Polat, Hamza; Taslibeyaz, Elif; Kayalar, Murat Tolga

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak caused a paradigm change in education and made it necessary to conduct educational activities through online learning environments (OLEs). This sudden shift also affected special education practices for learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study aims to investigate the current issues in online education studies relating to individuals with or involved with (i.e., parents or teachers) ASD. For this purpose, a literature search was carried out to review the relevant studies conducted from 2010 to 2019, and 19 studies were selected based on predefined research criteria. Content analysis was performed to analyze the reviewed articles considering the following domains: publication year, country, field, purpose, research methods, instruments, results, and suggestions. Results indicated that the publication rates of studies pertaining to individuals with ASD, their parents and teachers increased after 2014, and although OLEs are found to be beneficial in meeting the needs of the target group, several improvements are needed to make them more useful and adaptable.

Yildiz, Merve; Selim, Yavuz

With improvements in information technologies, distance education programs have become widespread. Institutions that offer distance education programs are increasing in number. Scholars who were used to face-to-face teaching began to give courses in distance education programs which entail technological teaching methods, a new teaching experience for the teachers. Formal education or face-to-face education and distance education have different dynamics. The transition to distance teaching from the first to the later involves the transmission of experiences of teaching with technology. For effective distance education, it is important to analyze the transmission of these teaching experiences. This study evaluates how faculty members' experiences with technologies in formal education are transmitted to distance education. Interviews were held with twelve scholars who have taught both formal and distance learning courses. The interviews were recorded. Content analysis method was used to obtain a deeper understanding of the data collected. It was found that the teaching materials used in the formal and distance educations were exactly the same. Some faculty members claimed that infrastructure and technical possibilities of the current system were not sufficient for the use of different teaching materials. However, this study suggests that teachers' beliefs about educational methods are the main reason that prevented the use of different teaching materials in distance education.