Views of science teachers on digital education platforms: A mixed pattern research

The aim of this study is to determine science teachers' views on digital education platforms. Exploratory sequential design from mixed methods was used in the study. Survey model was preferred in the quantitative method and phenomenology model was preferred in the qualitative method. The quantitative sample of the research consists of 167 science teachers working in official secondary schools in Siirt province affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the 2022-2023 academic year, determined by the easily accessible case sampling method. The qualitative sample of the study consists of 20 science teachers determined from the quantitative sample using stratified sampling from purposeful sampling methods. 'Digital Education Platform Evaluation Scale' (DEPES) was used as a quantitative data collection tool, and a semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher was used in the qualitative dimension. Quantitative data were analyzed with SPSS package program. In the analysis of quantitative data; Independent Sample t-Test and One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were applied. Content analysis method was preferred in analyzing qualitative data. As a result of the quantitative findings, when the use of digital education platforms by science teachers was analyzed according to the socio-economic level of the school, a significant difference was found only in the EBA dimension, and no significant difference was found in all three dimensions (EBA, Morpa Kampüs, Okulistik) according to gender, age, professional seniority and educational status variables. Significant differences were found when science teachers' views on the sub-dimensions of the scale of digital education platforms competency levels were analyzed in terms of different variables. As a result of the qualitative findings, the frequency of platform use in the learning-teaching process of the participants was EBA, Okulistik, Morpa Kampüs, respectively. The majority of the participants stated that the platforms benefit the learning-teaching process. It was seen that the participants preferred the platforms mostly because they have rich content, contain educational games, the content is fun and up-to-date, it is suitable for the curriculum and there are practice exams. It was determined that difficulties were experienced due to problems such as insufficient content of the platforms, students' inability to access the platforms, and lack of updating. Key Words: Science, Digital Education Platforms, Educational Technologies.