Distance Education Services Research Articles

An Overview of the Curricula of Medical Documentation and Secretarial Programs Using the Distance Learning Method in Turkey

Technological innovations that enable the development of the 21st century education and training field have also affected the way individuals meet their learning needs. As the learning needs of individuals change, learning activities and learning perspectives have also changed. While information and communication technologies provide support to the traditional education system in most cases, it has also brought new learning methods to the literature. One of these new learning methods is distance education. Distance education is a modern and innovative education system that can be watched and viewed again, live, audio, video and interactive in completely digital environments through existing computer technologies and internet network, away from the time and place limits, before students and academicians come to a higher education institution. The aim of the study is to examine and discuss the courses in the medical documentation and secretarial programs that provide open and distance education in Turkey, and the place of libraries in distance education. Descriptive method used in the study document analysis and definition of learning, constructivist approaches adopted in open and distance learning in medical documentation and secretarial programs of distance education in the course of applications made by the method are discussed. As a result of the study, it has been determined that most of the courses in the curriculum of these programs have the same content, although they have different names. In addition, in the study, suggestions were made about ways to provide more efficient distance education and training services in the future in medical documentation and secretarial programs.

Examination of Special Education Teachers' Opinions on the Problems They Experience and the Solution of the Problems

In this study, the problems experienced by special education teachers according to their opinions, the source of the problems and their expectations were tried to be revealed. In this study, which was conducted to identify the problems and expectations of special education teachers who work in the country and have an important place, it is aimed to improve the quality of special education by developing solution proposals.
 Eight school administrators, who work in schools of various types and levels in Aydın province, who were determined by criterion sampling and maximum diversity sampling, which are among the purposeful sampling methods, participated in this study, which is considered in the case study design, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The semi-structured interview form used in the research was shaped by the researchers as a result of the literature review. The data obtained by the face-to-face interview method were analyzed by content analysis. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was determined that special education teachers mostly experienced problems with school management, teaching process, student parents, physical space and other field teachers.
 In this study, which is thought to make a significant contribution to increasing the quality of special education given in schools, within the framework of the data obtained, meeting the needs of teaching materials and equipment, providing seminars, courses and distance education services for parents, teachers and school administrators, and communication and communication of school administrators with other field teachers. Suggestions have been developed to carry out activities to increase interaction.

PARENTS' VIEWS OF THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON INDIVIDUALS WİTH SPECIAL NEEDS: THE CASE OF TURKEY

This study investigates the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of individuals with special needs. In the research carried out with phenomenological research design, data were obtained online from 121 parents with children with special needs and live in 14 different cities in Turkey by means of an interview form consisting of open-ended questions developed by researchers. From the content analysis of the data, 8 themes have been reached, namely, education, health, social life, behavioral-emotional adaptation, physical condition, family communication, indoor activities and social supports and needs. According to the findings, parents stated most that during the pandemic process, social lives of children with special needs were restricted and their daily routines were disturbed, they could not benefit efficiently from distance learning, their behavioral problems such as tantrums and harming themselves and others increased, negative physical situations emerged like weight gain / loss and sleep disorders and stress increased in family communication. Parents indicated that they could do indoor activities with their children and that they do not have difficulties in accessing health services for their children. The majority of the parents stated that they needed psychological counseling, distance education services, financial support and also that they received the greatest support from their family members and teachers.

Market orientation of entrepreneurial university distance education and sustainable competitive advantage relationships: The mediating role of employee engagement

To be competitive in the distance education service delivery market, the need for a strategic approach by managers of these institutions to manage the increased competition cannot be compromised. Despite the available past and current studies on market orientation, the impact of market orientation on firms in the context of distance education is yet to be explored. Additionally, given the COVID crisis, the increasing reliance on distance education has resulted in a dynamic and turbulent environment in which market orientation assumes even greater importance. This study seeks to examine the mediating role of employee engagement in the link between market orientation and sustainable competitive advantage. Using the multistage sampling technique, 375 respondents were selected, consisting of key management and staff of a certain university’s distance education programme. Analytically, partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to address the various hypotheses of the study. Both customer and competitor orientations were found to have a significant positive effect on the university’s sustainable competitive advantage. The study’s outcomes will help shape policy and practise in distance education.

COVID-19 and Innovation in Medical Library Services: A Scoping Review of Case Studies

The services of medical libraries and information centers has changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to identify the innovative services of medical libraries and information centers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this scoping review, PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, ProQuest, Library, Information Science & Technology s (LISTA) databases were searched to identify case studies and case series. After screening the identified studies, 18 studies were selected. The results showed that the main users of medical libraries and information centers during COVID-19 were health care providers and recipients, researchers, organizational staff, and ordinary library users. Innovative services during the COVID-19 were also provided in these libraries, including distance education services, virtual information services, virtual guidelines, providing information resources, and evidence-based response to treatment teams. To provide these new services, medical libraries used traditional, semi-traditional, and modern information and communication technologies such as telephone, email, online library platforms, e-learning, and social networks. Medical libraries and information centers changed the way they provide services in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. Analyzing the services provided during this period can provide a model for policymakers, and medical librarians and information professionals to improve their services. The information presented here can be used to inform library services during future, similarly critical situations.

A comprehensive study on online teaching-learning (OTL)system and platforms

Online Teaching Learning (OTL) systems are the future of the education system due to the rapid development in the field of Information Technology. Many existing OTL systems provide distance education services in the present context as well. In this paper, several types of existing OTL systems are explored in order to identify their key features, needs, working, defects and sectors for future development. For this, different aspects, types,processes, impacts, and teaching-learning strategies of various OTL systems were studied. In addition, the paperconcludes with some future insights and personal interest in the further development of OTLs on the basis of previous research performed.

A comprehensive study on online teaching-learning (OTL)system and platforms

Online Teaching Learning (OTL) systems are the future of the education system due to the rapid developmentin the field of Information Technology. Many existing OTL systems provide distance education services in thepresent context as well. In this paper, several types of existing OTL systems are explored in order to identifytheir key features, needs, working, defects and sectors for future development. For this, different aspects, types,processes, impacts, and teaching-learning strategies of various OTL systems were studied. In addition, the paperconcludes with some future insights and personal interest in the further development of OTLs on the basis ofprevious research performed.

Factors Affecting Perceived Learning Satisfaction in Distance Education in Turkey

The study aims to determine which variables to be focused on by viewing the relationship between the variables of distance education to increase perceived learning satisfaction. The results of this study were obtained with the measurement model established with the data collected from 5574 state university students in Turkey. Within this context, it is thought to contribute to the literature. Another unique point in this study is; for the reliability of the results, it was expected that the deficiencies of the distance education infrastructure in universities would be eliminated during the pandemic process, and it was made with the help of a questionnaire applied to university students who received distance education after the improved infrastructure services. The structural equation model used by many disciplines was applied to investigate the significance of the relationship between the variables. As a result of the method applied, it was determined that there was a significant relationship between the technology, materials, support services, measurement and evaluation factors and the perception of distance learning satisfaction of the students. In addition, a significant relationship was found between the material and technology variables and the support services variable. No significant relationship was found between support services and measurement and evaluation variables. There was also no significant relationship in the model in which support services were established as a mediator variable. In this study, distance education policies on distance education services have been proposed, considering the relationships between the model established and the variables.

Digital Education: The Cybersecurity Challenges in the Online Classroom (2019-2020)

E-learning or digital education is one of the advantages provided by the information revolution, which covered all fields and did not exclude the education sector, as many platforms and applications that provide distance education services were available. Students, professors, and education departments have multiple options to manage the educational and academic process. However, with all these positive advantages, this type of education entailed great risks related to cybersecurity much related research says that the education sector has the greatest percentage of attacks and threats denial of service, ransomware, and phishing attacks. This paper studies and analyses those risks using the Kaspersky DDoS Intelligence System. A part of Kaspersky DDoS Protection and explain the methods of protection for educational institutions.

Effectiveness of distance teaching for autism spectrum disorder students during the COVID-19 pandemic

<span lang="EN-US">This study examined the effectiveness and level of distance-teaching services provided to students with autism spectrum disorder in the United Arab Emirates, Emirate of Abu Dhabi (from a viewpoint of the teachers and parents). To achieve the study goals, the distance education services assessment tool was built in two forms. The data collection for this study was done by distributing online questionnaires to all participants. The results of the study indicated an assessment of distance-teaching services in a high level from the teachers' viewpoint with a total average (4.16 of 5), and the parent's viewpoint indicated their assessment of these services in a high level with a total average (4.18 of 5). The study suggested for future researchers to conduct more studies<em></em>targeting the challenges and difficulties during the distance-teaching for parents and teachers of students, include or limit other programs to assess the distance-teaching among parents and teachers of autism spectrum disorder students of severe degree.</span>

Examining the Views of School Psychological Counselors on Distance Education Services during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Bu çalışmanın amacı Covid-19 salgını sürecinde okul psikolojik danışmanlarının uzaktan eğitim faaliyetlerine yönelik görüşlerini incelemektir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu 14 okul psikolojik danışmanından oluşmaktadır. Bu çalışma, nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden durum çalışması olarak tasarlanmıştır. Veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacılar tarafından hazırlanmış yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu kullanılmıştır ve veriler içerik analizi yöntemiyle analize tabii tutulmuştur. Elde edilen bulgulara göre, psikolojik danışmanlar salgın sürecinde veli ve öğretmenlere yönelik müşavirlik, danışman öğretmenlik, Covid-19 hakkında bilgilendirme ve üst öğrenim kurumlarının tanıtılması gibi uzaktan eğitim faaliyetleri gerçekleştirmişlerdir. Okul psikolojik danışmanları, uzaktan eğitim faaliyetlerinin, zaman ve mekân açısından esnekliği ve ekonomik oluşu gibi avantajlı; iletişim güçlükleri, donanım eksiklikleri, katılımın düşüklüğü ve değerlendirme güçlükleri gibi dezavantajlı yönlerini bildirmişlerdir. Uzaktan eğitim faaliyetleri yürütülürken öğrencinin teknolojik cihazının yetersiz olması, internet ağlarında sık sık bağlantının kopması, hareketin kısıtlanması, öğretim faaliyetlerinin sınav ve notla değerlendirilememesi, öğrenciyle hedeflenen etkileşimin sağlanamaması, öğrencilerde motivasyon kaybı gibi sorunlarla karşılaşmışlardır. Okul psikolojik danışmanları uzaktan eğitim faaliyetleri için tüm öğrencilerin teknolojik cihazlara ulaşımının sağlanması, ders sayısının azaltılması, velinin sürece daha fazla dâhil edilmesini sağlamak, öğretmen ve velilere yönelik seminerler planlanması gibi önerilerde bulunurken; pandemi sonrası uzaktan eğitim hizmetlerinin kullanılmaya devam edeceği noktasında öngörüler sunmuşlardır.

Opportunities and Challenges in Developing Distance Education Services Open University for Indonesian Citizens in Malaysia

The Indonesian Open University (UT) has had extensive experience in providing, implementing, and developing educational services in Indonesian and abroad. Several problems related to the planned development of Distance Education Services (PJJ-UT), have become obstacles that hinder the smooth expansion and management of UT abroad. This paper aims to analyze the opportunities and challenges in developing PJJ-UT in Malaysia. The approach used in this study is a qualitative method. The data are collected through participant observation as well as unstructured in-depth interviews involving resources ranging from UT managers, students, and alumni. The results: (1). Many fresh graduates from Senior High School, have departed for Malaysia before the time of receiving their graduation certificate. They are constrained from realizing their intention to continue their study while working; (2). Indonesian illegal migrants who have joined as students, have limited space for movement and are being arrested by Malaysian authorities; (3). Implementation of the mandatory overtime system at workplace, prevented students from participating in examinations; (4). The distance of the student coverage area, resulted in delays in taking academic activities; (5). The dropping out phenomenon among students who are not motivated to study is high, especially after returning to their homeland.

The Effectiveness of E-Simulation with Asynchronous Learning Concept to Improving Students Uderstanding in Physics Education Department FKIP Indonesia Open University

This research is motivated by the constraints of students in the Physics Education of FKIP UT who run the concept of asynchronous learning to carry out practical/demonstration activities during course tutorial activities so that it has an impact on low understanding and learning outcomes. E-simulation is here as a solution to improve understanding and strengthen theory for students during tutorial activities. This type of research is a quasi-experimental study involving a sample class of students taking mechanics courses in the 2021.1 Academic Year in Physics Education department FKIP UT. The data collection instrument in this study was an assessment sheet for student learning outcomes in the form of multiple-choice tests, and analysed using the paired sample t-test. Based on the results of the analysis, it can be concluded that the use of e-simulation can significantly improve students’ understanding with a sig value. 2 tailed 0.000. E-simulation will continue to be developed by the Physics Education department of FKIP UT in order to improve the quality of learning and provide better quality distance education services.

Advantages and disadvantages of developing and producing educational multimedia content

The article discusses current trends in the field of distance education services. There are three main types of multimedia content, such as webinar, video lesson, and video conference. The main characteristics are disclosed in detail, as well as algorithms that must be followed during their development and production. The analysis of the proposed algorithms for the development and production of the specified multimedia content revealed a number of advantages and disadvantages inherent in each of the three types of content. In the order of discussion, new trends in the multimedia context were considered, such as webinar in the form of an interview, webinar (video lesson) in the form of a master class and networking. It is concluded that a qualitative and quantitative leap is now taking place in the field of educational services provided remotely.

Effectiveness of customer social participation for academic purposes: a case of informal WhatsApp groups

PurposeCustomer social participation (CSP) is a new phenomenon that has emerged with the evolution of social media. Current literature designates customer participation in social media as “CSP”. Although CSP has been investigated in the online brand community context in social media, it has been little investigated in the context of student customers using WhatsApp – a highly trending social media platform among learners. Thus, this study aims to investigate the effectiveness of CSP in informal WhatsApp groups for academic purposes among undergraduate students of management studies.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopted a single cross-sectional survey design. A structured online questionnaire was employed. Using convenience sampling technique, data were collected from 170 undergraduates of the Bachelor of Management Studies programme at the Open University of Sri Lanka.FindingsThe results revealed significant positive effects of functional, social and hedonic benefits with CSP. Meanwhile, the relationship between psychological benefits and CSP was insignificant. Furthermore, there is no influence of age and level of study on CSP among the learners in informal WhatsApp groups. Moreover, at present, the level of CSP in WhatsApp for academic purposes among students is moderate.Originality/valueThe role of the student as the customer and student behaviour in informal WhatsApp groups established for academic purposes have been little investigated in the field of open and distance education services. In this context, this study empirically validated the model of participation benefits and CSP in WhatsApp groups informally established for academic purposes.

Assessing Distance- Education services for students with Learning difficulties during the Corona pandemic

This study aimed to assess the distance-education services provided to students with learning difficulties during the Coronavirus pandemic. To achieve the objectives of the study, the researcher built two scales to assess distance education services that are offered to students with learning difficulties; one is from the teachers’ viewpoint and the other is from the parent's perspective. The findings showed that the degree of assessment of distance education services for students with learning difficulties during the Corona pandemic was moderate at the overall level among teachers and low among parents. There were no statistically significant differences in the teachers’ responses attributed to the variables: gender, academic qualification, and years of experience. Moeover, there were no statistically significant differences in parents’ responses attributed to the variables: the child's gender, the educational qualification of the parents and the child's age.
 
 Keywords: Corona pandemic, students with learning disabilities, distance education.

Design and Application of College Online Education Platform Based on WebRTC

Web based real time communication enhances the current online education platform by blending it with virtual universities by the means of internet. This article explored the designing perspective of College Online Education Platform in order to provide distance education services, instant messaging, interactive online classes, video answering and video viewing functions. A media server cluster load balancing algorithm based on consistency hash algorithm and genetic algorithm is proposed in this article. This article is focused on designing and practical implementation of a fusion communication platform combined with WebRTC and related technologies to deliver online education system in colleges and universities. The online education system is tested and the test results show that the online education system designed and implemented in this paper can meet the expected needs. The media server cluster load balancing strategy proposed in this paper can ensure the cluster overall load balancing. At the same time, the node weight can be dynamically adjusted according to the real-time state of the clusters. The outcomes obtained justifies the efficiency and practicability of the proposed methodology.

The Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Service Sector Branding Tendency: Evidence From Turkey

The service sector is becoming an increasingly important sector in most economies. Service marks, as an indicator of service innovations, are increasing worldwide. As with all industries and activities, the service sector has been affected by the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This research aimed to analyze the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the service sector by using trademark application data. In particular, textual databases provide researchers with a rich wealth of information. Research was based on Turkish service mark applications belonging to the datasets comprise 264,000 lines in total (for the years 2016 to 2020). In addition, 114 search terms, which were determined with the help of service mark classifications according to International Nice Trademark Classification, were analyzed using the text mining method. According to the research results, a certain amount of service-related trademarks were not affected during the pandemic process; however, a change in the trademark’s content applications was experienced. The main service classes having an increase in brand orientation during the pandemic were found to be services related to logistics, cleaning, hobby activities, distance education, and learning and storage services. On the other hand, real estate, tourism, cultural services, and health and legal services were the negatively influenced sectors.

Aligning Sustainable Development Goal 4 with Provision of Distance Learning through Library Perspective: The Case of the Open University of Tanzania

Sustainable development goal number four (SDG 4) is the education goal whose main focus is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities. In that perspective, its focus on the promotion of lifelong learning augurs well with the mainstay of distance education in any country. This linkage is anchored on the quality, timely provision of knowledge through libraries that are entrusted with the role of searching, acquiring, processing and make access to various distance learners knowledge in various forms for their continuous learning and attaining various qualifications. Sustainable development goal number four (SDG 4) lies at the centre of all other goals as it entails transforming societies globally into learned, aware, and one that can cope with changes at economic, political economic and social levels. Impliedly, education for all that is the main proponent of this goal must be achieved using all avenues possible including open distance learning for those that cannot afford it through other conventional education systems. Libraries are the lifeline of open and distance learning. Over years, especially with the fast-changing technologies and more emphasis on e-learning of which open distance learning has also adopted quickly, the role of library has had challenges in terms of the visibility on services it provides, availability of adequate resources to cope with such changes and, skilled staff to offer library services with e-learning base. This paper explores issues related to the role of library services in supporting promotion of lifelong education through distance education systems and as articulated in the sustainable development goal four (4). The paper examines ongoing global as well as national efforts of libraries in supporting distance education in the modern era and through the existing technologies. The linkage of the three variables, i.e. SDG4, distance education and library services is, without any doubt, of critical importance for the continuous growth and improvement of learning through distance education.

Distance Education Service Quality in Turkey

Universities occupy an important place in the training of qualified manpower needed by a country, in the production of knowledge and in service to the society with the educational services they provide. Due to the limited capacity and increasing demand in higher education, distance education (DE) programs in universities are spreading rapidly. In this study, the components affecting the service quality perception of the DE service offered and the score of the students, who are the most important customers of the DE program, were determined. Service quality was measured by DE-SERVQUAL, which has a 4-factor structure: "e-learning environment", "trust", "accessibility" and "enthusiasm". In the study where 457 valid answers were evaluated, students indicated that accessibility is the most important dimension that determines the DE service quality. It is followed by e-learning environment, reliability and enthusiasm in the descending order. In addition, students gave the lowest score to the e-learning environment dimension in the program they were enrolled in.
 Keywords: service quality, distance education, DE-SERVQUAL, SERVQUAL