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Citation - WoS: 1
Gamification in Neurosurgery Education
(Iated-int Assoc Technology Education & development, 2017) Topalli, Damla; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil
Nowadays, gamification is becoming popular as a new form of education in healthcare applications, due to the need of creating more effective educational practices. Educators in healthcare field are currently applying strategies used in popular games to create more engaging learning environments. Studies in the literature show that, creating learning environments by using gamification leads to better improved learning. The main goal of this approach is to increase the motivation of the participant. Accordingly, this study aims to examine the effect of gamification on learning in neurosurgery education. In order to better understand this effect of gamification on learning, a surgical simulation game "Wire Haptic in Dark" is developed in two versions by applying gamification techniques as a part of Endoneurosurgery Education Project (ECE). The scenario is developed in two versions: one containing some gamification attributes and the other one not including any gamification attributes. The gamification version of the scenario is designed by showing the time passed to perform the task successful, the score of the participant on the screen while playing the game and including sounds in case of the collision during the game, whereas the other version is created without sound, time and score information. The experimental results of this study reveal that gamification enhances the performance as well as the motivation of the participant. As motivation increases, participant performance in a given game task becomes more effective. The results of this study aimed to help the surgical educators and the instructional system designers to improve the benefits of using gamification in learning environments for the surgical education programs.
Citation - WoS: 6
Citation - Scopus: 6
Understanding the Effect of Handedness on Both-Handed Task Performance: an Experimental Study Based on a Haptic-Controlled, Simulation-Based Surgical Skill Training Scenario
(Taylor & Francis inc, 2019) Topalli, Damla; Eyuboglu, Burak Gokberk; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil
Understanding the performance on both-handed tasks, such as endoscopic surgery, is critical to better organize and develop appropriate instructional systems to improve the necessary skills of surgeons. However, in the literature, only a limited number of studies have investigated the effect of handedness on both-handed task performance. This study aimed to provide an understanding of the participants' performance differences while performing both-handed tasks through a haptic user interface in a simulated virtual environment specifically developed for surgical training purposes. Twenty-four surgeons attending a medical school in Turkey voluntarily participated in the study. The duration, accuracy, and collision measures were automatically recorded by software. The results revealed that the left-handed participants performed the both-handed tasks (camera: nondominant hand, tool: dominant-hand) in a significantly shorter time than the right-handed participants. This study also showed that haptic-controlled simulation-based surgical skill training systems can potentially provide measures for better understanding the individual behaviors and deliver alternative training environments specific to individual requirements.
Citation - WoS: 3
Citation - Scopus: 3
Online Learning Perceptions Amid Covid-19 Pandemic: the Engineering Undergraduates' Perspective
(Tempus Publications, 2022) Eryilmaz, Meltem; Kalem, Guler; Kilic, Hurevren; Tirkes, Guzin; Topalli, Damla; Turhan, Cigdem; Yazici, Ali; Information Systems Engineering; Computer Engineering; Software Engineering
The COVID-19 pandemic caused face-to-face education in just about all universities worldwide to shift to online education. For most students, this educational model was a compulsory first experience. In this study, the survey results are analyzed and discussed related to a group of students in the Engineering Faculty of a university in Turkey regarding their online education perceptions. Briefly summarized, the findings of the study indicate that: (a) most of the students still prefer face-to-face learning, which is also favored if accompanied by distance learning; (b) the concentration level of the students has dropped due to the concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic which affects their learning negatively; and (c) around half of the students participating in the study feel that the online exams conducted without a secure exam software, is considered unsafe. Additionally, the study's results were further extended to evaluate the questionnaire results and reported along with the suggestions of necessary actions in emergency online learning (EOL).
A User Task Design Notation for Improved Software Design
(Peerj inc, 2021) Ozcan, Eda; Topalli, Damla; Tokdemir, Gul; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil
System design is recognized as one of the most critical components of a software system that bridges system requirements and coding. System design also has a significant impact on testing and maintenance activities, and on further improvements during the lifespan of the software system. Software design should reflect all necessary components of the requirements in a clear and understandable manner by all stakeholders of the software system. To distinguish system elements, separation of concerns in software design is suggested. In this respect, identification of the user tasks, i.e., the tasks that need to be performed by the user, is not currently reflected explicitly in system design documents. Our main assumption in this study is that software quality can be improved significantly by clearly identifying the user tasks from those that need to be performed by the computer system itself. Additionally, what we propose has the potential to better reflect the user requirements and main objectives of the system on the software design and thereby to improve software quality. The main aim of this study is to introduce a novel notation for software developers in the frame of UML Activity Diagram (UML-AD) that enables designers to identify the user tasks and define them separately from the system tasks. For this purpose, an extension of UML-AD, named UML-ADE (UML-Activity Diagram Extended) was proposed. Afterwards, it was implemented in a serious game case for which the specification of user tasks is extremely important. Finally, its effectiveness was analyzed and compared to UML-AD experimentally with 72 participants. The defect detection performance of the participants on both diagrams with two real-life serious game scenarios was evaluated. Results show a higher level of understandability for those using UML-ADE, which in turn may indicate a better design and higher software quality. The results encourage researchers to develop specific design representations dedicated to task design to improve system quality and to conduct further evaluations of the impact of these design on each of the above mentioned potential benefits for the software systems.
Insights for Instructional System Designers by Understanding the Skill Levels of Endoscopic Surgery Education Programs
(Iated-int Assoc Technology Education & development, 2016) Topalli, Damla; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil
As technology enhances, the new techniques for surgical operations are also developed. For instance endoscopic surgery is a new alternative of open surgery when it is possible. In this technique, the surgeon performs the operation by using a camera named as endoscope and special operational tools in order to make the operation by using small enter points. These operations are performed by looking at the video image of the operational field. In order to perform these types of operations, the surgeons are required to gain several skills. Hands-on try-and error type of training is very important to developing such skills which is currently provided in the operating theatre with the real patients. As this type of education has several ethical and safety considerations, new educational approaches are required for the surgery education programs. Today, virtual reality simulation technology addresses most of the problems of endoscopic surgery education. However, integrating this technology into the curriculum of the surgical education programs is critical for improving benefits of this technology. In order to better integrate these environments into the traditional education and training programs, understanding and assessing the skill levels of the trainees is a very critical. By better understanding and measuring the skill levels of surgeons, appropriate instructional systems can be developed and the education programs can be adapted according to the progress of the skill improvements. In the literature, there are several classifications for defining these skill levels. However, the standards and studies for defining and using these skill levels for the surgical education are very limited. In this study, a literature review is conducted to better understand the definitions of skill levels for the surgical education. Additionally, a more standardized and general perspective to improve the benefits of these skill level definitions for the surgical education is provided. The results of this study aimed to help the surgical educators and the instructional system designers to better address these skill levels in their programs and improve the benefits of technology enhanced learning environments for the surgical education programs.
Citation - WoS: 136
Citation - Scopus: 187
Improving Programming Skills in Engineering Education Through Problem-Based Game Projects With Scratch
(Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, 2018) Topalli, Damla; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil
Nowadays, programming skills are receiving widespread attention for different age groups alongside occupational education programs to better prepare individuals for their future careers. However, introducing programming concepts in an appropriate manner is a challenge in higher education. The main assumption of this study is that enhancing the classical introduction to programming courses through real-life problem-based game development with Scratch programming environment potentially improves the learners' programming skills and motivation. Accordingly, in this study, during one academic semester period, the Introduction to Programming course for engineering students is enriched up to a certain level through real-life game development projects with Scratch. The students are followed within a four-year period starting from freshman until their graduation. The progress of the students who have taken the Introduction to Programming course in enriched or classical form in the fourth year Senior-project course are evaluated. The results show that by slightly improving the course curriculum through real-life game development projects in the Scratch environment, students' performance on the graduation projects improved significantly. As a conclusion, game-based learning, problem-based learning, visual programming and projects are technologies that can potentially help learners to perform better in the introduction to programming course, in turn affecting their performances in projects.
Citation - WoS: 1
Neuronavigation Systems and Passive Usage Problem
(Ieee, 2015) Cagiltay, Nergiz; Topalli, Damla; Borcek, Alp Ozgun; Tokdemir, Gul; Maras, Hakan; Tonbul, Gokcen; Aydin, Elif
Nowadays, neuronavigation systems are used in brain surgery procedures, known as a technology to help the surgeon during the operational period. However, the surgeons have faced several problems with the existing systems. Some of these problems are related to the systems software and user interfaces. In this study, such problems are examined and the "Passive Usage" term is added to the literature by establishing a connection between the problems of endoscopic surgical procedures and similar issues occurred in other domains. The passive usage problem is generalized on different domains for the first time with this study. The results of the study expected to gather up the similar passive usage problems experienced in different domains. Accordingly, the methodologies and studies that are conducted in different research areas may lead to eliminate the Passive Usage problems efficiently.
Citation - WoS: 8
Eye-Hand Coordination Patterns of Intermediate and Novice Surgeons in a Simulation-Based Endoscopic Surgery Training Environment
(int Group Eye Movement Research, 2018) Topalli, Damla; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil
Endoscopic surgery procedures require specific skills, such as eye-hand coordination to be developed. Current education programs are facing with problems to provide appropriate skill improvement and assessment methods in this field. This study aims to propose objective metrics for hand-movement skills and assess eye-hand coordination. An experimental study is conducted with 15 surgical residents to test the newly proposed measures. Two computer-based both-handed endoscopic surgery practice scenarios are developed in a simulation environment to gather the participants' eye-gaze data with the help of an eye tracker as well as the related hand movement data through haptic interfaces. Additionally, participants' eye-hand coordination skills are analyzed. The results indicate higher correlations in the intermediates' eye-hand movements compared to the novices. An increase in intermediates' visual concentration leads to smoother hand movements. Similarly, the novices' hand movements are shown to remain at a standstill. After the first round of practice, all participants' eye-hand coordination skills are improved on the specific task targeted in this study. According to these results, it can be concluded that the proposed metrics can potentially provide some additional insights about trainees' eye-hand coordination skills and help instructional system designers to better address training requirements.
Simulation Based Surgical Education Programs and Hand Performance
(Ieee, 2015) Eyuboglu, Burak Gokberk; Topallı, Damla; Topalli, Damla; Çağıltay, Nergiz; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil; Tonbul, Gokcen; Topallı, Damla; Çağıltay, Nergiz; Information Systems Engineering; Software Engineering; Information Systems Engineering; Software Engineering
The performance of the left-and right-hands of a person may be different from each other. In general, people use one hand with a superior performance compared to the other hand where that hand is preferred for performing daily activities. It is critical to understand their preference for right or left hand use, especially in cases where the skills should be improved to use both hands precisely in activities required special abilities such as endoscopic surgical operations. A better understanding of these cases will improve the quality of existing surgical education programs, and make a major contribution specifically in designing, improving and managing of simulation-based instructional technologies. In this study, the right-and left-hand preferences (handedness) of people are analyzed from the literature and a simulation-based experimental study is conducted in order to examine the performance differences of the participants while using their right and left hands. The results of this study aimed to guide the curriculum designers and instructional system developers for better designing and developing simulation-based surgical education programs.
Citation - WoS: 7
Citation - Scopus: 7
Classification of Intermediate and Novice Surgeons' Skill Assessment Through Performance Metrics
(Sage Publications inc, 2019) Topalli, Damla; Cagiltay, Nergiz Ercil
Background. Endoscopic surgeries have become an alternative for open procedures whenever possible. For such types of operations, surgeons are required to gain several skills, whose development needs hands-on practice. Accordingly, gaining these skills today is a challenge for surgical education programs. Despite the development of several technology-enhanced training environments, there are still problems to better integrate these technologies into educational programs. For an appropriate integration, it is critical to assess the skill levels and adapt the training content according to the trainees' requirements. In the literature, there exist several methods for assessing these skill levels. However, there are still problems in practice for objective and repetitive assessment. Methods. The present study aims to estimate the skill levels of participants in surgical training programs in an objective manner by collecting experimental data from residents in an endoscopic surgical simulation environment and gathering performance metrics. Results. It is shown that, by comparing the results of a number of classification algorithms for the best accuracy estimation and feature set, the "novice" and "intermediate" skill levels can be estimated with an accuracy of 86%. Conclusions. The outcomes help surgical educators and instructional system designers to better assess the skill levels of the trainees and guide them accordingly. In addition, objective assessments as highlighted in this study can be beneficial when designing technology-enhanced adaptive learning environments.

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