Search

10th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-18, 2017 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000429975306023, Imitation is an important social communication skill that emerges in the early phases of child development and plays a critical role in the development of cognitive and social skills of young children. According to research, imitation has been found to be significantly important for children with autism spectrum disorder. Besides, it has been observed that teaching imitation skills to children with autism spectrum disorder considerably contributes to the development of their social skills and play skills as well as language skills. This poster will present information about the importance of imitation skills in the education of children with autism spectrum disorder and a number of practices applied. Within the scope of this study, the research in international literature conducted on developing imitation skills in children with autism spectrum disorder between 2000 and 2017 will be examined. The poster will present information about the aims, the subjects, methods and findings of these studies, and suggestions for further research will be provided.

11th International Conference on Technology, Education and Development (INTED) -- MAR 06-08, 2017 -- Valencia, SPAIN WOS: 000413668602025 English as a lingua franca (ELF)' has inevitably many implications in the agenda of English language teaching and teacher education. One of the implications of ELF paradigm is the need to review English language teacher education programs to prompt pre-service teachers to critically consider and ultimately transform their assumptions about ELF instead of being merely exposed to principles on language teaching. The current case study aims to explore the value of ELF integration into ELT preservice teacher education programs. It evaluated the effect of an elective course involving ELF related issues and critiques of ELF approach in which the pre-service teachers raised their awareness on the ELF-related issues. Interviews, reflection and response papers were the instruments to further explain the experience of pre-service language teachers. The findings revealed that there is an urgent need to integrate ELF into teacher education programs and the participants' in this study were observed to possess a positive stance towards ELF concept. The study has some crucial implications for curriculum designers, material developers, language instructors and learners in higher education context.

10th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-18, 2017 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000429975301005, To Cantillon, entrepreneurship is a self-employment with an uncertain return. Cantillon focused on entrepreneur as a person; for the next 200 years, considerable research investigated the entrepreneurial personality [1]. To Schumpeter, an entrepreneur is a person who carries out new combinations, which may take the form of new products, processes, markets, organizational forms, or sources of supply [2]. It is clear that the definition of entrepreneurship is multidimensional and that different research questions draw attention to different dimensions of the construct [3]. There is a growing body of literature arguing that intentions play a very relevant role in the decision to start a new firm [4]. This study uses Entrepreneurial Intention Model (EIM), which was originally developed by Linan and others [5] to have a cognitive perspective on entrepreneurship. According to EIM, together with an entrepreneurial intention (EI) and motivational factors such as personal attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control, entrepreneurial behaviour is also affected by environmental factors such as having closer environment valuation and social valuation of the entrepreneurship. In other words, based on communication level of EIM with the environment, also affects the entrepreneurial behaviour. The effect of these factors on each other and on entrepreneurial behaviour differs due to the regional culture and sub identity of the entrepreneurs. A Turkish translation of the questionnaire of Linan and others [5], was used with the authorization of the author. The questionnaire was put into Anadolu University (AU) online distance learning (DL) student information system and students were asked to respond voluntarily. DL Faculty of AU, which has completed 34 years, provides higher education to approximately 1 million 380 thousand students [6], also has a vital role on special projects to overcome education related problems in Turkey. This study keeps the focus on the EI of 3rd and 4th year students at DL, which are considered as the entrepreneur candidates in the future. The quantity of the total participants is above 7000 from 81 different cities in Turkey. The result of the study is expected to provide information about the entrepreneurial identity of the DL Faculty students and the comparison between regions will be done to identify the differences and possible causes. Difference between eastern and western regions of Turkey in terms of development and national culture is significant, and business opportunities between touristic and industrial areas also differ. Therefore, elective courses should be prepared to cover the requirements of the entrepreneur profiles in different regions. Identifying the identity such as the most innovative entrepreneurs, the most conservative entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs willing to be cooperative is significant. It is aimed to publish the outcomes the identity of Turkish entrepreneurs based on the answers given by DL students.

Safety at work represents a relevant topic also nowadays as in Europe almost 3.000 workers are still dying every year due to accidents at work. An important preventive measure that largely demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing occupational injuries and enhance workers' health is the development of organizational interventions such as safety training. However, in order to reduce accidents, the mere implementation of safety training courses is not enough as knowledge gained through the training should be applied to the workplace to be effective. This process refers to the transfer of training which has been defined as "the extent to which the learning that results from a training experience transfers to the job and leads to meaningful changes in work performance" ([1], p. 1066).Therefore, the main aim of this study is to add knowledge concerning the efficacy of safety training interventions through the analysis of the role of context in the transfer of safety training. Thus, we hypothesized that safety climate could moderate the relationship between safety knowledge (acquired via training) and transfer of training.A research study conducted in a vocational training organization involved 123 workers attending different safety training courses. The questionnaire was composed by items concerning safety knowledge, safety climate and transfer of training (measured as intention to transfer). Most of the participants were men (95%) and the mean average was 41 years old. The moderation effect was tested through a hierarchical multiple regression analysis.Results showed that safety climate moderated the relationship between safety knowledge and transfer of training. In other words, the workers perceiving lower levels of safety knowledge together with higher levels of safety climate reported higher levels of training transfer compared to their colleagues that perceived lower levels of safety climate. On the other side, among workers in conditions of high safety knowledge, the level of transfer wasn't influenced by safety climate. Thus, our hypothesis has been supported.This study presents both theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical point of view our results provided further evidences concerning the effect of safety climate on the transfer of safety training. Furthermore, findings provided suggestions to firms on how contextual factors (such as safety climate) should be enhanced in order to increase the efficacy and the usefulness of safety training and consequently reduce accidents and injuries on the workplace.

9th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 03-05, 2017 -- -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000493048102132, Play is the most important occupation that the child spends most of his time with. At the pre-school period, children learn more easily through games. In parallel with the rapid development of technology today, technological tools have also entered to our homes and the lives of children. Children spend their time in closed areas because of the fact that their parents work, and the playgrounds in big cities are scarce. Therefore, children play games with devices such as tablets, computers, and phones. The most important thing is that games that the children play must be educational and appropriate for children's development level. Games that are not suitable for the child's level of development and age, have violence and are non-educational will be harmful for the child. In this age, it is not possible to keep children away from technology so the task of educators and families is to provide the best way to benefit from the technology. In this study, "Tom the Animal Lover", an educational game aimed to introduce animals to pre-school children developed in 2016. The game providing information about animals and their voices for children at aged 4-5 aims to teach animals together with their voices and pictures. Unity 3D game engine was used in the design of the game. The game was designed in two dimensions in Unity 3D, and the software language was C #. The preschool period children's most enjoyable activity is play. Technology allows us to move children's play environment into digital world. In this study, we designed an entertaining and educational digital game for children. As a result of observations, we made after pilot application and interviews with teachers; we can say that children enjoy the game, they know the voices of animals that they did not know before and the sorting skills have improved.

Nowadays, universities have a pronounced interest to link teaching and research. Research into this link has developed rapidly over the last decades, and focused on how the teaching-research nexus (TRN) enhances the quality and outcomes of the learning experience for both students and academics. As part of this nexus, Research-Based Learning (RBL) involves a curriculum designed around inquiry activities in which students have the opportunity to conduct their own research. We hypothesize if graduate students involved in a RBL version of a course reflect a higher intention to do research compared to students in a control condition of the same course. We also attempt to determine the impact of course contexts and changes in mediating variables such as autonomous motivation, engagement, perceived behavioural control (self-efficacy), behavioural beliefs, subjective norm and the interaction with age and gender. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was set up involving 52 students from 6 different programs at a public university. We developed scales building on Bandura's guidelines to determine self-efficacy (perceived behavioural control), Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behaviour to test the intention to do research along with behavioural beliefs and subjective norm; and Deci and Ryan's Intrinsic Motivation Inventory to determine autonomous motivation. To measure engagement, we developed a 6-week intervention in which students in the experimental condition worked on RBL assignments whereas students in the control condition worked on TRN activities. All student activities were managed through an online learning management system. Our results show a clear trend, reflecting how students in an RBL version of the course attain slightly higher levels of intention to do research. However these differences are not significant. There are some explanations for the current findings. First of all, the students in the control condition were similarly involved in - though basic - research activities. This might have also boosted their level of intention in doing research considering the rather short term set up of the study (6 weeks). An additional explanation is related to our RBL design and the fact that students from 6 different programs were involved. This resulted in an RBL design that had to comply with the research focus of all 6 programs and as such involved the students in more general research activities. The results of the present study - though promising - push a research programme aiming at more in-depth research. Nevertheless, the RBL approach has invoked in the local university setting an innovative way of thinking about the teaching-research nexus. From a focus on a single-course innovation, a focus at a programme level approach of RBL has been put at the centre. This opens avenues for new and promising research endeavours. Future RBL related research implies setting up qualitative studies to compare the actual experiences of students in both conditions and whether they report differences. In addition, a new study could be set up in a single course setting, while involving a larger number of enrolled students. This is not an easy undertaking given the limited student numbers in advanced engineering courses in the target Ecuadorian University. Building on the limitations as to the quantitative nature of the study, a mixed method design could help developing a richer picture.

10th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-18, 2017 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000429975303108, Augmented Reality (AR) is the enrichment of the objects and spaces in the physical world through the use of computer generated artificial, virtual and synthetic 3D elements. Different from virtual reality, AR does not replace the actual world, but rather it enriches the actual world environment with 3D digital elements. AR can be used in many different fields, such as military research, the games industry, medicine, and engineering, and is becoming increasingly widespread as an innovative technology and an interdisciplinary field. In particular, the fact that mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers have more powerful processors, higher resolution screens and more highly-developed cameras, and are empowered with features such as GPS, digital compasses and accelerometers, has contributed to AR becoming ever more widespread. There are several reports (Horizon Reports, Abi Research, Juniper Research Reports) regarding the current and future status of AR that include some anticipation. The common point of all the reports is the fact that AR will become more widespread and effective in the future. Although this study contains the trends in the fields such as engineering, game sector and marketing its focal points are "educational environments" and "open and distance learning". Particular focus will be on AR usage within the context of educational technologies and making forecasts for the future. The study will be supported with infographics, tables and visuals and a detailed analysis will be made. In the relevant literature no similar comprehensive literature analysis has been encountered. This study is expected to fill this gap in the literature. In this study, an implication is aimed to be made through analyzing all trend reports about AR in the literature, articles, and other academic publications through conducting an in-depth literature review and content analysis methods. As a result, a contribution to the literature will be made through a comprehensive study that includes predictions about the current and future status of AR.

9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (iCERi) -- NOV 14-16, 2016 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000417330204030, …

9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (iCERi) -- NOV 14-16, 2016 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000417330205067, …

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN WOS: 000402955903114 There is no denial of the inevitable influence of information communication technology in our present age. Most web pages are now created with an interactive facility. Readers are no longer in a receptive mode only; on the contrary, they are able to express their views on the topic of their interest and receive responses in return to their comments. Weblogs do provide a platform for such an atmosphere. Based on this premise, this study aims to provide a fair picture of sixty-eight pre-service English language teachers reflecting on their experience drawn from a blogging activity that provides support for each other regarding their topic presentations in a Contextualized Grammar Course which lasted a full academic term. The study combined both qualitative and quantitative approaches including weekly blog tasks and reflection papers as data sets. Content analysis was conducted to analyze these sets of data. On completion of the course, participants expressed their views about the effect of this particular activity. While a great majority stated that they improved their both academic and social knowledge thanks to pedagogical comments received from peers, a very small number of the participants questioned the activity for its being too much learner-centered, without involving the instructor's scaffolding in classroom setting. Findings of this study may have some significant implications for language learners, instructors and administrators regarding the implementation of blogging as part of the syllabus in language education courses. Cukurova University Research FundCukurova University [SED-2016-6737] This study was funded by Cukurova University Research Fund under the Project Number SED-2016-6737.

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955908028, With the penetration of digital technologies in almost every field of life, digitization of education has become inevitable. As a natural response, many countries initiated technology integration projects in different levels of education. FATIH Project (Movement of Enhancing Opportunities and Improving Technology) in Turkey is one of them. The project aims to transform all the classes in K12 education to smart classes by installing smart boards and distributing tablet computers to high school, secondary school, primary school and nursery school teachers and students respectively. The project also targets training teachers in the use of e-content, providing digital materials and increasing awareness on the effective and secure use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT). The aim of the present study is to unfold the opinions and experiences of the pre-service English teachers about FATIH Project. The participants of this qualitative study are 14 pre-service English teachers who have a total of 72 hours of experience in different FATIH Project schools by the time of data collection. The data is collected through semi-structured interviews. Content analysis is conducted and the themes are identified to reveal pre-service teachers' opinions about the project and descriptive analysis is also applied. The results of the analysis yield that pre-service English teachers generally have a positive opinion about the project; however they emphasize the need for continuous technological-pedagogical training.

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955901031, …

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN WOS: 000402955905120 This study aims to investigate the perceptions of pre-service English language teachers towards the use of podcasts. In addition, it surveys to what extent pre-service language teachers use Web 2 tools in their academic lives as well as personal lives and their views on the benefits and possible drawbacks of podcasts. For this reason, Teaching Language Skills Course specifically for the third year pre-service teachers is blended with podcasting in a web based platform. Twenty-two pre-service English language teachers who take the course constitute the working group. The theoretical background of this specific study is based on social constructivism. Combining both qualitative and quantitative research methods, a mixed method research design is used. The questionnaire and face to face interviews are held at the beginning and at the end of the course and results are compared to see if there is a significant change. Though the results indicate that participants do gain from podcasts, they encompass crucial drawback as well. This study also has got some important implications for curriculum designers, language instructors and students.

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955906008, The concept of equality of opportunity proposes that all people should be treated similarly, unhampered by artificial barriers, prejudices or preferences. Equality can be assured within multiple dimensions. There have been many initiatives to eliminate the barriers and provide equality of opportunity. As an instance, Universal Instructional Design (UID) intends to provide guidelines to increase accessibility for learners with special needs. In digital knowledge age, accessing information is crucial and digital books have been one of the significant source of information. In this sense, this research aims to contribute to " equality of opportunity" notion by providing design criteria for digital books for individuals with special needs. Within this perspective, the purpose of this study is to identify design criteria for digital books for individuals with special needs. Employing a qualitative exploratory methodology to reveal the needs of hearing-impaired, visually impaired and orthopedically handicapped individuals and identify sound and effective design criteria for digital books. The study also explores the needs of each group within seven themes: Written content, spoken content, static graphic content, dynamic graphic content, technology, layout and interaction. Additionally, research findings are discussed and suggestions for future implications are provided., Anadolu University, Scientific Research Projects Commission [1409E396], This research was supported by Anadolu University, Scientific Research Projects Commission under the grant no: 1409E396

9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (iCERi) -- NOV 14-16, 2016 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000417330205049, Today internet has become the most important tool for communicating and sharing. Internet use patterns and internet environment have expanded so much that this situation has affected many aspects of human life. This effect can be felt at every moment of life. Especially significant increase in social media use in human life has made this effect more explicit. Naturally, the opportunities and the environment that internet provides have led to many positive changes in human life and caused an improvement in the quality of life. However, problems arising from unhealthy internet use have expanded more and more and also brought new debates. Thus, internet addiction concept has become an important phenomenon nowadays. Relatedly, being healthy internet users has become crucial for young adults with higher internet use rates in terms of their mental health and healthy development. Because of this, there is a big necessity to determine the meaning and the importance of the internet concept in young adults' lives. The current study which was carried out with 168 students aims to reveal these university students' metaphorical perceptions of the internet concept. In this study that was conducted by qualitative research method, the students were asked to complete the statement "Internet is like... because...". In this context, the data was thematized through content analysis. The findings of the study have indicated that the participants used totally 81 metaphors for Internet concept. These metaphors were categorized under six different themes according to their common characteristics. These themes were determined as "Internet as a tool for acquiring information", "Internet as an environment that includes everything", "Internet as an environment that makes you a loser", "Internet as an indispensable tool", "Internet as a relieving environment" and "Internet as a beneficial tool if it is used correctly".

9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (iCERi) -- NOV 14-16, 2016 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000417330204031, This paper is related the qualitative evaluation of the Erasmus+ project MILAGE "Interactive Mathematics by implementing a Blended-Learning model with Augmented Reality and Game books". Presented evaluation summarizes the first year of project realisation in selected upper secondary schools in Norway, Portugal and Spain. The analysis focuses on students' perceptions of the use of digital media for producing and sharing digital learning content for mathematics. The aim of the research is to develop an insight in students' attitudes, feelings and opinions on learning experience resulting from the engagement in the first year of the project activities, which, on the analysed stage, included production and sharing of videos presenting solutions to mathematical problems included in the curriculum for the first grade of upper secondary schools. These videos will be elements of a summative digital learning resource, which will cover curriculum in mathematics for upper secondary schools in the form of an e-book and an educational application for mobile use. To obtain perceptions on the defined area of interest, the involved researchers conducted focus groups with selected students and interpreted collected documents with the aid of computer-supported qualitative content analysis techniques. This article presents themes that emerged in the responses and seeks to outline discussion that would contribute to successful implementation of project goals in the following years of its realisation., MILAGE: Interactive Mathematics by implementing a Blended-Learning model with Augmented Reality and Game Books, an Erasmus+ project - European Union [2015-1-PT01-KA201-012921], This research is supported by the "MILAGE: Interactive Mathematics by implementing a Blended-Learning model with Augmented Reality and Game Books" (No 2015-1-PT01-KA201-012921), an Erasmus+ project, funded by the European Union.

10th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) -- MAR 07-09, 2016 -- Valencia, SPAIN, WOS: 000402738402101, I can now access a PhD dissertation or an article written in some far places miles away through Internet thanks to the technological developments. I can also complete my PhD education at home through a distance learning programme and participate in a meeting online. All these cases are the easiest indicators showing that the "time and space" confines of information have been removed and its access has been eased. We can readily state that this atmosphere formed causes a "Bing Bang" in terms of communication. It has enabled visual messages come into prominence within the communicational process; therefore the educational environments teaching how to design those visual messages have been established and the society has been steered into a period of the visual learning. In this context, this study includes my experience I acquired while giving an elective course during the 2015-2016 autumn period, named "Information Design" in Department of Visual Communication Design in Faculty of Fine Arts in Dumlupinar University. This experience is an interdisciplinary interaction. The objectives of the study are to gather together two different disciplines, namely visual communication and medicine, with the purpose of "composing information design", to establish their work environment, and to convey it by using a narrative method.

10th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) -- MAR 07-09, 2016 -- Valencia, SPAIN, WOS: 000402738404017, The technological revolutions having occurred in many areas also had an impact on books, and electronic books emerged. However many problems have emerged in the availability of electronic books, and users have started to return to books that are tangible, with pages of which they can physically turn. Augmented reality books are prepared by enhancing these books attractively by introducing interactive and immersive properties into the superficial and interaction-free characteristics of printed books. While augmented reality books maintain the advantages and philosophy of printed books, they introduce an innovative approach to printed books with a static and non-interactive structure by adding various sensorial interactions. The aim of this study is to find and analyse all augmented reality books of academic nature prepared in the field of education through the literature review technique. Firstly, the term augmented reality is defined and the reflections of the augmented reality applications in the field of education are reviewed. Then the types of the augmented reality books are determined and all the augmented reality book studies present in the literature and of academic nature are listed. While the books are listed, they are arranged by year and the technologies used are identified. It is seen that no such classification has been made in the literature before this study. Through this original study, all the previous studies are tabulated in order for it to be guiding for other researchers in this field and the present situation is revealed in the context of development of these books.

10th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) -- MAR 07-09, 2016 -- Valencia, SPAIN, WOS: 000402738401129, Education is one of the fields affected mostly by the impact of technological developments. Art educators should also adapt themselves to the changes and developments shaped by the requirements of the day. As a member of the group which Prensky called digital immigrants, I had to make it an adventure on learning blogs, in my early 30s. I am not a blogger but an art educator so I had to discover the potentials of blogs as well as discovering the technical process such as creating, managing, and updating them. After I learned and experienced the blogosphere, it comes to test my skills as an art educator on this Web 2.0 environment as an educational research tool. In this study, I critique how the blog technology challenged me to learn and teach in a circular integration process. This is a narrative inquiry in which I honestly told my own story, a story that an adventurer searching for new learning environments for pre-service art educators, in all aspects of success, happiness, failure and disappointment. The choice of the blog platform, the process of creating a class blog and student blogs, the process of planning and practicing activities using blogs, gathering and handling huge amount of data from blogs, presenting the results of a research, are the milestones on the road in this adventure. Using blogs to share opinions on a specific subject, to increase the technical and creative skills, to increase written and visual expression skills, to share and criticize artworks, even to lead creating artwork derived from the idea of being a blogger, are some of the prizes I get at the end of the adventure.

9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (iCERi) -- NOV 14-16, 2016 -- -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000417330205045, The aim of this study was to examine the interaction of learners in a distance language class. Approximately 450 learners from a higher education institution in the Aegean Region of Turkey participated provided with their dialogic engagement experiences throughout the language courses within a survey research design. The theoretical background of the study is anchored in the Theory of Instructional Dialogue (TID) developed by Gorsky and Caspi. They presented a theoretical model to examine learners' activities/actions in terms of dialogical structure/patterns in a distance learning system. For data collection, "Tactical Approaches to Study" Questionnaire developed by Gorsky and Caspi was used. This study revealed substantial information on learners' demographics (course load, past distance learning experience, exam performance etc.), learning preferences and dialogical behaviors during the courses. The variables of the study are subjected to structural modeling to understand predictors of learners' interaction styles. The results of this study is expected to serve to instructional design by raising awareness about interaction in distance education.

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955906137, This study aimed to investigate the effect of different multitasking scenarios realized in different physical settings on cognitive load and retention. It also aimed to investigate the influence of multitasking and physical settings on cognitive load when the working memory capacity is controlled. In addition, the measurement of cognitive load is realized through both objective (electroencephalography) and subjective measures (cognitive load scale). Subjects were undergraduate students at a state university., Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) [115K773]; Anadolu University Research Fund [1505E366], This study contains preliminary findings of the first author's Ph.D. proposal, which is supervised by the second author. Different parts of the research were funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK grant ID: 115K773) and Anadolu University Research Fund (1505E366).

The evolution of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is requiring new competences from professionals and practitioners operating in the field that is now including not only traditional computer science knowledge but also a wide spectrum of user-centered, user interfaces and interaction design skills. About the same time the Italian University system was progressively reformed to adhere to the Bologna Process and Declaration (1999) a manifesto and a initiatives series to build a common European Higher Education Area. Three successive reforms Berlinguer (2000), Moratti (2003) and Gelmini (2010) completely redefined the higher education curricula and opened the system to a wider range of courses based on specific and mixed competences as required in the professional world. New bachelors and master degrees courses —for example Internet Science at the University of Bologna, Communication and Multimedia at University of Pavia or Digital Communication at the State University of Milan—were established inside traditional department and the people teaching in the new borderline fields had themselves specialized background mainly of the 3 areas: computer science or electronically engineering, architecture and design, cognitive psychology and ergonomic. Starting from such different perspectives, the question that emerges spontaneously is about the basic and essential skills that students should acquire to be fitted for the professional market that actually requires both traversal abilities to see problems and, at the same time, deep knowledge of specific applications field. According to the contemporary debate about “should designers be able to code” or “programmers should learn to understand user needs and cognitive processes” what is clearly emerging is that traditional divisions are no longer efficient and that a new approach and desirable if not even necessary in the direction of an hybrid, cross-disciplinary education. Exploring to this new demand of contamination between the technical and the design and humanities cultures the research project “Zero Design Background” investigates, lists, compares and proposes a critical review of the university educational hybrid offer with the aim to map the fundamental competences and principles that students should acquire during the training. Firstly the paper maps and critically compare the Computer Science (CS), User Experience (Ux) and User Interface (UI) Design courses available for bachelor's and master degree students within the Italian departments of Computer Science; Computer Engineering; Information Technologies; Architecture; Design; Arts and Design: Communication Science; and Psychology to have a clear picture of the state of the art. Secondly the research put in relation the department, degrees course classification, class title and contents, professors cultural background and scientific/disciplinary sector in a matrix to identify and cluster emerging patterns in the educational field to understand potentially and limits and address future developments

9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (iCERi) -- NOV 14-16, 2016 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000417330205045, The aim of this study was to examine the interaction of learners in a distance language class. Approximately 450 learners from a higher education institution in the Aegean Region of Turkey participated provided with their dialogic engagement experiences throughout the language courses within a survey research design. The theoretical background of the study is anchored in the Theory of Instructional Dialogue (TID) developed by Gorsky and Caspi. They presented a theoretical model to examine learners' activities/actions in terms of dialogical structure/patterns in a distance learning system. For data collection, "Tactical Approaches to Study" Questionnaire developed by Gorsky and Caspi was used. This study revealed substantial information on learners' demographics (course load, past distance learning experience, exam performance etc.), learning preferences and dialogical behaviors during the courses. The variables of the study are subjected to structural modeling to understand predictors of learners' interaction styles. The results of this study is expected to serve to instructional design by raising awareness about interaction in distance education.

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955901026, The internationalisation of higher education (HE) brings quality assurance (QA) more under spot. The recognition of credits and degrees worldwide and accreditation by wellknown international agencies is becoming a rule in the face of global competitiveness. On the other hand, QA and accreditation practices may vary according to the societal, cultural environments and national context. Therefore, they have both international and culture-specific aspects. Especially in distance education, QA and accreditation processes are still at an early stage of development and they are shaped not only by international practices but also local requirements of the educational systems. In a very small number of countries, there are agencies that accredit only distance education programmes or award labels. The progress of quality issues in Turkish higher education has been accelerated through the integration with the Bologna Process that has aimed to create a European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Following the basic principles of transparency, recognition and mobility; Anadolu University has accepted internationalisation, promoting quality assurance and increasing cooperation with European institutions as goals to be achieved. A student-centred and learning outcome oriented higher education has become the understanding for both conventional (face-to-face) and distance courses. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to present the QA and accreditation processes of Anadolu University in distance education, as an example integrating both global and local educational requirements to its quality culture and discuss these practices in the light of relevant literature. The vision of the University has been defined as providing programmes that meet international quality standards to all learners in different geographies. In the academic year 2005-2006, the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) was applied, however it took six years more to realize this transition for the distance programmes. The self-evaluation process under supervision of the European University Association (EUA) has been another milestone in the quality journey. A solid result of the interest in quality issues has been the establishment of the Office for Quality Assurance in Open Education System. The team assigned is responsible for monitoring the internal QA processes and the accreditation processes of different programmes. The first accreditation certificate for the Open Education System was achieved in 2015 for the two-year associate degree programmes. The quality motto is quality in outputs, the learning materials and services. In order to realize the review of the learning materials, Quality Improvement Boards have been assigned for each programme. Besides the challenge of applying the international quality standards to one's own educational system, the internal quality reviews have their own challenges. Talking about cultural differences in quality issues drives interest to local needs and concerns whereby administrators have to search for their own solutions. The authors of this study tell their own experience and discuss if a value-free reading of the quality criteria is necessary for a successful integration with the HE regime.

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955907137, …

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955904019, …

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955904016, …

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955902077, …

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955904091, …

9th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (iCERi) -- NOV 14-16, 2016 -- Seville, SPAIN WOS: 000417330208039 In architectural design process, designers do sketches to tell what they think about and to improve these ideas. Sketches are important for design process, not for only being a communication tool that tells designers thoughts but also they engage in an interaction by introducing new ideas and developing them. In this context, sketch is not possible to separate from the design process. Designing process continue as long as the act of making sketches which is the visualization tool of continuing ideas. With the advancement of technology it has become part of computer design process and sketches in digital environment work has begun. Today's situation is, programs have been developed that provide the opportunity to sketch using computer and has now become a reality that cannot be ignored from the two different environments for the design process. This study will focus on to sketch in architectural design studio and drawing approaches in digital environment. In this context, this study will examine the design process, the role of the sketches in this process, sketch approaches on computer, and developments in these matters.

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955900123, …

8th International Conference on Education and New Learning Technologies (EDULEARN) -- JUL 04-06, 2016 -- Barcelona, SPAIN, WOS: 000402955901073, …

Nowadays learning in the field of Information and Communication Technologies has become a longterm process and cultural-hybrid experience in an always-changing-world. The fast evolution – both in complexity and variety – of devices and applications is increasing the need of an even more usercentered approach to design and development of digital services and artefacts. According to this evolution User Experience (Ux) and User Interface (UI) design play a strategic role in planning and solving interaction between people and communication ecosystems also for people with technical or humanistic background. Therefore acquiring skills in the field of communication, visual and interactive design is becoming a crucial challenge also in non-design vocational courses and degrees. The paper is aimed to present the first outcomes of the wider research project Zero Design Background focused on the theoretical and practical problem of teaching – visual and UI – design disciplines outside the project culture. The research plan approaches both on- and off-line visual and UI design field – graphic design and graphical/multimodal user interface design – and relatives issue of teaching such principles and praxis in a learning context where design thinking, culture and methods are not the previous and knowledgeshared background. The project covers the visual and UI design teaching field mapping, analysing and reviewing a wide and heterogeneous resources such as basic design literature and bibliography, Visual/Graphic/Ux/Interaction/UI/web design courses – bachelor and master degrees both public and private – on line forums, blogs on-line community

8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-20, 2015 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000377304004068, …

8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-20, 2015 -- Seville, SPAIN WOS: 000377304003021 Nowadays, everybody has the power and freedom to write something down on the internet without referring to accurate and reliable resources. Although it may seem like we are living in a century of freedom in terms of information, the side effects such as increased violence, ignorance of the environment and passive consumerism are inevitable in the absence of cyber and media literacy. This unprecedented improvement in the spread of information has stimulated a growing body of research focusing on educating individuals to develop some higher order thinking skills including critical thinking. According to a report, "the partnership for the 21st century skills has identified critical thinking as one of several learning and innovation skills necessary to prepare students for post-secondary education and the workforce" (Lai, 2011, p.4). Related with this, critical thinking has been attracting the attention of various parties in the education area. Especially language curriculum designers and material developers give place to the teaching of it as an important life skill. Considering the close connection between language learning and higher order thinking skills, enhancement of critical thinking in language classrooms has been emphasized besides the teaching of basic language elements such as grammar, and vocabulary. Cultivation of critical thinking first necessitates well-planned utilization of methods, techniques and materials because it is a learned skill requiring instruction and practice rather than an inborn gift (Halpern, 2003; Synder and Synder, 2008; Puchta and Williams, 2011). However, it is not only the methods, techniques and the materials which will enrich the learning environment but also the teachers. Classrooms are the places, where students learn a lot about the certain conventions and expectations (Perkins, 2003); thus it is the responsibility of teachers to build that environment into a strong culture of thinking (Kabilan, 2000; Lipman, 2003; Seferoglu and Akbiyik, 2006; Shirkhani and Fahim, 2011). This reveals the importance of consciousness on the part of the teachers. However, to what degree do language teachers and teacher candidates have a precise understanding of critical thinking and its role in language teaching? Based on this premise, the current mixed method research which covers the use of both quantitative and qualitative data aims to highlight the similarities and the differences in the perceptions between two generations; namely a group of pre-service and in-service English teachers about critical thinking and its role in language teaching. In conclusion, future curriculum renovation possibilities for more effective integration of critical thinking into language teaching and teacher education are discussed in the light of the results.

The poster will present a classification of higher education teachers based on their behavior in online learning environment (while teaching and mentoring others). Classification is based on 12+ years of implementation and support of learning management systems experience in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, on higher education institutions from four universities (University of Belgrade, University of Dubrovnik, University of Sarajevo and University of Zagreb). All institutions involved primarily belong to the Humanities and Social Sciences and combined number of teachers using online learning environments and education technologies is around 1400. Teacher types in online learning environment (TTOLE) are classified by: Time Spent (TS), Online Learning Environment Proficiency (OLEP), Peer Cooperation (PC), Self-evaluation (SE) and Activity-Resource Balance (ARB). Using that classification, we were able to describe six distinctive TTOLE with some sub-types present.

The educational institutions – public as school and university and private ones – and other players in the learning environment are undergoing deep changes driven by different social and technological forces. The new generations of students are born and grown up with digital technologies – Generation X, Digital natives, Millennials and so on – and they represent a sort of genetic evolution in the way they approach and interact with the learning process. In their daily life, search engines, mobile connections, touch interfaces and social digital relationships are natural part of the experience. On the other hand Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is becoming even more pervasive in many ways as an academic subject, as a learning tool or a teaching supporting framework. Under the pressure of these thrusts – do not necessarily convergent – also teaching methods and praxis are facing with new challenges both in the field of formal learning and in the way to use and implement hard- and soft-digital innovations. Furthermore, ICT is shifting the focus of learning experience based on co-presence of teachers and students in the same place and time, to a deferred interaction mediated by digital tools in which learning activity is extended and enlarged to cover part of the daily and personal lifetime. Collaborative platforms – wiki, social network, video blogging etc. – enable people to spontaneously and informal learning not mediated except by amateurs-experts or by community of interest or peers. Eventually technology is changing the teaching tools moving from mimetic forms simulating the printed book, notebooks and paper to virtual forms such as e-publishing and mobile apps in which medium and contents converge becoming really learn-machine. In this context and according to changing dynamics, the paper presents “Res Logica” – as a paradigmatic a case study – an app pilot for tablet design to study syntax and linguistic construction of Italian language. The research project particularly faces the transition that educational publishers are living – according to a relatively recent national law 133/2008. The editorial sector is required to give books – whatever the word is meant to define – in hybrid/digital version, even if it’s not specified explicitly cultural and format standards. Res Logica offers a solution based on the characteristic of the device – the app has been prototyped with Adobe InDesign Digital Publishing Suite for tablets and optimized for iPad – using touch interactions and gesture and multimodal languages. Conceived both as a teaching support and a learning tool Res Logica uses the gamification approach to generate collaborative dynamics and learning by doing processes specific of social networks and web 3.0 to acquire theoretical an practical notions about the language structure and grammar. The proposed case study tries to test the potentiality of digital learning tool and the convergence of the more recent digital revolution to evaluate a model and/or a design method discussing limits and possible developments in parallel with the evolution of digital worlds

In the acquisition of foreign languages, it is a challenge to achieve a near-native level, particularly in academic contexts. This is certainly important in the case of future foreign language teachers, because they are responsible to transfer their knowledge. In this sense, a continuous formation is needed in order to acquire an academic level. However, most of these students finished their university studies without the required language level. In fact, they are not subjected to language proficiency tests, and therefore their writing, speaking and listening levels are poorly known. In addition, the frequency and types of written errors made by university students, beginning teachers of French as a foreign language (FFL), holding a different master's degree is still unknown. For this reason, the aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the frequency and types of written errors in essays made by Spanish postgraduate students in FFL teacher training holding a master's degree in French philology or in French translation studies. The data for this study was obtained from essays written by all the students of a Postgraduate program in FFL teacher training (n=45) at the University of Granada (Spain). The students had all acquired their master's degree in French philology (n=30, group UGR 1) or in translation (n=15, group UGR 2). Our control group consisted of French native speakers (n=4, group UGR 3) who also followed the teacher training program. The frequency and types of errors were analysed in all the essays. For this study, following types of written errors were evaluated: (1) spelling mistakes; (2) grammar errors; (3) vocabulary errors; (4) discourse errors and (5) content errors. In addition, the following subtypes of errors were considered: omission, misselection, overinclusion and order. The text length of the analyzed essays ranged from 177 to 692 words with a mean of 360.31. The mean length of group UGR 1 (372.7 words) was slightly higher than the group UGR 2 (335.53 words) but they were still under the maximum established length of 400 words. In addition, both UGR 1 and 2 showed lower mean length in comparison to the group UGR 3 (490.75 words). This study revealed a different hierarchy of frequency of error types by group. Categorizing all these errors, we found that spelling errors were the most common for the students of group UGR 1 while group UGR 2 committed more grammar errors, and the number of lexical errors was similar for both groups. Finally, discourse and content errors were the most infrequent in both groups. These results allowed us to confirm that both groups dominate discourse organization in FFL. However, despite the fact that the students have acquired master's degrees in FFL, there are still differences between these two groups and compared to the control group. The overall results suggest that most of the postgraduate students did not reach a near-native written level as far as the frequency of written errors is concerned. In conclusion, the presence of these written errors could have a negative impact in the professional performance of these beginning teachers of FFL. In addition, during their teacher training it would be useful to incorporate different writing activities and personalised feedback. Finally, these results suggest that it is necessary to design novel didactic strategies at the undergraduate and postgraduate programs focusing on the improvement of writing skills and lexical richness.

8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-20, 2015 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000377304001069, Literature adaptations have been in practice since the early years of cinema. Classics, short stories, children's books, theatre scripts and many other literary texts have become sources of cinema narrations. Movie adaptations take place by transferring written texts into movie narrations. Junction point of cinema and literature is telling a story in the framework of specified rules. Animation movies have also been maintaining this tradition. Cinderella, Kiki's Delivery Service, Pinocchio, The Little Prince, Don Quixote, Aladdin and many other animation movies were adapted from literature and many other stories are still being adapted to movie scripts. However; classics and novels of Turkish literature haven't been used in Turkish cartoons and animation movies sufficiently. Here in this study, literature adaptations in animation movies were examined and a case study was put forward in which Turkish literature works were adapted to animation scenarios by Anadolu University Animation Department students. Thus; the importance of interdisciplinary studies between animation and literature will be emphasized.

9th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) -- MAR 02-04, 2015 -- Madrid, SPAIN, WOS: 000398586301110, …

8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-20, 2015 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000377304003041, Creative and innovative developments in information and communication technologies have paved the way for assistive technologies in special education in addition to other fields in education. Assistive Technologies have been used as effective, efficient, and attractive teaching tools because learners with autism spectrum disorder have difficulties to develop cognitive abilities and acquire new knowledge. Learners with autism spectrum disorder need to improve their behavior, communication and relationships with their environment and this can be succeeded through special education. New digital devices, as hardware, appear to be promising teaching/learning tools. However, hardware takes on a new significance as long as it is used with well-designed software. Within the scope of this research, software refers to any interactive e-books and any interactive content based teaching applications. On this basis, the purpose of this study is to identify design criteria for interactive e-books and interactive content-based teaching applications for learners with autism spectrum disorder through a three round Delphi study. In this study, a total of 47 criteria under 5 themes were identified and research findings were further discussed within the scope of five emerged themes. Additionally, directions for future research were presented.

9th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) -- MAR 02-04, 2015 -- Madrid, SPAIN, WOS: 000398586303021, This study aims to identify the perceptual learning style preferences of gifted secondary school EFL learners in Turkey related to their study of English and attempted to compare their preferences with their non-gifted peers' preferences. To this end, the "Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire" was given to 240 (107 gifted and 133 non-gifted) Turkish students from 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. The results of the quantitative analyses showed that gifted and non-gifted EFL learners were not very different from each other in terms of their learning styles preferences. The only slight differences were observed in some learning styles: non-gifted learners preferred auditory and kinesthetic learning styles more than their gifted peers. The other learning styles (tactile, group, visual, and individual learning) were preferred by both gifted and non-gifted learners in a similar level. The findings of the study are discussed along with the current literature on learning styles preferences in EFL learning and already existing giftedness theories. Certain implications for teacher education programs and some suggestions for both gifted and non-gifted language learners, language teachers, and gifted education specialists are specified.

9th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) -- MAR 02-04, 2015 -- Madrid, SPAIN, WOS: 000398586302042, In today's modern societies, individuals need instant access and the ability to personalize the constantly increasing, changing, and renewing information. This situation has led to a change in the learning styles of learners. In this regard, innovations in ICTs have especially influenced people, and they strive to create their own personal learning environment (PLE) and network. Personal learning environments may be defined as the use of prevalent online platforms for personalization, collaboration, communication and sharing, using all learning tools easily from a single source, and to connect to social networks, in addition to learning. A PLE operator may integrate web 2.0 tools into their network and establish their own learning environment. The use of PLEs in educational systems is a debated topic. Due to the responsibility of learning belonging to the learner, there are differing views regarding ensuring the continuity and persistence of learning. The use of PLEs in learning systems and the sustainability of the learning process is important due to the inherent strengths and weaknesses of PLEs. This age, in which information is constantly renewed, lifelong learning gains importance, and learning can take place effectively at any moment, it may be stated that PLEs will be of great importance in realizing lifelong learning. In this regard, this paper discusses what a PLE is, what its components are, its strengths and weaknesses, how it has been used in education, how it may be used in education in the future, and conclude with suggested applications for life long sustainability of PLEs based on skills of the 21st century.

8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-20, 2015 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000377304000088, Many factors including the World Wars, consumption society as a product of the capitalist system, and technological novelties have been influential in development of attitudes by human beings against the modern world and its values. This thought system, i.e. postmodernism, encompasses questioning and criticism of all established values, ideologies, and grand narratives. One of the basic elements of postmodern art criticism is that art became detached from life. Having almost simultaneously influenced all the fields of social sciences, postmodern thought also affected the educational approaches as adopted in visual arts education. New approaches are needed in the visual arts education due to the fact that the discipline-based approach, which is based on art history, art criticism, aesthetics, and production, seems to have failed to meet the requirements of the postindustrial age. Multiculturalism should be involved in education, and especially in visual arts education, since thanks to the technological advancements any information or news can be simultaneously shared throughout the entire world and that different cultures cohabit the same geographical location. In addition, interdisciplinary interaction should be involved too in order to enrich the instruments of artistic expression. Last but not least, visual culture studies and practices should also be involved so as to develop critical thinking skills. This would require adopting different and new approaches as regards the respective roles of the stakeholders, curriculum contents, teaching methods, and teaching environments in the visual arts education field. In this context, the views of students, as stakeholders within the education process, are important. Therefore the aim of the present study is to investigate the view of students on their own works based on their research on cultural values, questioning, interdisciplinary relations, and contemporary art approaches. The study was conducted between 2012 and 2015 based on art-based survey design, a qualitative research method. Data were collected from four students attending to painting department workshop course, who involved in the entire process, by semi-structured interviews and video recordings and the findings were interpreted upon descriptive analysis. As a result of the study, the students reported that they used visual culture images and objects in their works, that they were influenced by local values, that they made use of interdisciplinary relations, that they reflected their research on different cultures on visuals, that they used certain objects in their metaphorical contexts as an instrument of expression, and finally that they were positively impressed by such a student-centered approach.

The inclusion of children from bilingual families in educational system ought to be considered from pedagogical perspective since the emphasis is placed both on upbringing and education. The subject of bilingualism is relevant to social and pedagogical context in terms of the application of new methods and forms of work to the process of bilingual development of children in families as well as in educational institutions. Whether monolingual, bilingual or multilingual a family is one of the most important factors for child development having almost crucial influence on a child's personality. The aim of this paper is to present the role of bilingualism in the family context which is the primary factor of education as well as its role in the context of the later inclusion of bilingual children in the institutional system of education. In the context of this study bilingualism is defined as simultaneous acquisition of two languages up to pre-school years with special emphasis being placed on "one parent-one language" method. The upbringing of a child represents a way to raise the awareness about the sense of belonging to a particular environment ; it is a way to increase the awareness of personal and cultural identity for every family, above all, for bilingual families with both parents aspiring to convey their language, culture and history to a child. In order to highlight some of the common parental misconceptions about the negative impact of simultaneous bilingualism on speech and language development in children this paper provides an overview of speech and language development in bilingual children compared to monolingual children, while emphasizing at the same time the belief that the success parents would reach in bilingual education is above all directly related to their personal definition of a family and their attitudes towards bilingualism. Bilingual education and bilingualism are challenges placed in front of the entire family and educational institutions. Such perception highlights the relevance of the theme in wider social and narrow pedagogical context.

8th International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI) -- NOV 16-20, 2015 -- Seville, SPAIN, WOS: 000377304004012, To melt two or more different disciplines in the same pot and present it to the audience by associating them together is called interdisciplinary approach. Literature, which supports visual arts in terms of context, has been a vital point of art. The novels, stories or poems written has been turned into visuality in cinema and theatre, shaped in flesh and bone, presented to the audience. Fiction promotes visual arts as well as it has a say in plastics arts. Literary texts, which have always supported the art and the artist, have been reflected on the canvas with colors, the words have given spirit to the marble have been shaped as sculptures. In this study, conducted as in the context Free-Style Ceramics Design Lecture of the 3rd years of Anadolu University Fine Arts Faculty Ceramics Department, the relationship between literature and ceramics of an interdisciplinary practice in the art training was presented to the audience by organizing a ceramics exhibition. During this study, the importance of reading through period of study was emphasized and the importance of interdisciplinary art training was analyzed. As an interdisciplinary exhibition "Golgesizler Ceramics Exhibition" was constituted on the basis of Hasan Ali Toptas's novel called "Golgesizler" as in the context of 2014-2015 Free-style Ceramics Design Lecture. In this article, the relationship between literature and ceramics is going to be analyzed with the examples of works of the artists related to the subject and with the works of students in "Golgesizler Ceramics Exhibition".

9th International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED) -- MAR 02-04, 2015 -- Madrid, SPAIN, WOS: 000398586302134, The purpose of this study was to investigate a group of Turkish EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher candidates' views on American culture. The participants of the study were 150 (75 first-year and 75 fourth-year) EFL teacher candidates studying in the EFL teacher education program of a state university in Turkey. The participants' views on American culture were investigated with the help of a questionnaire which had a total of 55 items focusing on different dimensions of American culture. These dimensions are power distance, individuality-collectivism, femininity-masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, and long-short term orientation. For each questionnaire item the participant read a sentence which claimed to be reflecting American culture and decided whether s/he agreed or disagreed with, or could not decide about the item. The results of the study indicated that there are not important differences between first-year and fourth-year participants of the study in terms of their views on American culture.