Nergiz Ercil Cagiltay

The aim of this study was to identify and demonstrate trends in the areas of quality and understandability of unified modeling language notation. It is aimed at giving future directions for the researchers working in this field. A systematic mapping study was conducted on 227 journal and conference articles that were retrieved from the Web of Science, Scopus, IEEE Xplore and ACM. The results indicated that quality is the main aspect, in such a way that other aspects like understandability and maintainability are subsets of this aspect. Moreover, sixteen perspectives were found from which the quality and understandability of the UML diagrams have been studied by the preceding studies. The results obtained from the 227 article mapping provided 16 inductive categories. Quality Assessment category was found to be the most prevalent one, followed by Representations, Design and Modelling, and Testing categories respectively. Guideline, Pedagogical Strategy, Software Engineer categories had the same prevalence, 6.61%. System Structure (0.88%) and Model Transformation (0.44%) are under-explored areas. Output was highest during the period between 2015–2019, whereas Pedagogical Strategy category emerged after 2020 (3.96%) with the help of gamification, LLM feedback, remote learning and process thinking approach. Co-occurrence and theoretical anchoring (SEQUAL, ISO/IEC 25010, Moody’s Physics of Notations) provide evidence that quality and understandability are integrative and multi-perspective concepts. This research paper presents a new inductive taxonomy, theory-based synthesis, and future research directions on UML quality and understandability in agile, AI-enabled and low-code/no-code modelling environments.

Objective: Understanding the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) can be challenging with conventional methods, as its complex anatomy, comprising the articular disc, mandibular condyle, and temporal bone, requires detailed visualisation. Traditional approaches like textbooks and static images often fall short, whereas modern tools such as 3D modelling and virtual reality (VR) offer more effective alternatives. Metaverse technology further enhances this by creating interactive, immersive and collaborative learning environments that simulate real‐world experiences. While VR is increasingly used in dental education, research on fully immersive metaverse‐based learning remains limited. Methods: In this pilot study, a custom metaverse environment was developed to teach TMJ concepts. Then, the effectiveness of conventional and metaverse‐based teaching methods in improving dental students' understanding of the TMJ was evaluated experimentally. A randomised trial was conducted with 120 first‐year dental students, divided into three groups: classical lecturing, metaverse‐based training and a combination of both. Results: Findings indicate that students in the metaverse and combined groups outperformed those in the classical lecturing group, with no significant difference between the two metaverse‐involved groups. Conclusions: This suggests that for highly complex anatomical structures like the TMJ, metaverse‐based training alone may be sufficient, eliminating the need for additional traditional instruction. The study highlights the metaverse's potential to enhance dental education by providing a fully 3D, interactive learning experience.

The emergence of the Metaverse and Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), has

Introduction: Surgeons in the operating theatre frequently need to split their attention, such as when switching between the monitor and radiological images during endoscopic surgery. This split attention can lead to cognitive overload, potentially impacting performance. Despite this, limited research has been conducted on how split attention affects surgical outcomes. Patients and Methods: This study examines the impact of split attention on surgical performance in a simulation-based training environment with two conditions: A far-condition (where information sources were spaced farther apart) and a near-condition (where sources were positioned closer together). A total of 53 participants (13 experienced surgical residents and 40 beginners) completed ten trials in each condition. Results: The results indicated that split attention led to diminished performance in beginners but not in residents. These findings suggest that expertise plays a crucial role in managing cognitive load for surgeons. Conclusion: The study highlights the need to develop training curricula that promote the automation of surgical skills through practice, allowing surgeons to allocate more cognitive resources effectively.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become increasingly popular as a means of delivering education on a global scale. However, comparative analyses across different contexts remain limited. To enhance the effectiveness and inclusivity of MOOCs, it is essential to gain a deeper understanding of course characteristics and learner behaviors in varied educational and cultural settings. This descriptive study compares two distinct MOOC platforms: MITx, a large academic initiative from the United States, and Bilgeİş, a smaller professional development platform from Turkey. The aim is to explore how MOOCs contribute to educational equity, access, and opportunity. The analysis draws on descriptive statistics from 122 MITx courses (with 2.8 million learners) and 100 Bilgeİş courses (with 100,000 learners), focusing on course topics, difficulty levels, and learner demographics such as age, gender, and education level. Findings reveal persistent inequalities in learner participation, particularly by gender and educational background. As MOOCs mature, they appear to attract a broader range of learners, including individuals with lower levels of formal education and older age groups. This trend highlights the potential of MOOCs to serve as inclusive learning environments that support lifelong learning and workforce development. The study underscores the need for standardized metadata frameworks to enable more consistent cross-platform comparisons and recommends regular evaluations to help providers tailor course design and content distribution in ways that promote equitable educational access.

Participants’ performance is one of the critical factors for the success of the platforms. There is a lot of data in MOOC platforms that are free and open to everyone, and due to this large amount of educational data, it is difficult to make accurate predictions and inferences. The primary purpose of this research is to conduct a literature review to discover the existing Educational Data Mining methods and techniques used to analyze Massive Open Online Course data. For this purpose, the focus is on the source from which the data is collected, which EVM methods and techniques are used, and which tools are used in the analysis to compare different approaches. A total of 32 articles published between 2013-2024 were included in the scope of the study. According to the findings, there are many algorithms used for EVM methods and techniques in the analysis of MOOC data. The most preferred algorithm in the studies is “K-Means”, followed by “Support Vector Machines”, “Decision Trees” and “Random Forest”. Coursera and Edx are among the platforms used and preferred worldwide. It is anticipated that making the data available on these platforms public will contribute to further research and guide studies in the education field. Privacy and ethics also come to the fore within the scope of open data publication. In this context, developing some standards and new approaches to share data with researchers in a standard form that does not include privacy violations will significantly contribute to studies conducted in this field.

Since appropriate title writing is an important variable in terms of publishing and citing an article, this research examines the titles of internationally indexed articles published in the field of educational sciences in terms of content and format. Document analysis was conducted by reviewing 800 articles and titles in the Web of Science database according to the criteria determined by the researchers based on the literature. Statistical analyses were made using the SPSS 27.0 program on the content and title compatibility data. The finding showed that the sentence structure of the articles differed according to the countries of origin of the journals in which they were published. In addition, it was found that the titles of the journals with high impact factor gave their methodological tendencies more clearly. It was found that the impact factor is linearly and medium related to reaching potential title standards and word count. Analysis by quartile factors of journals showed that potential content standards differed significantly in favor of Q1 journals. According to the results of the difference analysis for the journals, there is a statistically significant difference between the four journals in terms of title potential standards and a ranking as Review of Educational Research (Q1), Education and Science (Q4), Educational Researcher (Q1) and Pedagogy (Q4) has emerged according to the averages. Within the scope of the results obtained, some suggestions were made to guide researchers in creating titles for their scientific studies.

Introduction: Navigation skills for controlling the camera in the surgical field are critical for many minimally invasive surgery (MIS) procedures. Currently, endoscopes lack integrated navigation aids, making camera control a challenging task. This experimental study aims to investigate the effect of navigation guidance on the performance of beginners. Patients and Methods: A custom computer-based simulation environment was developed for this study, featuring two conditions – one with navigation guidance and one without – focussed on a camera-cleaning task. Participants (64 beginners) were randomly assigned to one of these groups and used two haptic devices to simulate the endoscope and surgical tools. Results: Participants in the guided condition performed significantly better than those in the unguided condition. Notably, female participants completed the task in significantly less time under the guided condition compared to the unguided one. Conclusion: These findings suggest that incorporating navigation aids into endoscope interfaces could improve user performance, especially for beginners. Medical device manufacturers should consider adding navigation features to enhance usability. In addition, simulation-based instructional systems should integrate navigation aids to better support surgical training.

Purpose: Avatars, representing users in the digital world, can influence users' behavior and attitudes. This study evaluates the impact of representing dental students receiving temporomandibular joint (TMJ) education in the metaverse via an anonymous or identified avatar.Methods: Participants included 80 dental students in their fourth and fifth years of study. They were randomly assigned to either the avatar group (identified avatar) or the control group (anonymous avatar). Prior to training, participants completed a demographic questionnaire and a pretraining knowledge assessment. TMJ training was conducted in the metaverse for both groups. Pre‐ and post‐training assessments included the Spielberger State–Trait Anxiety Inventory and a shyness scale to ensure group comparability. A post‐test consisting of five questions was administered to both groups after 2 weeks of training.Results: There were no significant differences in pretraining scores for prior knowledge (p = 0.67), trait anxiety (p = 0.28), state anxiety (p = 0.92), or shyness (p = 0.42) between the avatar and control groups, indicating comparability at baseline. Post‐training analysis revealed significantly higher post‐test scores in the avatar group (median = 80) compared to the control group (median = 60) (p = 0.03).Conclusions: Metaverse environments offer various benefits for students, educators, and educational institutions in health education programs. Representing learners and their identities in training environments can enhance learning outcomes.