Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE July 2002 ISSN 1302-6488 Volume: 3 Number:3

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INTRODUCTION

Distance education phenomenon has risen in recent years especially with the adaptation of new telecomunication technologies. The term 'distance education' refers to many teaching and learning activities in which the learner is separated from the educational institutions or from the instructors (Miller & Smith, 1998). Distance education is basicly defined as taking a course where students and instructor are separated from each other by distance (Fender, 1999).

Many definitions stress on separation by both space and time as a main sign of distance learning. Perraton (1988) defines distance education as "an educational process in which a significant proportion of the teaching is conducted by someone removed in space and/or time from the learner" (p.34).

In this context, many forms of media play important roles in distance education. Media have become a bridge between students and lecturers. In addition to traditional materials, written to be printed or recorded, internet and video-conferencing systems have begun to be used in distance education (Miller & Smith, 1998; Schneider & German, 1999; Jung, 2000; Motamedi, 2001).

Distance education has many advantages as well as disadvanteges. First of all, students do not need to attend the classes; instead, they get access to information and resources via internet, e-mail and television. Students can study when its suitable for them in their own environment, i.e. home or workplace. Moreover, the courses extend learning beyond the classroom. Students can contact instructors or eachother whenever they need to.

On the other side, the main disadvantage of distance education is lack of personal contact and interaction between students and lecturers.There is also a high cost of studio production and course-design time (Schneider & German, 1999; Hall, 1995; Birks, 1997; Busacco, 2001; Grifin-Shirley, Almon & Kelley, 2002).

Selcuk University is one of the biggest universities of Turkey in terms of student number. Selcuk University has three campuses apart from each other and approximately 45.000 students study within these campuses.

In 2001, Selcuk University started a distance education project which covers three obligatory courses that all freshmen must take. The courses are; Turkish Language, Foreign Language (English) and Principles of Ataturk and History of Revolution. In this project these courses, are given from both internet (web-based) and University Television (UNTV) a locally broadcasting television station run by School of Communication. These courses also thought in the classrooms by lecturers. Students can freely make a decision between the alternatives. They can watch from television, follow from internet or attend the classroom. This project differs from traditional understanding of distance education in the sense that, students and lecturers are not geographically separated. The main aim of the project is to provide the students with alternative learning methods.

In this context, this paper has concentrated on evaluating students' points of view about distance education project of Selcuk University. In the evaluations, students' levels of utilization and satisfaction have been discussed.

METHODS

Data were collected for this paper from freshman students of Selcuk University in April 2001. Using a stratified random sampling technique, 801 students were selected and an administrative questionaire was applied. In this selection, students proportions of schools was taken into account.

RESULTS

The distribution of respondent students according to their schools is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Distribution of Students According to Their Schools

Frequencies Percent School of Technical Education 30 3.75 Vocational College of Technical Sciences 103 12.86 School of Agriculture 31 3.87 Vocational College of Social Sciences 64 7.99 School of Education 129 16.10 School of Dentistry 32 4.00 Law School 44 5.49 School of Engineering and Architecture 63 7.87 State Conservatory 20 2.50 Vocational School of Physical Education and Sport 32 4.00 School of Art and Sciences 60 7.49 School of Economic and Adminastrative Sciences 34 4.24 School of Divinity 27 3.37 School of Communication 43 5.36 School of Vocational Education 55 6.87 School of Veterinary Medicine 34 4.24 TOTAL: 801 100.00

In addition to this, 52.7 % the respondents are male and 47.3 % are female.

Table 2 shows, level of utilization for each alternative .

Table 2. Usage Levels of Internet, Television and Classes

Internet Television (UNTV) Classrooms   f % f % f % Very frequently 9 1.12 4 0.5 31 3.87 Frequently 19 2.37 9 1.12 58 7.24 Sometimes 127 15.86 95 11.86 216 26.97 Very rarely 148 18.48 135 16.85 183 22.85 Never 498 62.17 558 69.67 313 39.07 TOTAL 801 100.00 801 100.00 801 100.00

According to Table 2, 1.12 % of respondents use internet for these courses very frequently, 2.37 % use frequently, 15.86 % use sometimes, 18.48 % use very rarely and 62.17 % never use. This results show that students' utilization of internet for these courses is very low. Secondly, 0.5 % of students use television very frequently, 1.12 % use frequently, 11.86 % use sometimes, 16.85 % use very rarely and 69.67 % never use. As seen in this results, rate of the students' television usage for these courses is very low and also lower than internet. Finally, when we look at attendance to the classes in the classrooms, we find that, 3.87 % of students attend the classes very frequently, 7.24 % attend frequently, 26.97 % attend sometimes, 22.85 % attend very rarely and 39.07 % never attend classrooms. Therefore, majority of students prefer classrooms to internet and television for these courses.

Students' satisfaction levels about courses with different alternatives are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Level of Satisfaction With Internet, Television and Classrooms

Internet Television (UNTV) Classrooms   f % f % f % Very satisfied 77 9.61 32 4.00 122 15.23 Satisfied 155 19.95 126 15.73 249 31.09 No idea 393 49.06 462 57.68 228 28.46 Not satisfied 80 9.99 72 8.99 103 12.86 Never satisfied 96 11.99 109 13.60 99 12.36 TOTAL 801 100.00 801 100.00 801 100.00

 

As seen in Table 3, with courses on internet, 28.96 % of the students is satisfied, 21.98 % is not satisfied and 49.06 % has no idea. In terms of satisfaction with television, 19.73 % of students is satisfied, 22.59 % is not satisfied and 57.68 % has no idea. Lastly, with classrooms, 46.32 % is satisfied and 25.22 % is not satisfied. Only 28.46 % doesn't express an idea. These results show that, students' satisfaction with classrooms is higher than with internet and television

For students' views on using these alternatives as a source of pre-exam study, Table 4 shows results below.

Table 4. Usage of Internet, Television and Classrooms As a Source for Pre-Exam Study

Internet Television (UNTV) Classrooms   f % f % f % Frequently 59 7.36 15 1.87 97 12.11 Rarely 140 17.48 111 13.86 289 36.08 Never 602 75.16 675 84.27 415 51.81 TOTAL 80 100.00 801 100.00 801 100.00

According to the table, most of the students study for the exams depending on the classroom attandence and using the books. Parallel with the previous results, when studying for the exams, internet and television are not as popular as classrooms are.

Students' views on the future of distance education project in these courses are shown below.

Table 5. Students' View s on The Future of Distance Edecation Project

Frequencies Percent Should continue 318 39.70 Should not continue 332 41.45 No idea 151 18.85 TOTAL 801 100

As seen in Table 5, number of the students who want the project to be continued and who do not want are almost same. 39.7 % of students want it to be continued and 41.45 % does not.

Table 6 shows, the advantages of distance education according to students,

Table 6. Advantages of Distance Education According to Students

Frequencies Percent Valid Percent Large number of students reached 19 2.37 5.90 Lack of obligatory attendence 263 32.83 81.68 Utilization of alternative learning methods 15 1.87 4.66 Ability to follow in domestic environments 25 3.13 7.76 Total 322 40.20 100.00 Missing 479 59.80 TOTAL 801 100.00

According to the table, the biggest advantages of distance education are lack of obligatory attendence ( 81.68 %) and ability of the courses to be followed the courses in domestic environment (7.76 %). These results are similar to advantages of distance education cited in literature.

On the other side, disadvantages of distance education according to students are as follow,

Table 7. Disadvantages of Distance Education According to Students

Frequencies Percent Valid Percent Lack of personal contact 62 7.74 45.26 Lack of interaction with lecturers 75 9.36 54.74 Total 137 17.10 100.00 Missing 664 82.90 TOTAL 801 100.00

According to 45.26 % of students lack of personal contact is the biggest disadvantage of distance education when 54.74 % think the same for lack of interaction with lecturers .

Lastly, statistically significant differences were shown between genders' views on the future of the project. Table 8. crosstabulates gender and the views on the future of distance education project.

Table 8. Crosstabulation of Gender and View on The Future of Distance Education

View on The Future of Distance   Education Total ShouldContinue Should Not continue No idea Gender Male Count 187 155 80 422 % within gender 44.31% 36.73% 18.96% 100.00% Female Count 131 177 71 379 % within gender 34.56% 46.70% 18.74% 100.00% TOTAL Count 318 332 151 801 % within gender 39.70% 41.45% 18.85% 100.00%

There is a statistically significant relationship between gender and view on the future of distance education (X2= 9.57, d.f.=2, p= 0.008). As seen in results, male students want the distance education to be continued more than female students do. 44.31 % of male students want it to be continued when only 34.56 % of female students wants the same

CONCLUSION

Selcuk University started a different kind of distance education with this project. Three obligatory courses that all freshmen must take, reached to students via internet and television So that, students can adapt to new learning methods. In survey, students' utilization of internet and television for these courses seems low. Students still use classrooms primarily followed by the internet and television. The main reason of low utilization of internet and television is the diffuculty in accessing to these mediums. Since, many students live in dormitories opportunity to watch television or connect to internet is very limited. Almost half of the students is satisfied with the courses in the distance education project. At the same time, half of the students wants the distance education project to be continued in the future

As a result, in its first year this project seems succesfull according to students. Especially, male students are more satisfied with this project than female students are and want it to be continued in future.

REFERENCES

Birks, M. (1997). "Going to Distance" Australian Nursing Journal, 5 (5), 27.

Busacco, D. (2001). "Learning at a Distance- Technology and the new Professional" ASHA Leader, 6 (2), 4-6.

Fender, D.L. (1999). "Distance and the Safety Professional", Professional Safety, 44 (10) 26-29.

Griffin-Shirly, N., Almon, P. & Kelley, P. (2002). "Visually Impaired Personnel Preparation Program: A Collaborative Distance Education Model", Journal of Visual Impairement & Blindness, 96 (4), 233-244.

Hall, J.W. (1995). "The Convergence of Means" Educom Review 30 (4), 42-45.

Jung, I. (2000). "Technology Innovations and the Development of Distance Education: Korean Experience" Open Learning, 15 (3), 217-231.

Miller, C & Smith, C. (1998). "Professional Development by Distance Education: Does Distance Education Lend Enhancement?" Cambridge Journal of Education, 28 (2), 221-230.

Motamedi, V. (2001). "A Critical Look at the Use of Videoconferencing in United States Distance Education" Education, 122 (2), 386-394.

Perraton, H. (1988). " A Theory of Distance Education" Distance Education: International Perspectives. Eds. D. Sewart, D. Keegan and B. Holmberg. NewYork: Routledge, 34-45.

Schneider, S. & German, C.G. (1999). "Technical Communication on the Web: A Profile of Learners and Learning Environments" Technical Communication Quarterly, 8 (1), 37-48.

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