Measuring Student Satisfaction Level Regarding Aesthetic and Instructor Dimensions of Web-Based Distance Learning Programs: The Case of Spiritual Guidance Training Program

Introduction

Technology played a decisive role in the development and progress of societies. In the historical development process, humans first imitated nature and developed various tools. Thanks to the culture they created, the production of these tools passed on to the next generation. This cultural transfer continued through education, and education has played a vital role in shaping the future of societies with several approaches and methods in the historical development process of humanity. In this context, the relationship between education and technology has developed each other, and particularly in the present century, education and technology interacted with each other very quickly and gained an almost integrated view. With the invention of the printing press, the rapid reproduction of printed resources, the advances in transportation and communication technologies, and the spread of printed resources have paved the way for the phenomenon of distance education, which has increased the interaction between education and society in an unprecedented manner. The new process has started with the widespread use of the internet in distance education approaches, which have gained popularity with the development of technological tools that provide flexibility for the individual learning environment such as video cassette, CD, DVD, etc.

Especially in this century, developments in information and communication technologies have brought about important changes in the field of education, as in all areas of life. In today's information society, where information has become the determinant of economic production, information production, intellectual capital, and qualified human factor have gained importance. In line with this, the use of internet technology in education has become an inevitable necessity in both traditional education and distance education, as it stands out for the continuity of education. Providing continuity of education and the increasing need for information has increased the importance and prevalence of distance education while the new methods in distance education enabled the widespread usage of the opportunities provided by new technologies. Undoubtedly, Web-Based Distance Learning application is the most common distance learning method that utilizes the latest information and communication technologies.

Another field where web-based distant education applications is lifelong learning programs. Lifelong learning involves all sorts of formal and distant education activities that will contribute to the vocational and individual development of the individuals of all ages. Especially, web-based distant education applications enable the participants in receiving education on numerous subjects notwithstanding the limits of space through improving the opportunities in terms of lifelong learning. In Turkey, one of the significant and modern programs which contribute to lifelong learning through distant education is Spiritual Guidance program. Spiritual guidance is a distant education program which was prepared in order to satisfy the needs of consultants with religious and moral orientation and considering the issues which society needs in this field. The program which was put into practice open to the participation of all the individuals in terms of providing contributions to the both individual and vocational development of the individuals who work in this field became very popular in Turkey. The content production, registry and coordination of spiritual guidance programs are conducted by lifelong learning centers of the universities. The Spiritual Guidance distant education program which is conducted by continuing education center of Selçuk University reached to numerous students all over the country as the first program in this field.

Various educational institutions in Turkey transmit their contents to their students of all ages through web based distant education applications in terms of lifelong learning. Evaluating the satisfaction level of the course contents among the students throughout the process of applying distant education programs and gains significance in terms of revealing the sufficiency of suchlike programs. There are only a few studies which satisfaction levels of the aforementioned distant education programs are evaluated in terms of aesthetical design and deductive dimension of those programs. The basic problem of this study is to research the way students evaluate the aesthetical design and deductive dimension of the contents of distant learning related to lifelong learning considering Spiritual Guidance program.