STUDY INTO THE EFFECTS OF VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON PERSONALIZED LEARNING (INSTRUCTORS’ VIEWS)
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Abstract
Bu çalışmanın amacı, Yükseköğretimin çeşitli bölümlerindeki öğretim elemanlarının sanal öğrenmenin sınıf ortamında Kişiselleştirilmiş Öğrenim üzerindeki etkileri konusundaki görüşlerini belirlemektir. Verileri elde etmek için katılımcı öğretim elemanlarına açık uçlu bir soru sorulmuştur: Sanal Öğrenme Ortamının Kişiselleştirilmiş Öğrenmeye en önemli etkileri nelerdir? ”. Eğitmenlerin Sanal Öğrenme Ortamının Kişiselleştirilmiş Öğrenim üzerindeki etkileri hakkındaki görüşlerini değerlendirmek ve karşılaştırmak için nitel bir araştırma yöntemi kullanıldı. Araştırma, Erzincan Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi'nin çeşitli bölümlerinde görev yapan on öğretim elemanının katılımı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışmamızdan farklılaştırılmış dersler oluşturma, temel beceri uygulamalarını sağlama, öğrencilerin anlamalarına dair geribildirimleri toplama ve Sanal Öğrenme Ortamında uygulanan çoklu medya araçları aracılığıyla eğitim verme çalışmalarını paylaşmanın Kişiselleştirilmiş Öğrenme için büyük önem taşıdığı sonucuna varılmıştır.
Keywords
Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine and evaluate the views of instructors in various departments of Tertiary Education on Virtual Learning and its impact on Personalized Learning in classroom environment. We asked an open ended question to the participant instructors to obtain the data: What are the most important effects of Virtual Learning Environment on Personalized Learning?” We used a qualitative research method to evaluate and compare the views of instructors on the effects of Virtual Learning Environment on Personalized Learning. The research was carried out with the participation of ten instructors working in various departments of the Faculty of Education in Erzincan University. We concluded from the study that sharing the work of creating differentiated lessons, providing basic-skills practices, gathering feedback on learners’ understanding, and delivering instruction by means of multiple forms of media applied in Virtual Learning Environment are of great importance to Personalized Learning.
Keywords
- Sucu et al (2015) studied Edmodo which is an application for the use of Social Network Sites in education. Edmodo enables the use of the power of social media in the education and training environment. It provides a safe environment for teachers and students in many aspects such as collaboration, feedback, personalized learning and so on, and provides students with time and space independence, exchange knowledge and ideas, and provides students control through its own features.
- According to Garrett and Jackson (2006), Chayko (2008), Ağca and Bağcı (2013), and Şahin and Başak (2017), through mobile accessible systems, students can gain more freedom of work than their needs and preferences. In addition to creating a sense of co-ordination in the environment, mobile devices enable students to move learning environments and communication tools into real-world environments more easily. This flexibility enables the exchange of personal experiences and integration of knowledge into the daily lives of the students, while providing dialogue with the instructor and other students and providing information at the desired time and place. It also allows students to get feedback and evaluate their development.
- Ally and Blazquez (2014) argued that the mobile education of the future will narrow the global virtual field and enable students from different parts of the world to produce and disseminate information.
- In a study by Botha et al (2009) in which global education was researched using students from different cultures through mobile technology, it has been concluded that the process of production, sharing and collaborative work have improved student relations and developed common understanding, and that the process of knowledge production and sharing with different cultures has improved intercultural dialogue. Further research is needed on how to design and present learning by considering the transformation of education using M-learning, taking into account the cultures and values of students.
- Blom (2000) defined Personalization as the process of changing the functionality, interface, information content or differentiation of a system to increase the suitability of the individual to his/her personality.
- Kışla and Şahin (2015) defined Personalized Learning as the adaptation of pedagogy, curriculum and learning environments according to different learning needs and wishes of the learners.
- According to Özarslan (2010), when the subject is examined in the context of learning, Personalized Learning is to provide learning experiences based on the interest and learning style of each learner. Personalized learning aims to provide learning experiences that take into account individual differences, avoiding the idea that a single model is suitable for all.
- Kayalar (2016) demonstrated the advantages of virtual learning environments and their impact on personalized learning environments and argued that the students feel with the convenience of their homes, free movement and repeating the lessons on their own computers rather than sitting in disturbing desks. According to him, the student can have slow or fast learning skill and different learning style, so the each student’s competence for learning is not the same as the other ones’. However, spontaneous acceleration learning for slow learners, reduced stress, and increased satisfaction can be provided by virtual environments. In addition to advantageous of virtual learning environments, this facilitates physical accessibility challenges for students with limited mobility.
- MATERIALS AND METHOD Problem Statement and Purpose The purpose of the research on the Effect of Virtual Learning Environment on Personalized Learning is to determine the views of ten instructors teaching in various departments of the Faculty of Education in Erzincan University, and to appreciate the importance of Virtual learning environments and Personalized Learning Environments for the students who take some courses in virtual environment. We aimed to find out reasonable and satisfying answers to our problem statement. To get necessary data we asked the instructors “What are the most important effects of Virtual Learning Environment on Personalized Learning?” Methods and Research Design In the study, qualitative research method was used to determine and evaluate the views of the instructors about Virtual Learning Environments and its importance on Personalized Learning Environments. The qualitative research method is a type of research in which qualitative methods of data collection such as observation, interview and document analysis are used, perceived, and is a process for realizing events in a natural environment in a realistic and holistic manner. In the study focus group interview was preferred, as this kind of interview is a suitable technique, especially if the perspectives of different groups on a subject, or how people's thoughts and feelings on a particular subject are varied should be researched (Krueger and Casey, 2000). We conducted this research with the views of the instructors teaching the courses such as English Language, Turkish Language and Turkish History of Revolution online at various departments of the Faculty of Education in Erzincan University. For this reason we relied on case study design for the purpose of our enquiry. Participants We included ten volunteer instructors in our study, who work in various departments of the Faculty of Education in Erzincan University, Turkey. As shown in Table 1, the youngest participant is twenty-nine years old, with four years of teaching experience at the department of Turkish Teaching, teaching Turkish Language by online, while the eldest is fifty years old, with twenty-four years of teaching experience at the department of Social Sciences Teaching, teaching Turkish History of Revolution by online. We obtained the data from ten instructors who admitted to be involved in the interview for the research. The participants were asked whether they were contented to answer to the questions, and then we applied the tool. The names of the teachers are coded with letters and numbers. Table 1: Statistical data as to Gender, Age, Academic Field and Years of Experience GENDER AGE ACADEMIC FIELD
- As Rovaii (2001) and Thackray et al. (2008) stated in their studies, virtual environments – distant education, online education, social media, e-mail and mobile education facilities enable instructors to provide students with experiences that seem to be difficult, inadequate, or impossible in the physical world. Virtual worlds provided opportunities for students to gain knowledge from various sources, to practice decision-making skills, and to understand their own educational cultures through interaction with people from other cultures. It creates curiosity for learning as the knowledge is under their fingers. From the statements of the instructors, it appears that constructivist pedagogy for self-reflection and personalization in learning is intimately linked with virtual environment.
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