Relationship between Problematic Internet Use, Depression and Quality of Life Levels of Turkish University Students

The relationship between problematic Internet use (PIU), depression and quality of life levels of individuals is a growing concern in many societies. One of the main purposes of this study was to examine the relationships or correlations among PIU, depression and quality of life levels of Turkish undergraduate students. Furthermore, this study sought to investigate whether correlated variables; if any, simultaneously predicted students’ quality of life levels on different domains of WHOQOL–BREF-TR in a significant manner. Moreover, this research examined whether some or any of study variables had a mediating effect in relationships between domains of WHOQOL–BREF-TR and other study variables. The data collected from 758 undergraduate student participants (431 female and 327 male) attending different faculties and colleges at a public university in Turkey. A demographical information form, the Beck Depression Inventory, the World Health Organization’s Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL–BREF-TR) and Online Cognition Scale (OCS) were used to collect data from the undergraduate Turkish students. The results indicated that the students’ PIU and depression levels were negatively associated with quality of life levels and positively associated with each other in a significant manner. Moreover, the results of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that PIU levels of the students on the diminished impulse control dimension partially mediated the relationships between depression and quality of life levels on all domains of WHOQOL–BREF-TR

A Cross-cultural Comparative Study of Uses and Perceptions of Technology in Education among Turkish and US Undergraduates

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences and similarities among United States (US) and Turkish university students in technology ownership, uses of technology for academic purposes, perceived importance of technology, and preferences for technology in education. The EDUCAUSE Center for Analytics and Research (ECAR) undergraduate student technology survey was used to collect data from Turkish students (N=384) at Abant Izzet Baysal University and US students (N=399) at Louisiana State University (LSU). The findings revealed significant differences in uses and ownership of most technological devices in favor of the US students in comparison to the Turkish students. The results of the study pointed to differences in information technology (IT) ownership and access, largely as a function of local infrastructure and economic settings rather than cultural diversities between Turkey and the US

Effects of Educational Blogging on Perceptions of Science and Technology Education Students toward Web as a Learning Tool

The purpose of this study is to investigate effects of educational blogging on perceptions (e.g., attitude, self-efficacy) of undergraduate students in Science and Technology Education program toward Web as a learning tool. In addition, this study examines opinions of the Science and Technology Education students about contribution of educational blogging to the students’ perceptions toward Web as a learning tool, knowledge in the field, and advantages and disadvantages of educational blogging. The methodological frame of this study is based on both one group pre-test and post-test design, and qualitative approaches including observations, interviews and document analyses. A total of 32 undergraduate students voluntarily participated in the pre-test and post-test sections, and 25 students participated in the interviews. The findings indicate that educational blogging have positive effects over the students’ attitudes on the usability, selfefficacy, affective and Web-based learning subscales. In addition, the qualitative findings reveal positive contributions of educational blogging to the students’ knowledge in the field, and to the perceptions and thoughts of the students toward Web as a learning too

Turkish University Students’ Perceptions of the World Wide Web as a Learning Tool: An Investigation Based on Gender, Socio-Economic Background, and Web Experience

The main purpose of the study is to investigate Turkish undergraduate students’ perceptions of the Web as a learning tool and to analyze whether their perceptions differ significantly based on gender, socio-economic background, and Web experience. Data obtained from 722 undergraduate students (331 males and 391 females) were used in the analyses. The findings indicated significant differences based on gender, socio-economic background, and Web experience. The students from higher socio-economic backgrounds indicated significantly higher attitude scores on the self-efficacy subscale of the Web attitude scale. Similarly, the male students indicated significantly higher scores on the self-efficacy subscale than the females. Also, the students with higher Web experience in terms of usage frequency indicated higher scores on all subscales (i.e., self-efficacy, affective, usefulness, Web-based learning). Moreover, the two-way ANOVA results indicated that the student’s PC ownership has significant main effects on their Web attitudes and on the usefulness, self-efficacy, and affective subscales

Metaphors Regarding Teacher, Teaching, Learning, Instructional Material and Evaluation: A Structural Analysis

The aim of this study was to examine the factors explaining prospective teachers’ metaphors regarding the concepts of teacher, teaching, learning, instructional material, and evaluation, and to explore the relationships among these factors. A total of 678 prospective teachers voluntarily participated in the study. Research instruments were developed based on the factors which were described by Tekinarslan and Eren (2011) in relation to the concepts of teacher, teaching, learning, instructional material, and evaluation. In line with the aim of the study, model comparisons were conducted following the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Furthermore, a zero-order correlation analysis was also conducted in order to examine the relationships among the factors which were described through the prospective teachers’ metaphors. The findings of the present study lead to two major conclusions. The first one is that the prospective teachers’ metaphors regarding teacher, teaching, learning, instructional material, and evaluation are significantly described both through cognitive and affective factors regardless of the effects of the demographic variables. Second one is that the factors regarding the mentioned concepts are significantly and positively related to each other. Implications for teacher education and directions for future studies were also discussed in the stud

Türk üniversite öğrencileri arasında problemli internet kullanımı: İnternet etkinlikleri ve demografik özelliklere göre çok boyutlu bir inceleme

 This study investigates the Turkish undergraduate university students’ problematic Internet use (PIU) levels on different dimensions based on demographics (e.g., gender, Internet use by time of day), and Internet activities (e.g., chat, entertainment, social networking, information searching, etc.).Moreover, the study explored some predictors of PIU on different dimensions among the Turkish undergraduate students (N=610). The results indicate that the female students (N=358) had significantly lower PIU levels on all dimensions (i.e., social comfort, loneliness/depression, diminished impulse control and distraction) than those of the males (N=252). Furthermore, the results reveal that the students who use the Internet for entertainment (e.g., game) chat and social networking purposes have significantly higher PIU levels on all dimensions than the students who do not use the Internet for such purposes. However, the students who use the Internet for educational purposes have a significantly lower PIU level on distraction dimension, and the students who use the Internet for information searching demonstrate a significantly lower PIU level on the dimension of diminished impulse control. Moreover, multiple regression analyses reveal that Internet activities such as chat, entertainment and social networking are significant predictors of the all dimensions of PIU.  Bu çalışma lisans düzeyinde öğrenim gören Türk üniversite öğrencilerinin farklı boyutlardaki problemli İnternet kullanım (PİK) seviyelerini demografik özellikleri (cinsiyet, gün içerisinde İnternet kullanım zamanı) ve İnternet etkinliklerine (sohbet, eğlence, sosyal iletişim, bilgi araştırma, vs) göre incelemektedir. Ayrıca,  bu çalışma Türk öğrencileri (N=610) arasında farklı boyutlardaki PİK yordayıcılarını araştırmaktadır. Bulgular kızların (N=358) bütün PİK alt boyutlarında (sosyal destek, yalnızlık-depresyon, azalmış dürtü kontrolü, dikkat dağıtma) erkeklerden (N=252) daha düşük PİK seviyelerine sahip olduklarını göstermektedir. Bununla birlikte, sonuçlar İnterneti eğlence (örn. oyun), sohbet, ve sosyal iletişim amaçlı kullanan öğrencilerin bütün PİK boyutlarında İnterneti bü tür amaçlar için kullanmayan öğrencilerden daha yüksek PİK seviyelerine sahip olduklarını göstermektedir. Fakat, İnterneti eğitimsel amaçlı kullanan öğrenciler dikkat dağıtma alt boyutunda, ve İnterneti bilgi araştırma amaçlı kullanan öğrenciler de azalmış dürtü alt boyutunda daha düşük PİK seviyeleri göstermektedir. Ayrıca, çoklu regresyon analizi sonuçları sohbet, eğlence ve sosyal iletişim gibi İnternet etkinliklerinin bütün alt boyutlarda PİK yardayıcısı olduğunu açıklamaktadır

FATIH Project in Turkey: A Case Analysis

In the 2023 vision strategy, prepared by TUBITAK in Turkey, Information Technology (IT), areas have been designated for target countries and FATIH project started in 2010. In order to achieve the aimed goals, FATIH (Increasing Opportunities and Improving Technology Movement) project consists of five main components. These components establish hardware and software infrastructure, educational e-content preparation and management, effective use of IT in the curriculum, in-service training of teachers, conscious, reliable, manageable and quantifiable IT use. The first component identifies technical infrastructures of school. The second component was created for the provision of education al content which is Education Information Network (EIN). The third component considers training programs. The fourth and fifth components of the effective use of IT by teachers discuss the issue of conscious and reliable Internet use and plan information for the in-service training. This paper presents the first component of the FATIH project and discusses the current situation and future goals of the ongoing project