technologies and Engineering of Hoca Ahmet Yesevi International Turk-Kazakhstani University. Dr. Eby has over twenty-five years experience in focusing on the democratic and multicultural aspects of distance education; finding new answers, viewpoints, and explanations to online communication problems through critical pedagogy; improving learner critical thinking skills through project-based online learning. She continues to manage and provide pedagogical support for distance learning programs. Gulsun Eby (Anadolu University, Turkey) and T. Volkan Yuzer (Anadolu University, Turkey)

Constructing a Flexible Distance Learning Environment Through a Socio-Technical Perspective

This research is a theory building study regarding the design of distance learning environments from a socio-technical perspective. Within this study, a synthesis of current theories and approaches in addition to established theories in the field of distance education will be conducted, with focus placed on the notion that a flexible learning environment may be designed based on social and technical elements. In this regard, the process of designing the aforementioned learning environment is expressed in a theoretical manner, with the following two theories comprising the basis of the study: (1) the Flexible Learning Approach and (2) the Socio-Technical Theory. A theoretical matrix is established within the study utilizing these theories, while each cell in the theoretical matrix provides a statement that determines a flow chart regarding the design of Flexible Distance Learning Environments.