Browsing by Author "Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü"

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Colibri: An international blended learning experience based on real-world problems
(University of Minho, 2016) Pedersen, Jens M.; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü; Frick, Jan; Mank, Lea; 0000-0001-8742-2799; AGÜ, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bölümü; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü
Colibri is a European project funded by Erasmus+, where seven universities, a governmental organisation and two enterprises work together and explore new and innovative approaches to teaching. As part of the project we offer a joint course during the spring semester which was followed by 30 students in 2015. It contains both course and project activities. In this paper we describe our experiences from the project work, from the initial formulation of the project problems by the companies, over the organisation of the seminars and virtual collaboration phase to the final exams. The whole course was organised as follows: First there was a virtual kick-off meeting for all students and teachers. This was followed by a phase where students studied different modules online. Each student chooses an individual combination of modules that fits his/her background while also supporting the later project work. After the online modules, the students and teachers all meet physically for a week in Istanbul to finalize the modules and begin working on the real life projects provided by the enterprises. Then there was a period of virtual collaboration in the groups followed by the final seminar in Riga where everyone (students, teachers, and company representatives) met to finalize the projects, prepare for presentations/exams, and conduct examinations. Overall, the project was successful and received positive evaluations from the students, particularly regarding the international and interdisciplinary dimensions. On the other hand, we also learned how important it is to facilitate the collaboration, group work, and project planning during the first physical seminar. We found that it is both challenging and important to be very explicit about what exactly is expected from the students, as both students and supervisors have differing understandings of what a project is. Discussing the learning objectives with the students to obtain a common understanding can be a useful tool.
History-themed games in history education: Experiences on a blended world history course
(IEEE/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2018) Kuran, Mehmet Sükrü; Tozoğlu, Ahmet Erden; Tavernari, Cinzia; 0000-0001-8742-2799; AGÜ, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bölümü; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü; Tozoğlu, Ahmet Erden
In this paper we explain our experiences and observations on a blended world history course which combines classical lecture and discussion elements as well as video game sessions in which the students play strategy video games with heavy historical focus. The course, named Playing with The Past, is designed to experiment on how to integrate video games on teaching history especially in order to achieve a higher understanding of the contemporary social, political, economical, and technological context of a given era for a given nation. We ran the course four times between 2015-2018 with different video game titles having different historical models and observe the experiences and learning of students based on the quality of their written essays and articles. Our experiments and observations could be beneficial not only for the design of a general world history course, but also for a history course on specific periods, cultures, and nations.
International student projects in a blended setting: How to facilitate problem based project work
(University of Minho, 2018) Pedersen, Jens Myrup; Elsner, Raphael; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü; Prikulis, Lauris; Zabludowski, Lukasz; 0000-0001-8742-2799; AGÜ, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bölümü; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü
his paper describes our experiences with facilitating international student projects during three years of the Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership COLIBRI (Collaboration and Innovation for Better, Personalized and IT-Supported Teaching). Each year 7-8 student projects were carried out in groups of 3-5 students from different European universities, with different backgrounds from business and engineering. Each year new students were selected for participation. The student projects carried out were based on real-life problems from companies, and each group was assigned both an academic supervisor from one of the seven participating universities and an academic supervisor from one of the three participating companies. The projects were based on a combination of physical mobility and virtual mobility: The students would meet for one week at the beginning of the project work, then work together virtually for around 2-3 months, and then meet again for a week where the projects were finalised and evaluated. This setup is challenging: The students do not know each other beforehand, most of the students are not familiar with problem based projects and collaboration with industry, the students represent both different educational traditions and disciplines, and the virtual collaboration is by itself challenging. The project was carried out in three cycles, where for each cycle we systematically evaluated the previous experience and adapted our approach to e.g. project descriptions, seminar organisations, elements to support the students in the project work, and project supervision. Based on our evaluations, we see that each year student satisfaction was increased, and at the same time both companies and students reported improved learning outcome and project results. The last year a survey was made for the students to evaluate the support from different elements such as online modules, introduction to project work, instructions of expected outcome, templates, and supervision during both physical and virtual collaboration phases. We conclude that such international and interdisciplinary projects can be very rewarding, but also that careful planning and implementation is needed to achieve the full potential.
Learning management systems on blended learning courses: An experience-based observation
(SPRINGER, 2018) Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü; Pedersen, Jens Myrup; Elsner, Raphael; 0000-0001-8742-2799; AGÜ, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bölümü; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü
This paper gives an overview of Learning Management System (LMS) features based on observations on a blended learning course under the Erasmus+ project COLIBRI. We explain the main features of LMSes under two main categories: accessibility content-related and underline the capabilities of four LMSes, Moodle, Blackboard Learn, Canvas, and Stud.IP with respect to these. We explain how these features were utilized to increase the efficiency, tractability, and quality of experience of the course. We found that an LMS with advanced features such as progress tracking, modular course support, interactive content support, and content access restriction is of paramount importance for blended learning courses.
Moodle: Practical advices for university teachers
(SPRINGER, 2018) Pedersen, Jens Myrup; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü; 0000-0001-8742-2799; AGÜ, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bölümü; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü
Moodle is a widely used Learning Management System, with a market share of 20% in the US/Canada and 65% in Europe. However, it is our experience that the system is too often used just as a website or repository for classical teaching material such as literature references, slides and problems for students to solve after the lectures, and that the fully potential of the platform is not exploited. In this paper we demonstrate some of the functionalities that university teachers can make use of to increase the learning experience of the students. For each of the features we demonstrate, we both show how it can be used, and give some didactic considerations. We have tested all of the presented features ourself in a blended learning course carried out as part of an Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership.
Opportunities and challenges in designing a blended international student project activity: Experiences from the EPIC project
(IEEE/Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., 2018) Pedersen, Jens Myrup; Van Hattum-Janssen, Natascha; Pareta, Josep Sole; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü; 0000-0001-8742-2799; 0000-0002-9411-6308; 0000-0002-2373-191X; AGÜ, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Bilgisayar Mühendisliği Bölümü; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü
In this paper we explain our experiences and observations on a blended international teaching/training student project activity designed for students of different academic levels and programs at different universities working together on a project given by an industrial partner. This project activity is designed based on the EPIC project, funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Commission, which aims to provide a framework for carrying out multi-cultural and multidisciplinary student projects for increasing employability in an international job market.
"What if you are a medieval monarch?": A Crusader Kings III experience to learn medieval history
(De Gruyter, 2022) Tozoğlu, Ahmet Erdem; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü; 0000-0002-8434-7882; 0000-0001-8742-2799; AGÜ, Mimarlık Fakültesi, Mimarlık Bölümü; Tozoğlu, Ahmet Erdem; Kuran, Mehmet Şükrü
This chapter is about the authors' experiences and observations on a blended world history course that combines classical lecture and discussion components of teaching with video game sessions. The students play strategy video games with a heavy historical focus. The course, named Playing with The Past, is designed to experiment on how to integrate video games on teaching history, especially in order to achieve a higher understanding of the contemporary social, political, economic, and technological context of a given era for different cultures and civilizations. This chapter presents the utilization of Crusader Kings, a renowned grand strategy game series, to teach medieval history, which constitutes an integral part of our course. It also examines how the game provides advantages for an immersive learning environment and how it fails to model medieval history at specific points. Our experiments and observations may be beneficial for designing a general world history course and any history course on specific periods, cultures, and nations that aims to utilize alternative tools to deliver a course.