An Analysis of Capstone Courses Given Through Distance Education in Turkey

The purpose of this article is to determine the opinions and experiences of participants who took both distance and formal education courses concerning practice. The case study method was employed for this study. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Distance education software and recorded virtual course videos were analyzed and observations were made. The participants comprised eight students enrolled in formal education courses and who also took distance education courses during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, two instructors who were giving lectures through distance education and an instructor promoted in the students' education program. Findings indicated that the participants were aware of the time and space advantages of distance education but they do not use the system because they are not given sufficient information and they do not know how to use it. Findings also showed that virtual courses were almost never watched, and the most important factor related to this lack of use was the lack of interaction with instructors.