In a period of global change and transformation in all areas of life, our university, which has broken new ground in distance educationby rapidly realizing digitalization, synthesizes both physical and digital education in the most effective way in its campuses in Üsküdar, the heart of Istanbul, and opens the doors to a brand new understanding in higher education.
WHAT IS A DIGITAL UNIVERSITY?
Üsküdar University, which offers uninterrupted distance education opportunities to its students during the pandemic process thanks to its robust technological infrastructure, is stepping into a brand new era with the concept of "Fi-Digital University".
Üsküdar University management, academic and administrative staff published the "Fi-digitalization Manifesto", synthesizing both physical and digital education in the most effective way, emphasizing its belief that "Distance education will be distance education, but education will not be distance education".
DISTANCE EDUCATION
Whether we call it virtual education, electronic education, virtual education, online education, online education or distance education, the forced change and transformation in pandemic conditions has made distance education the dominant approach.
So, what is distance education? How is it different from regular education? What are the advantages of distance education? Is distance university education possible? How is distance education done? It is possible to find answers to all these questions and more at Üsküdar University, which broke new ground in distance education by rapidly realizing digitalization in the process.
Unlike traditional education management where students and instructors are in the same environment, distance education is a term that describes an education system where the instructor and the student are not in the same place.
Distance education actually has a much older history than is commonly believed. Education by letter, which emerged in the first quarter of the 1700s, is seen as the first example of distance education. In this period, instructors would deliver lectures through letters, while students would write letters to ask questions they had in mind, did not understand or were curious about. In the first quarter of the 1900s, distance education became mass with the widespread use of radio and then television. The educational material transmitted from a single center could be followed by many students at the same time. However, students had to submit their questions about the courses they followed in writing by mail, as in the past. With the emergence of open universities in the 1960s, this form of distance education took a more academic form. The emergence of teleconferencing technologies in the 1980s brought distance education into a mutual communication process. In the 1990s, in line with the developments in information and communication technologies, distance education activities turned into online education with the widespread use of personal computers, internet networks and cell phones.
HOW IS DISTANCE EDUCATION DONE?
During the coronavirus pandemic, which has effects all over the world, the Council of Higher Education (YÖK) announced that education cannot be continued with traditional methods and introduced distance education and digital learning opportunities in 2019. In this process, Üsküdar University offered many opportunities for distance education to its students in order not to disrupt their education. Üsküdar University associate, undergraduate and graduate students, who continued their education without interruption, followed distance education courses provided through different digital applications. Üsküdar University students came together with academicians in distance education with ALMS interface. Üsküdar University supported its students with the Zoom program as well as the ALMS program for distance education. STIX, developed by Üsküdar University Software Planning Unit, allowed students who could not attend the class to access and watch the lecture video. Üsküdar University, which started distance education in order not to interrupt the education of its students, broadcasted the courses of all faculties, Vocational School of Health Services and institutes live on ÜÜ TV 6 days a week within the framework of the program prepared.
ONLINE UNIVERSITY
Unlike traditional education models, the student is at the center of online university education. Unlike traditional education, which is based on learning everything during the lecture, in the online university system, the student can follow the lectures without being bound by time and space.
With this feature, students who want to learn a subject can watch the relevant course material as many times as they want. Thanks to the synchronous lecture model, students can ask questions to instructors in online university classes just like in traditional universities. They can learn the answers to their questions instantly.
ONLINE UNIVERSITY
Online education is an interdisciplinary field in educational sciences. It uses different technologies in order to eliminate the limitations experienced due to the fact that instructors and students, and sometimes even learning resources, are not in the same place and are far away from each other. For this reason, the concept of distance education has emerged as an umbrella concept and has been used to characterize concepts such as correspondence learning, tele-learning, electronic learning, mobile learning, online learning, flexible learning. Often the concepts of distance education and open and distance learning are used interchangeably. Today, the most common form is the one used with computers and online technologies and is referred to as online education.
In 1982, with the establishment of Anadolu University, a brand new step was taken in the distance education process. The Open Education Faculty operating under Anadolu University was an educational project whose courses were given by mass media (internet, radio, television) and academic counseling centers in various cities, and exams were held twice a year (midterm, final).
Due to the coronavirus pandemic and in accordance with the decision taken by YÖK, in 2020, digital, distance and open education was started in all higher education institutions in our country.
HOW TO DO ONLINE COURSES?
Although there are many different models of distance education, online courses can be held with three different methods determined by the educational institutions themselves:
- Synchronous (Simultaneous) Courses: It is a model in which instructors and students come together at the same time in virtual classrooms created with the support of Internet technologies and the teaching activity is carried out face-to-face, just like in traditional education.
- Asynchronous (Separate Time) Courses: This is a model in which various teaching materials such as textbooks, video and audio files are made available to students in advance, so that they can learn individually at their own pace and at their own time.
- Hybrid (Mixed) Lessons: This is a model in which simultaneous and separate courses are implemented together in the same education program. In this model, some of the lessons can be followed synchronously and some asynchronously.
ONLINE EXAM
In online education, just like in courses, exams can be held in different methods determined by the educational institutions themselves.
- Although the education is online, the exams can be held at predetermined dates and venues.
- All exams can be taken orally over the internet on the specified dates.
- Instead of exams, students can prepare homework assignments to be evaluated instead of exams, in which they will convey what they have learned within the lessons.
- Students can take online multiple-choice exams on specified dates.
DIGITAL UNIVERSITY IS COMING TO LIFE IN ÜSKÜDAR
Üsküdar University, which offers uninterrupted distance education opportunities to its students thanks to its robust technological infrastructure during the pandemic process, is realizing the concept of "fi-digital university". Üsküdar University management, academic and administrative staff published a "Fi-digitalization Manifesto". In the 10-article manifesto, it was emphasized that both physical and digital education will be synthesized in the most effective way and the concept of "Fi-digital University" will be implemented and it was stated that "We believe that distance education will be distance education but education will not be distance education".
Üsküdar University management, academic and administrative staff published a "Fi-digitalization Manifesto" under the title "New Normals, New Answers". The 10-article manifesto is as follows:
1. Within the framework of the concept of "new university", we will structure all the opportunities offered by digitalization to contribute to the development of our students in order to create a culture that will equip our students with the skills they will need in the future.
2. In this context, we will synthesize both physical and digital education in the most effective way and realize the concept of "Fi-Digital University". We believe that distance education will be possible, but education will not be remote.
3. In a digitalizing world, we will design our education and training life in a dynamic, result-oriented and flexible way, being aware of the importance of human skills and the ability of analysis that will enable the processing of increasingly emerging data.
4. We will be agents of a more liberal, democratic and participatory approach to governance to foster creative and innovative thinking and support intellectual production.
5. In addition to teaching, we will demonstrate positive leadership in a low-intensity hierarchical environment with senior and experienced scientists, personalized courses and developmental supplementary programs for our students, guiding our students in the road maps they will create for themselves.
6. We will ensure that every student receives an internationally recognized diploma as well as digital certificates through a pool of programs.
7. We will enable a balanced campus life with advanced, motivating online course environments, where socialization is at the forefront and projects are produced with experienced academics. We are aware that applied sciences are not only science but also art. We care about master-apprentice cooperation at the university.
8. We will continuously invest in enriching course content with virtual and augmented reality applications and solutions offered by artificial intelligence.
9. We will open to the development and service of our students a research environment based on easy access to international resources with our expanded e-library, where our own human resources are blended with scientists who are experts in their fields, leading the world with their new generation studies.
10. In preparing our students for the future, we will strengthen our counseling structure for their motivation and concentration, and we will be a university that adapts easily to the environment of uncertainty and is integrated with the world we live in so that our students can have an experience that will contribute to society.