Our university's Distance Education Application and Research Center (GUZEM) organized the "2022-2023 Academic Year Education Program for Educators and Students". On the first day of the training moderated by GUZEM Instructor Dr. Ebru Solmaz, speakers including Ozan Sönmez, Advancity Product Manager, Murat Orak, Advancity Product Manager, Dr. Esma Aybike Bayır from our university's Department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Education, and GUZEM Instructor Gizem Yıldız participated. On the second day of the event, Instructor Dr. Ebru Solmaz gave a presentation on "Instructor Roles in Distance Education and the Use of Learning Management Systems," Dr. Seher Özcan spoke on "The Role of Students in Distance Education and the Use of Learning Management Systems," and Instructor Dr. Ahmet Çelik gave a presentation on "Designing Online Content."

Advancity Product Manager Murat Orak discussed how online education will be conducted in his presentation titled "ALMS+ Learning Management System and Innovations". Orak provided information on how teachers and students will communicate in the online system, and also discussed how teachers can create homework activities through GUZEM, how students can upload files to homework activities, how to access lessons, and the grading system.

Murat Orak indicated that the Perculus application was used via the virtual classroom connection and that lessons were conducted remotely in this way. He said that teachers can track students' entry to classes or watching of class replays, as well as their statistics.

Murat Orak also introduced the ALMS Plus and Kampüs365 new mobile application. He stated that this mobile application will take online education to a more advanced level and emphasized that the main purpose is to strengthen communication. Murat Orak provided information about the usage of ALMS+ and Kampüs365 applications.

Advancity Product Manager Ozan Sönmez addressed the topic of "Virtual Classroom and Innovations." Sönmez discussed the transition from the ALMS+ system to the Perculus system and how the preparation process for the class works. Sönmez demonstrated practically how the instructor will upload documents, use the whiteboard, share the screen, and create groups during the lecture process. He also noted that users cannot log in from other devices simultaneously with the same username and password.

Ozan Sönmez, also touched on the topic of "Virtual Classroom and Innovations". He explained the process of transitioning from the ALMS+ system to the Perculus system and how the preparation process for the lessons would be. Ozan Sönmez demonstrated practically how the instructor would upload documents, use the whiteboard, share the screen, and create groups during the teaching process. He also mentioned that students, like instructors, would be able to use features such as screen sharing, whiteboard usage, and document sharing. Ozan Sönmez provided information about the Perculus working groups, question management, scoring table, and innovations in the virtual classroom and concluded his speech.

In the second session of the program, Dr. Esma Aybike Bayır, Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Education at our university, focused on "Evaluation of GUZEM Support Requests". Dr. Bayır stated that they played an active role in planning the course schedules in the distance education system. She emphasized that they carried out their learning and teaching processes synchronously with their stakeholders. Dr. Bayır also mentioned that the distance education support system is available 24/7. She concluded her speech by discussing the experiences, recommendations, and regulations implemented during the distance education process.

Instructor Gizem Yıldız provided information on the topic of "Institutional Support in Distance Education". Yıldız stated that branch information conveyed in the Student Information System (ÖYS) cannot be manipulated. Gizem Yıldız stated that it is not possible for instructors and students to be added by GUZEM, and emphasized that GUZEM should be informed after any update made in the Course Management System (ÖBS). Gizem Yıldız provided information on the access of instructors and students to ÖYS, and talked about courses, symposiums, and finally the stages of the GUZEM support process.

The second day of the event started with a presentation by Instructor Dr. Ebru Solmaz on "Instructor Roles and Use of Learning Management System in Distance Education." Dr. Ebru Solmaz stated that distance education provides the opportunity for independent study regardless of time and place. She explained that distance education is a communication technology that is institution-based, interactive, and offers the possibility of text, audio, and video sharing, and that it has the feature of separation between the educator and the learner.

Dr. Seher Özcan gave a presentation on "The Role of Students and the Use of Learning Management System in Distance Education". Dr. Seher Özcan emphasized that currently, in our country, emergency distance education process is being implemented and that distance education is a planned and optional process.

The last presentation was given by Instructor Dr. Ahmet Çelik on "Online Content Design". Providing information about good practices in emergency distance education-undergraduate education, the importance of well-designed asynchronous content, which contents to design and how to design them were discussed.

The education program ended with a Q&A session.

Source:  https://gazi.edu.tr/view/news/291828/universitemizde-2022-2023-akademik-yili-egitici-ve-ogrenciler-icin-egitim-programi-duzenlendi