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| | PRINT | | Turkey's eLearning Future |
 Istanbul, January 2005 - Distance education, whether delivered online or in real time, has become one of the most significant growth areas in higher education. Major academic institutions around the world are investing human and economic resources into developing high-quality distance learning programs. In Turkey, web-based teaching is a fairly new experiment. At the Istanbul Technical University (ITU), the first distance learning center was established in 1996. Web-based distance teaching projects have recently become an integral part of the ITU educational system. Joscha Remus (for Checkpoint eLearning) spoke in Istanbul with Mustafa Sahin from the ITU Distance Learning Center about the effects of distance education on the overall quality of the education in Turkey.
What are the challenges, opportunities and benefits of cooperative distance learning in Turkey?
Mustafa Sahin: First I have to say that the enthusiasm for the Internet in Turkey is very high. The number of Internet users has increased about ten times in the last three years from 450,000 to more than five million. Distance education, on the other hand, whether delivered online or in real time, for example as videoconferencing, has become one of the most significant growth areas among our higher education activities. The newest distance learning projects will allow Turkey to educate more of its students within the country who would otherwise have had to seek degrees from less reputable instituitions elsewhere. The students who enroll in these projects will be able to study both at home and elsewhere - even while abroad - and they will be able to use the means of technology-based education even more intensely than those in conventional programs.
Which kind of distance learning degrees will the Technical University in Istanbul offer in the near future?
Mustafa Sahin: The ITU will be offering degree programs in Applied Science and Engineering, wherein on-ground courses will be delivered in either synchronous or asynchronous modes to remote ITU centers across the country. Certificate courses and engineering education programs designed specifically for industry are also planned on a non-degree basis via this modality. Developing nation-wide, web-based, free distance learning programs on popular subjects for the general public is also contained in the ITU’s near-term vision of distance learning.
How high is the acceptance of eLearning at Turkish Universities?
Mustafa Sahin: Continous distance learning has been somewhat neglected by most of the Turkish universities, including the Istanbul Technical Universities. This perception, however, has changed in the recent years, so that the advancement of high-tech course delivery methods has become a driving force behind the change in education. Also the social pressure on universities and research insititutions to put scientific information in the public domain is very intense in Turkey. The country has the pressing need for higher quality educational opportunities, and the collaborative distance learning projects represent a major step forward towards this need.
Will the ITU also broadcast seminars in foreign countries in the future?
Mustafa Sahin: Yes, the ITU will also broadcast lectures, seminars, conferences, language lessons, and education programs to some universities in Western and Central Asia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, Macedonia, Croatia and to Eastern Europe in either live and semi-interactive or non-interactive modes.
Which role will the Turkish distance learning projects play in the collaboration with the European Community?
Mustafa Sahin: Today’s media, the commercial print media, broadcast, cable and the Internet are among the most important institutions for shaping and sustaining the public and political spheres. Distance learning, too, is on the agenda for promoting or impeding democracy. Turkey is on a very good path and is obviously not in a very different phase of development than the rest of Europe. Although some of our distance learning programs have not yet started, we believe that when they do, they are going to attract good students from all over Europe and will provide them with strong educational credentials upon graduation. |
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