Students evaluation of EDU 2.0: A case study

Abstract

Not every learning management system has the same functions and the same characteristics; what is important is to choose the best one available for the students. Purpose of this study is to find out Education Students perspectives about the Edu 2.0 system. For this purpose, Undergraduate students (n = 51) and Graduate students (N = 9) evaluated the learning management system Edu 2.0. Their result was that the system is "good" for courses delivered in English; however it is not so efficient for Turkish courses. (C) 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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1877-0428 © 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.175
Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 28 (2011) 948 – 956
WCETR 2011
Students evaluation of EDU 2.0: a case study
Nazime Tuncay a *, Huseyin Uzunboylu b, Necmettin Teker c
aPh.D Candidate,Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology, Near East University, TRNC
bProf.Dr.,Department of Computer Education & Instructional Technology, Near East University, TRNC
Asst. Prof. Dr., Ankara University Educational Sciences Faculty CE&IT Department, Cebeci Campus, Cebeci/Ankara 06590, TURKEY
Abstract
Not every learning management system has the same functions and the same characteristics; what is important is to choose the
best one available for the students. Purpose of this study is to find out Education Students perspectives about the Edu 2.0 system.
For this purpose, Undergraduate students (n=51) and Graduate students (N=9) evaluated the learning management system Edu
2.0. Their result was WKDWWKHV\VWHPLV³JRRG´IRUFRXUVHVGHOLYHUHGLQEnglish; however it is not so efficient for Turkish courses.
© 2011 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Edu 2.0; LMS; distance learning
1. Introduction
LMS is a self-contained webpage with embedded instructional tools that permit faculty to organize academic
content and engage students in their learning (Laster, 2005). If learners are not satisfied with the design of the course
website, they may have negative perceptions of the effectiveness their online courses (Brush, 2001), thus choosing
the right LMS is important. Cavus, Uzunboylu and Ibrahim (2007) underlined that a learning management system
(LMS) provides the platform for web-based learning environment by enabling the management, delivery, and
tracking of learning, testing, communication, registration process and scheduling. Understanding and identifying the
motivation factors that influence faculty is relevant to effective faculty development, support structures, and the use
of an LMS (Betts, 1998). Infusing education technology resources, such as an LMS, may assist faculty with
managing courses and organizing content to engage students and decrease planning time, thus supporting the
instructional process (Ayers & Doherty, 2003; Jafari, McGee, & Carmean, 2006; Oliva & Pawlas, 2005). The
identification of the best learning style in an Intelligent Tutoring System must be considered essential as part of the
success in the teaching process (Zatarain-Cabada,etc., 2009) . There is a need to find a way to include virtual worlds
in school learning, but this requires careful planning to specify the roles of teachers and students and the way the
virtual worlds are used in the current school environment (Iqbal , etc.).
1.1Edu 2.0 and its Features
Edu 2.0 is a free web-based education site with various features for teachers, students and parents. It needs
nothing to download or install and it includes Facebook-like news feeds and social networking. What is more, it can
be accessed from any mobile device. For expert users low cost premium plans are available. It consist of rich set of
* Nazime Tuncay.
E-mail address: nazime.tuncay@gmail.com
Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.

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assessment tools, including quizzes, question banks, and seven other kinds of assignment. In this system, Students
should adopt a deep learning approach from the earliest age via learning environments where they can control their
learning (<ÕOPD]& Orhan, 2010). It has read rubrics and easy-to-use grade book. The learning-oriented environment
refers to the extent to which students perceive assessment tasks as moderately challenging, assessment standards and
criteria are clear, assessment feedback is informative, and that they have chances to improve their performance
(Alkharusi,H.,2010).Creating a curriculum, associating its proficiencies with lessons and assignments and then track
student progress automatically is very easy. Any kind of media can be embed into classes, including pictures, audio,
video, slideshows, and more. It contains groups, blogs, wikis, forums and chat that are built in. The LMS allows you
to customize your RUJDQL]DWLRQ¶V banner, URL, home page, color scheme, and logo. Also, parents can have their
RZQDFFRXQWVDQGHDVLO\DFFHVVWKHLUFKLOGUHQ¶VJUDGHV DVVLJQPHQWVDQGUHSRUWs. Teachers using Edu 2.0 can store
resources into a personal, school or district library for easy sharing. Every student gets their own portfolio for saving
and showcasing their work. Once you log in, you can see when your friends and colleagues are online, and click on
their avatar to chat. Teachers and parents can monitor all communications within classes in real time, and receive
daily reports of any communications that might have been offensive. The system is arranged for a school, class,
lessons and contains many related menus. In this paper the menus and students perspectives of those will be
discussed.
1.2 Purpose
The purpose of this study is to find out Education Students perspectives about the Edu 2.0 system; hence a
course is designed to make students experience the system before evaluating it.
2. Method
2.1 Study Group
51 computing and instructional technology teacher education students, ages differing between 19 and 21, in
NEU (Near East University) and Graduate students (N=9) attended four distance education courses . The
interviews were carried out with graduate students and 7KHODVWFRXUVHQDPHG³6N\SH´ can be seen at Figure 1.
)LJXUH6WXGHQWVDWWDLQHGWRFRXUVH³6N\SH´

950 Nazime Tuncay et al. / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 28 (2011) 948 – 956
2.2 Instrument
Researchers created an account and uploaded course contents into Edu 2.0 (http://nazimetuncay.edu20.org).
The online course is presented first to graduate students in Near East University and interviews were carried out.
Their opinions for improving the online course is taken. The online course is redesigned accordingly. Later online
questionarie was prepared on Surveymonkey.com (https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/5XWH29Z). In order to take
opinions of the undergraduate students the experts evaluation (n = 11) was wanted for the survey items. Experts
group from education technologist evaluated the data gathering scale both individually and collaboratively. Under
the suggestions of experts, necessary corrections were done to the draft form. Hence, the content validity of the
questionarie was maintained by the help of the educational technologist experts (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Questionarie on SurveyMonkey.com
2.3 Procedure
A web page was designed. Online attendance and online question forms, online quizzes were included to
this page. The students were expected to enter their passwords to access the page, read the lecture notes, sign the
online attendance form, solve the online quizzes and do their homeworks. The students were also able to join to
synchronous discussion with the teacher or submit their questions via the online form (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Chat in Edu 2.0 System

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Students are given several assignments and graded. Figure 4 shows an example of the assignments given in first
course.
Figure 4. Student Assignments
2.4. Data Analysis
For data analysis Surveymonkey.com is used and the frequencies, percentages are calculated and graphs
are exported by the help of the program.
3. Results and Discussion
Students were happy about using Edu 2.0 system and they stated that most of the menus in Edu 2.0 system is
useful and can be added in courses.
3.1 Results of the Interviews Carried by Graduate Students
As a result of the interviews carried by the graduate students, the students stated that the advantages of the Edu
2.0 system are: It is more easy to use compared to Moodle; it can be chosen when compared to Blackboard, since it
is very cheap; it is better than Wordpress since it has more features; we can upload our assignments via system; we
can follow class chat even though we have not participated ; it is good for blended instructions; one need not to
instal it; system contains cla; it is good . The disdvantages are stated as: It is not suitable for courses which are
conducted in Turkish; The system may be confusing at first sight, since it is very different than other LMS; the
system translation from English to Turkish is not good (See Table 1).

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Table 1. Edu 2.0 Advantages and Disadvantages
Edu 2.0 System Advantages
Edu 2.0 System Disadvantages
1. It is more easy to use compared to Moodle.
2. It can be chosen when compared to Blackboard, since it is
very cheap.
3. It is better than Wordpress since it has more features.
4. We can upload our assignments via system.
5. We can follow class chat even though we have not
participated
6. It is good for blended instructions.
7. One need not to instal it.
8. System contains Cla
9. It is good
1. It is not suitable for courses which are conducted in
Turkish.
2. The system may be confusing at first sight, since it is very
different than other LMS
3. The system translation from English to Turkish is not good.
3.2 Students Evaluations about ³General Menus´:
The five general menus were stated as “Should be Added” with great percentages (See Table 2).
Table 2. General Menus
MENUS “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“Home” Menu 94,0% 6.0% 0,0%
“Classes” Menu 87,8% 12,2% 0,0%
“People” Menu 81,6% 18,4% 0,0%
“Groups” Menu 72,9% 22,9% 4,2%
“Resources” Menu 83,3% 16,7% 0,0%
3.3 ³Home´ Menus:
The Edu 2.0 system contained 5 submenus: “News”, “Messages”, “Calendar”, “Locker”, “Portfolio”, “Photos”,
“Blog” and “Account”. Only “Locker” Menu is stated as “May not be added” with percentage 51% ( See Table 3).
Table 3. Edu 2.0 “Home” Menu
HOME MENUS “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“News” Area 88,8% 10,2% 0,0%
“Messages” Area 92,2% 7,8% 0,0%
“Calendar” Area 60,0% 34,0% 6,0%
“Locker” Area 34,7%
51,0% 14,3%
“Portfolio” Area 86,0% 14,0% 0,0%
“Photos” Area 78,0% 20,0% 2,0%
“Blog” Area 77,6% 22,4% 0,0%
“Account” Area 79,2% 16,7% 4,2%

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3.4 Classes Menus: Classes menu contained two menus: “Enrolled” and “Catolog”. These are stated by students
with great percentages as “may be added” ( See Table 4).
Table 4. Edu 2.0 “Classes” Menu
3.5 People Menu: It contains four submenus: “Overview”, “Friends”, “My Teachers”, “My Teachers” and “My
Parents” (Table 5) in which all of them are chosen by great percentage of the students as “May be added” ( See
Table 5).
Table 5. Edu 2.0 “People” Menu
3. 6 Groups Menu: It contains “My Groups” and “Catalog” submenus) in which all of them are chosen by great
percentage of the students as “May be added” ( See Table 6).
Table 6. Edu 2.0 “Groups” Menu
3.7 Resources Menu: It contains “Favorites” and “Uploaded Files” menus, in which all of them are chosen by
great percentage of the students as “May be added” ( See Table 7).
Table 7. Edu 2.0 “Resources” Menu
“CLASSES” MENUS “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“Enrolled” Area 74,0% 24,0% 2,0%
“Catalog” Area 62,7% 33,3% 3,9%
“PEOPLE” MENU “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“Overview” Area 75,5% 20,4% 4,1%
“Friends” Area 92,0% 6,0% 2,0%
“My Teachers” Area 88,2% 9,8% 2,0%
“My Parents” Area 59,2% 34,7% 6,1%
“GROUPS” MENU “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“My Groups” Area 90,0% 10,0% 0,0%
“Catalog” Area 59,2% 36,7% 4,1%
“Resources” MENU “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“Favorites” Area 90,0% 10,0% 0,0%
“Uploaded Files” Area 59,2% 36,7% 4,1%

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3.8 Shortcuts Menu: It contains “Home”, “E-books”, “Videos”, “Chat”, “NEU”, “Help” and “Tools” menus, in
which all of them are chosen by great percentage of the students as “May be added” (See Table 8).
Table 8. Edu 2.0 “Shortcuts Menu
3.9 Shortcuts Menu: It contains “Moving”, “Flying”, “Videos”, “Running”, “Personal Chat”, “Group Chat”,
“Text” and “Conference Rooms” menus, in which all of them are chosen by great percentage of the students as
“May be added” (Table 9).
Table 9. SeconLife Enviroment
3.10 The Students Comments on Edu 2.0 System
The students also write their comments about the system on Edu 2.0 forms. They stated that the system is good;
some of them also stated that the system may be confusing at first and it gets easier when they are used to it (See
Figure 5)
“Shortcuts” MENU “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“Home” Area 94,0% 6,0% 0,0%
“E-Books” Area 80,0% 16,0% 4,0%
“Videos” Area 86,0% 14,0% 0,0%
“Chat” Area 96,0% 2,0% 2,0%
“Neu” Area 87,8% 12,2% 0,0%
“Help” Area 74,5% 23,5% 2,0%
“Tools” Area 81,6% 14,3% 4,1%
SECONDLIFE ENVIROMENT “Should be Included” “May be Included” “Should not be Included”
“Moving” 82,4% 15,7% 2,0%
“Flying” 54,2% 39,6% 6,3%
“Running” 62,5% 33,3% 4,2%
“Personal Chat” 84,0% 14,0% 2,0%
“Group Chat” 92,0% 6,0% 2,0%
“Text” Area 80,4% 19,6% 0,0%
“Conference Rooms” 81,3% 18,8% 0,0%

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Figure 5.Comments on the System
4. Conclusions and Recommendations
World is a whole with both developed and developing countries. Global thought involves widening applications
all over the world (Tuncay&Uzunboylu, 2010). In this world schools are important. School, which is one of these
community intuitions, is getting more responsible of child’s education g]oÕQDU, 2009). For students’ education, the
right choice of the LMS is very important. This research study shows that Edu 2.0 is a right choice for all the
courses delivered in English. Since students were happy using the system and they claimed that it increased their
success, Edu 2.0 can be used for delivering courses in English. On the other hand, students emphasized that the
system is not good for Turkish courses. In a previous study delivered by Tuncay&Uzunboylu, (2010) it was found
that among most important reasons of students for not preferring distance education course was its not being “face to
face”. Contradicting to the previous findings, the Teacher Education students were not feeling lack of the face to
face classroom instruction when they were using Edu 2.0. Teachers are the individuals who sow the seeds of a
nations or a society’s future (dD÷ODU &Demirok, 2011), teachers should take into consideration research studies and
their finding when they are delivering courses. Recommendations to the Edu 2.0 system developer are; The Turkish
version should be improved by the help of the Turkish programmers and more flexibility should be given to the
users. If students feel more responsible from the view of their profiles they may be more pleased.
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