Browsing by Author "Cagiltay, Kursat"

Now showing 1 - 13 of 13

Citation - WoS: 21
Citation - Scopus: 31
An Analysis of Course Characteristics, Learner Characteristics, and Certification Rates in MITx MOOCs
(Athabasca Univ Press, 2020) Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Cagiltay, Kursat; Celik, Berkan; Software Engineering; Software Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), capable of providing free (or low cost) courses for millions of learners anytime and anywhere, have gained the attention of researchers, educational institutions, and learners worldwide. Even though they provide several benefits, there are still some criticisms of MOOCs. For instance, MOOCs' high dropout rates or predominantly elite participation are considered to be important problems. In order to develop solutions for these problems, a deeper understanding of MOOCs is required. Today, despite the availability of several research studies about MOOCs, there is a shortage of in-depth research on course characteristics, learner characteristics, and predictors of certification rates. This study examined MOOC and learner characteristics in detail and explored the predictors of course certification rates based on data from 122 Massachusetts Institute of Technology MOOCs (MITx) on edX platform as well as data about the 2.8 million participants registered in these MOOCs. The results indicated that as the number of courses offered and the number of learners enrolled increased in years, there was a decrease in the certification rates among enrolled learners. According to our results, the number of average chapters completed, total forum messages, and mean age predicted course certification rates positively. On the other hand, the total number of chapters in a course predicted the course certification rates negatively. Based on these results, shorter and more interactive MOOCs are recommended by considering the needs of the learners, course content design, and strategies encouraging the enrolled students to enter the courses.
Citation - WoS: 16
Citation - Scopus: 27
Design and Development of a Smart Storytelling Toy
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2014) Kara, Nuri; Aydin, Cansu Cigdem; Cagiltay, Kursat; Computer Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Because computers generally make children passive listeners, new technological devices need to support children's storytelling activities. This article introduces the StoryTech, a smart toy that includes a virtual space comprised of computer-based graphics and characters as well as a real space that involves stuffed animals, background cards and a receiver panel. When children put real objects on the receiver panel, the computer displays related backgrounds and characters. Through this flexible context, children are expected to tell a story about what they see on the screen. The aim of this article is to present the development period of the StoryTech and to provide design principles for smart toy technologies based on the usability study. The article focuses on attributes of new technology and the significance of supporting storytelling activities to find the best combination of and moderation between real and virtual spaces.
Citation - WoS: 10
Citation - Scopus: 19
Effectiveness of Smart Toy Applications in Teaching Children With Intellectual Disability
(Elsevier, 2018) Ekin, Cansu C.; Cagiltay, Kursat; Karasu, Necdet; Computer Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Play is an important element in a child's social and intellectual development and toys are indispensable play tools. This study investigates the effectiveness of smart toys in teaching social studies concepts to children with intellectual disability (ID). A single-subject design is used to identify such effects on teaching social studies concepts to children with ID with the help of smart toys developed within this study. The smart toys are also developed within the scope of present work. Three special education teachers and three children with moderate ID participated in the study, which was carried out in two schools in Turkey. According to the results, smart toys have a positive effect in teaching social studies concepts to children with moderate ID which is significant in development of academic and social skills for individuals with ID.
Citation - WoS: 1
Citation - Scopus: 4
Exploring Mooc Learners' Behavioural Patterns Considering Age, Gender and Number of Course Enrolments: Insights for Improving Educational Opportunities
(int Council Open & Distance Education, 2024) Cagiltay, Nergiz ercil; Toker, Sacip; Cagiltay, Kursat; Information Systems Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) now offer a variety of options for everyone to obtain a high -quality education. The purpose of this study is to better understand the behaviours of MOOC learners and provide some insights for taking actions that benefit larger learner groups. Accordingly, 2,288,559 learners' behaviours on 174 MITx courses were analysed. The results show that MOOCs are more attractive to the elderly, male, and highly educated groups of learners. Learners' performance improves as they register for more courses and improve their skills and experiences on MOOCs. The findings suggest that, in the long run, learners' adaptation to MOOCs will significantly improve the potential benefits of the MOOCs. Hence, MOOCs should continue by better understanding their learners and providing alternative instructional designs by considering different learner groups. MOOC providers' decision -makers may take these findings into account when making operational decisions.
Citation - WoS: 4
Citation - Scopus: 10
Exploring the Influence of Countries' Economic Conditions on Massive Open Online Course (Mooc) Participation: a Study of 3.5 Million Mitx Learners
(Athabasca Univ Press, 2023) Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Toker, Sacip; Cagiltay, Kursat; Information Systems Engineering; Software Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
It is well known that there are disparities in access to education around the world, with developed countries generally having better educational resources and opportunities compared to developing countries. Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have been proposed as a way to bridge this gap by providing free or low-cost online education to anyone with an Internet connection. This study aimed to better understand the effects of location, both country and region, on the use of MOOCs, using data from 3.5 million learners who registered for MOOCs offered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The data set provided a broad picture of how MOOCs are being used around the globe. The results of the study indicated significant differences in the use of MOOCs among students from different countries and their corresponding economic levels. In order to address these differences and improve access to education through MOOCs, the study suggested several actions that could be taken. These include providing better infrastructure and support for MOOC learners in developing countries, increasing awareness of and access to MOOCs in these regions, and working to improve the quality and relevance of MOOC offerings. Overall, the study highlighted the potential of MOOCs to bridge the educational gap between developed and developing countries, but also emphasized the need for continued efforts to remove barriers and improve access to these resources.
Citation - WoS: 153
Citation - Scopus: 185
An Eye-Tracking Study of How Color Coding Affects Multimedia Learning
(Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, 2009) Ozcelik, Erol; Karakus, Turkan; Kursun, Engin; Cagiltay, Kursat; Computer Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Color coding has been proposed to promote more effective learning. However, insufficient evidence currently exists to show how color coding leads to better learning. The goal of this study was to investigate the underlying cause of the color coding effect by utilizing eye movement data. Fifty-two participants studied either a color-coded or conventional format of multimedia instruction. Eye movement data were collected during the study. The results indicate that color coding increased retention and transfer performance. Enhancement of learning by color coding was due to efficiency of locating corresponding information between illustration and text. Color coding also attracted attention of learners to perceptually salient information. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Citation - WoS: 28
Citation - Scopus: 36
Investigating the Activities of Children Toward a Smart Storytelling Toy
(Natl Yunlin Univ Science & Technology, Taiwan, 2013) Kara, Nuri; Aydin, Cansu Cigdem; Cagiltay, Kursat; Computer Engineering; Computer Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
This paper introduces StoryTech, a smart storytelling toy that features a virtual space, which includes computer-based graphics and characters, and a real space, which includes plush toys, background cards, and a communication interface. When children put real objects on the receiver panel, the computer program shows related backgrounds and characters on the screen. StoryTech encourages children to produce their own stories. Empirical research with a total of 90 children indicated that StoryTech contributed to narrative activities of children and made a positive impact on their creativity. The paper also focuses on the attributes, design, and development process of StoryTech.
Citation - WoS: 71
Citation - Scopus: 92
Mapping Human-Computer Interaction Research Themes and Trends From Its Existence To Today: a Topic Modeling-Based Review of Past 60 Years
(Taylor & Francis inc, 2021) Gurcan, Fatih; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Cagiltay, Kursat; Software Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
As it covers a wide spectrum, the research literature of human-computer interaction (HCI) studies has a rich and multi-disciplinary content where there are limited studies demonstrating the big picture of the field. Such an analysis provides researchers with a better understanding of the field, revealing current issues, challenges, and potential research gaps. This study aims to explore the research trends in the developmental stages of the HCI studies over the past 60 years. Automated text mining with probabilistic topic modeling has been used to analyze 41,720 journal articles that are indexed by the SCOPUS database between 1957 and 2018. The results of this study reveal 21 major topics mapping the research landscape of HCI. By extending the discovered topics beyond a snapshot, the topics were analyzed considering their developmental stages, volume, and accelerations to provide a panoramic view that shows the increase and decrease of trends over time. In this context, the transition of HCI studies from machine-oriented systems to human-oriented systems indicates its future direction toward context-aware adaptive systems.
Moocs and Economic Disadvantage: a Path Analysis of 3.5 Million Mitx Learners
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2025) Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Toker, Sacip; Cagiltay, Kursat; Information Systems Engineering; Software Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) are offered by universities and companies to provide quality education to anyone, anyplace and at any time. The impact of economic disadvantage on these courses has not been fully explored despite several studies. This study aimed to investigate the impact of country's income level on the success of 3,523,692 learners from 204 countries enrolled in 174 MITx MOOCs. The countries were classified as low- and lower-middle-income (L&LM) or high- and upper-middle-income (H&UM). A structural equation modelling with multigroup analysis conducted. The findings revealed that learners in the L&LM group performed better academically. Completion rates were 66% for L&LM and 25% for H&UM, and certification rates were 95% for L&LM and 99% for H&UM. This shows that L&LM learners may be more motivated because they believe MOOCs might help their careers. These results are essential for creating MOOCs that fit diverse learner demographics.
Citation - WoS: 9
Citation - Scopus: 16
Student Engagement Research Trends of Past 10 Years: a Machine Learning-Based Analysis of 42,000 Research Articles
(Springer, 2023) Gurcan, Fatih; Erdogdu, Fatih; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Cagiltay, Kursat; Software Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Student engagement is critical for both academic achievement and learner satisfaction because it promotes successful learning outcomes. Despite its importance in various learning environments, research into the trends and themes of student engagement is scarce. In this regard, topic modeling, a machine learning technique, allows for the analysis of large amounts of content in any field. Thus, topic modeling provides a systematic methodology for identifying research themes, trends, and application areas in a comprehensive framework. In the literature, there is a lack of topic modeling-based studies that analyze the holistic landscape of student engagement research. Such research is important for identifying wide-ranging topics and trends in the field and guiding researchers and educators. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze student engagement research using a topic modeling approach and to reveal research interests and trends with their temporal development, thereby addressing a lack of research in this area. To this end, this study analyzed 42,517 peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2010 to 2019 using machine learning techniques. According to our findings, two new dimensions, "Community Engagement" and "School Engagement", were identified in addition to the existing ones. It is also envisaged that the next period of research and applications in student engagement will focus on the motivation-oriented tools and methods, dimensions of student engagement, such as social and behavioral engagement, and specific learning contexts such as English as a Foreign Language "EFL" and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math "STEM".
Citation - WoS: 7
Citation - Scopus: 8
Usability Study of a Smart Toy on Students With Intellectual Disabilities
(Elsevier, 2018) Ekin, Cansu Cigdem; Cagiltay, Kursat; Karasu, Necdet; Computer Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
This paper introduces a smart toy (SmartAnimals) which provides a mixed reality environment for children with intellectual disabilities. SmartAnimals includes a virtual space including computer based animations, sounds and characters, and a real space including plastic toys, and a receiver panel. SmartAnimals with a flexible context leads children to learn daily life concepts easily. To test usability of SmartAnimals, an empirical study was carried out with 6 children having intellectual disability (ID) and four special education teachers. The findings indicated that smart toys could be beneficial for children with ID especially who have limited concentration. It enables children with easy and fast learning. Smart toys also affect children's performance in a positive way while learning cognitive concepts.
Citation - WoS: 4
Citation - Scopus: 14
User Study of a New Smart Toy for Children's Storytelling
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2014) Kara, Nuri; Aydin, Cansu Cigdem; Cagiltay, Kursat; Computer Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
This article introduces StoryTech, a smart storytelling toy that offers children a mixed reality environment in which to tell imaginative stories. During usability testing, an empirical study was carried out with 90 child participants. The findings indicated that StoryTech creates a rich storytelling experience, especially for ages five and six.
Citation - WoS: 202
Citation - Scopus: 231
Why Does Signaling Enhance Multimedia Learning? Evidence From Eye Movements
(Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, 2010) Ozcelik, Erol; Arslan-Ari, Ismahan; Cagiltay, Kursat; Computer Engineering; 06. School Of Engineering; 01. Atılım University
Previous studies have suggested that signaling enhances multimedia learning. However, there is not enough evidence showing why signaling leads to better performance. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of signaling on learning outcomes and to reveal the underlying reasons for this effect by using eye movement measures. The participants were 40 undergraduate students who were presented with either signaled or nonsignaled multimedia materials. Labels in the illustration were signaled by temporarily changing the color of the items. The results suggest that the signaled group outperformed the nonsignaled group on transfer and matching tests. Eye movement data shows that signaling guided attention to relevant information and improved the efficiency and effectiveness of finding necessary information. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.