Are Turkish universities ready for e-learning: A case of Hacettepe University Faculty of Letters

Issue title: 16th International Conference on Electronic Publishing – ELPUB 2012 – Social Shaping of Digital Publishing: Exploring the Interplay between Culture and Technology

Guest editors: Ana BaptistaGuest Editor, Peter LindeGuest Editor, Niklas LavessonGuest Editor and Miguel A. BritoGuest Editor

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Soydal, İrem^a | Alır, Gülten^b | Ünal, Yurdagül^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Information Management, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey | [b] Department of Information Management, Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Ankara, Turkey

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Yurdagül Ünal, Department of Information Management, Hacettepe University, 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: yurdagul@hacettepe.edu.tr.

Abstract: Universities play an important role in lifelong learning. E-learning is one of the key elements in today's networked and knowledge oriented world. It is crucial to know whether the universities are ready to transform their courses to e-learning systems. In this paper the e-learning readiness of the academic staff of Hacettepe University Faculty of Letters (HUFL) is investigated. A 37-item questionnaire along with some demographic questions is used for obtaining the data. Results show that title might be a significant factor for e-learning readiness and in general, HUFL academic staff are not ready for the e-learning environment. The findings of this study will help to conduct a larger study throughout Turkey in order to determine a model for course of action for transition to an e-learning system.

Keywords: E-learning readiness, higher education, academic staff readiness

DOI: 10.3233/ISU-2012-0659

Journal: Information Services & Use, vol. 31, no. 3-4, pp. 281-291, 2011