Virtual Museum Experiences of Primary School Teacher Candidates During the COVID-19 Pandemic Process

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to look into primary school teacher candidates' experiences with virtual museums during the pandemic.For this purpose, the study was conducted with a phenomenology design, which is one of the qualitative research designs. The study's participants are 15 teacher candidates enrolled in the faculty of education for the 2020-2021 academic year.In the study, data were collected after 10 virtual museums were experienced by the participants, who made assessments from an educational perspective. The research data were collected through a structured interview form, the Virtual Museum Evaluation Form (VMEF). The data obtained were analyzed with content analysis. According to the findings of the study, it was determined that using virtual museums in educational environments will benefit students and teachers, but also have some disadvantages. At this point, it can be said that virtual museums can be used in education due to such reasons as ensuring the active participation of students in the lesson, supporting permanent learning, making the lesson fun, etc. while being aware of the disadvantages.