A sample for web based education: Virtual polarizan microscope applications in undergraduate program at the department of geological engineering

In recent days, it has been very easy to get and share information with the development of technology and questions like ?How can we learn better? How can we teach better?? occupies the minds. As a result, by starting to use the computers and the internet technology in education, web-based education appears to come out as a solution to the problems by supporting and supplementing the classical face-to-face education. Today, web-based education is used as a problem-solver in many levels in the universities and higher education. The expected feed back couldn?t be taken from the education processes in the departments with a few applied courses, especially in engineering faculties with many students and a few labs. The Department of Geological Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering is one of them. In the project, a web-based educational environment is designed to constitute an alternative educational environment for lab practices as a solution to the problems in Optical Mineralogy course which is one of the basic courses of the Department of Geological Engineering. In the project, semi-experimental post-testing control group is used in the scope of special occasion workout. The sampling of there search included an experimental group (42), and a control group (42);total 84 students. Interviews have been made with experimental group (10), and control group (10) elected by purposed sampling method to evaluate the process of the course; with 3 lecturers in the Department of Geological Engineering, 3 lecturers in the Department of Computer and Instructional Technology, and 3 student selected by purposed sampling method to evaluate WDE environment. In addition, by using the lab examination marks of experimental and control groups and the experimental group?s duration of studying in WDE environment, the effect of WDE on academic succes has been searched. Consequently, it has emerged that WDE environment as an appropriate method for the level of students, has a motivational and instructional effect on increasing the academic succes.