Views of digital immigrant experiences of physical education teachers on digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected many areas, including education, and many application-based courses, including physical education classes, have experienced a challenging process. At this point, it is thought that the views of teachers who have experienced this process, especially on digital transformation, are quite valuable. The research focuses on the digital transformation strategies applied by physical education teachers by examining how effectively they used their digital skills during the pandemic and the challenges they faced. The purpose of this study is to examine physical education teachers' experiences with digital transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research group consisted of physical education teachers over the age of 42 working in state schools in Denizli province. Individual interviews were conducted with the participants in the spring semester of 2022-2023 through the virtual platform Zoom. Interpretive phenomenology design was used in the study. Snowball and criterion sampling methods were preferred while selecting the sample. Data was collected using semi-structured interview technique. The collected data were analyzed using content analysis. As a result of the research, it was determined that almost all participants had difficulty reaching students. Another important result that emerged in the research is the impact of factors such as variability in the use of technological tools by teachers and students and lack of motivation on education. This study can create awareness about the importance of digital technologies in education by revealing the views of physical education teachers on digital transformation during the pandemic. Based on the finding of the variability in teacher competence, the conclusion can be drawn that teachers need to receive more education on technology use, and solutions need to be developed to increase students' competence in using technological tools. It is necessary to support teachers more in adapting to the digital age and to increase in-service training to ensure that this process is carried out successfully. Digital immigrants who provide education to digital native children born and raised in the digital age should also acquire the necessary characteristics, and the results should be periodically tested and guided accordingly. Keywords: Physical education teacher, COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation, distance education.