E-learning at higher education: A roadmap for Turkish higher education institutions in their efforts to offer online courses


Tezin Türü: Doktora

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi, Bilgisayar ve Öğretim Teknolojileri Eğitimi Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2005

Öğrenci: MÜGE NİŞANCI

Danışman: İBRAHİM SONER YILDIRIM

Özet:

Higher education institutions, with their mandate of preparing students in view of the requirements, knowledge and skills of the 21st century citizens, are the institutions where the latest information and communication technologies will put into use both for administrative and for instructional purposes within a well-designed framework. Turkish higher education institutions, as well, are in a process of adapting themselves to the recent advancements in information and communication technologies, particularly to provide better services to their on-campus students through these technologies but also for reaching out to more through Internet-based distance education tools. This study, through an in-depth exploration of three graduate degree programs offered online by three pioneer universities in Turkey from conception to implementation, has aimed to provide guidance for other Turkish higher education institutions to launch and implement web-based distance education programs successfully. The study, through interviews and documentary analysis, has traced how the idea of offering an online degree program has been formed, what administrative and managerial steps have been taken, what cooperative and collaborative relationships have been embraced, what challenges have been encountered, how these challenges have been overcome, what instructional factors have been considered, how faculty have been involved in the process, what lessons have been learned, and what role has been attained to e-learning in the future of higher education in Turkey. Findings of the study have been incorporated within a model for Turkish higher education institutions to realize an e-learning initiative.