There is a substantial increase in the use of learning management systems (LMSs) to support teaching and learning activities in higher education institutions. Despite their benefits, students use them to a limited extend due to a number of factors influencing behaviors. This study executed a three-tier use model to examine the predictors of students’ behavioral intention to use LMSs at a two-year post-secondary military school in Turkey, and the participants consisted of 155 students. The data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed through Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses. Results showed that multimedia instruction had a direct influence on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, while interactivity had a direct influence only on perceived satisfaction. Perceived satisfaction was also affected by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Perceived ease of use exerted a direct influence on perceived usefulness, as well. Moreover, perceived usefulness had a great influence on behavioral intention to use LMSs. As a final point, self-efficacy did not take a position in the model due to its insignificant relationships with the other constructs. It is suggested that an increase in the multimedia features and interactivity of the system could lead to higher perceived usefulness and ease of use among learners, and both factors add to learners’ perceived satisfaction which in turn increases their engagement.

Effectively engaging learners in an online learning environment is a crucial component of instructional design that contributes to improving performance. Gamification, a contemporary instructional strategy, seeks to integrate game elements such as leaderboards into non-game contexts with the aim of increasing learner engagement and performance. This quasi-experimental study explores the impact of integrating leaderboards as a gamification element into formative assessment on learner achievement and engagement in an engineering course. Conducted over eight weeks in the Mechatronics Technology Department of a public university in Türkiye, the study involved 159 s-year engineering students. Using a pretest-posttest control group design, the intervention included a pre-test in the first week, six weeks of instruction and formative online assessment, and a post-test in the final week. Analyzing the data using descriptive and inferential statistics, the results of the study show a positive correlation between the incorporation of a leaderboard as a gamification element into formative assessment procedures within an online platform and improved learner achievement and engagement. However, it is noted that gamification may not sustain learners’ long-term attention. Therefore, instructors are advised to carefully consider time and retention concerns when designing or adopting gamified learning opportunities.

Effects Of Students’ Characteristics On Online Learning Readiness: A Vocational College Example

CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF ONLINE LEARNING READINESS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT

Eğitim ortamlarında siber aylaklık davranışı, öğrenme ve disiplin problemleri oluşturmaktadır. Bu araştırmanın amacı eğitim ortamlarındaki siber aylaklığın yordayıcılarını ve nedenlerini ortaya koymaktır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, 124 üniversite öğrencisine Siber Aylaklık Davranışları Ölçeği uygulanmış ve bu davranışları neden gösterdikleri sorulmuştur. Öğrencilerin siber aylaklık düzeylerinin yordayıcılarını belirlemek üzere çoklu doğrusal regresyon analizi yapılmıştır. Siber aylaklık davranışlarının nedenine ilişkin yanıtlara içerik analizi yapılmıştır. Bulgular öğrencilerin ders sırasında paylaşım ve mesajlaşma davranışlarını daha çok gösterdikleri yönündedir. Regresyon analizi sonuçlarına göre; erkek, akıllı telefonu olan, akademik ortalaması düşük olan, internette daha fazla vakit geçiren, kullandığı uygulama sayısı fazla olan bireyler daha çok siber aylaklık davranışı göstermektedir. İçerik analizi sonuçlarına göre, siber aylaklığın en büyük nedeni (%53.3) öğrencilerin öğrenmeye isteksiz olmalarıdır. Telefona bildirim gelmesi ve iletişim kurma istekleri, merak duyguları ve zamanı daha eğlenceli geçirme istekleri de diğer nedenlerdir. Öğretim süreçlerinin daha ilgi çekici biçimde planlanması bu problemin önüne geçilmesinde en önemli çözüm olarak öngörülmektedir.