Educational Technology and Computing

Educational Technology and Computing

I hold a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology specializing in educational measurement and assessment from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Currently, I am a Visiting Faculty and instructor at the University of Alabama. My research interests revolve around Item Response Theory and Rasch model applications in educational and psychological assessment data.

Skills and expertise:

• Educational Measurement
• Computerized Adaptive Testing
• Item Response Theory
• Psychometrics
  
  

Dr. Nehir Yasan Ak is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Information Systems at Akdeniz University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Computer and Electronic Education from Fırat University. She completed both her master’s and Ph.D. degrees at Middle East Technical University. Her master’s thesis focused on educational policies in the field of Science and Technology Policy Studies, while her doctoral research in Computer Education and Instructional Technology explored mobile phone use for educational purposes among university students. To develop an interdisciplinary perspective, she studied sociology at Anadolu University and earned a second bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Süleyman Demirel University. She is currently pursuing another master’s degree on deep learning-based prediction using histopathological images. Her academic interests include mobile learning, problematic mobile phone use, scale development, and instructional technologies.

Dr. Parlak Rakap earned her undergraduate degree in Preschool Education from Gazi University in 2003. In 2004, she began her integrated PhD studies in the Department of Elementary Education at Middle East Technical University (METU). During her doctoral journey, she conducted research on self-discipline under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Feyza Tantekin Erden. In 2010, she also spent 10 months at Florida State University working with Prof. Dr. Ithel Jones to further her research in Preschool Science Education. She completed her PhD in 2011.
From 2012 to 2022, Dr. Parlak Rakap served as a faculty member in the Division of Preschool Teaching at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University. In 2021–2022, she pursued postdoctoral research at North Carolina State University’s Department of Psychology, where she worked with Prof. Amy Halberstadt in the Family Affect, Beliefs, and Behaviors (FABB) Lab, focusing on respect and gratitude in early childhood.
Her research interests include self-discipline, creative drama, preschool science education, respect in early childhood, preschool disaster resiliency, and special education. Since 2022, she has been a faculty member in the Division of Preschool Education at Bartın University.