Teacher's opinions on the use of virtual museums in 5th and 6th grade culture and heritage learning areas in social studies teaching

Museums are important learning environments used in the Social Studies course. While traditional education offers a learning environment in which the student is passive, this attitude has changed with modern education. With the modern education system, the student has been brought to the position of active and researcher of knowledge. With the modernization of the education system, students have the opportunity to learn by doing, living and experiencing. Museums have become important educational environments with contemporary education. Museums are institutions that collect, preserve and preserve the tangible heritage of humanity, present it to the public, and serve as a bridge between the past and the present. Today, in the information age where technology is developing rapidly, museums also perform their exhibition tasks with applications based on technological infrastructure such as virtual or mobile applications. Virtual museums, which are a type of museum, are important platforms that offer the opportunity to visit a museum from anywhere else by providing access to a museum in another place. Considering Social Studies and the sciences it contains, it is seen that the use of museums or virtual museums is important in the teaching of the course. The aim of the research is to obtain findings by taking the opinions of teachers on the use of virtual museums in the transfer of the 5th grade Culture and Heritage learning area and the 6th grade Culture and Heritage learning area in line with the use of virtual museums in the Social Studies course. The study group of the research consists of Social Studies teachers working in schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the central districts of Karatay, Meram and Selçuklu in Konya. 29 teachers were interviewed, but since they did not provide sufficient data, the interview forms with 24 teachers were evaluated. Data were collected with a semi-structured interview form. In the analysis of the data, the data collected using content analysis were analyzed by the researcher. When we consider the research findings and results, it was determined in the interview with the teachers that the teachers were aware of the concept of virtual museum. It has been determined that they have made many definitions about the concept of virtual museum, but there are differences between their views as a result of these definitions. When the teachers' use of the virtual museum is examined, it has been determined that there is no difference between their opinions, and that the teachers who use it generally use it in line with the relevant subject and achievement. They were asked whether they had seen any examples or practices related to the use of virtual museums in the Social Studies course, and it was determined that there were differences between their views based on the findings. In addition, it has been determined from the opinions of the teachers that it can be used in the transfer of the 5th and 6th grade Culture and Heritage learning areas in the Social Studies course, in the introduction of nature and historical beauties from virtual museums, in the teaching of cultural values, in showing the written and unwritten works of the states in the described periods, and in concretizing the subjects with visuals. Based on the findings, it has been determined that the most suitable for the use of virtual museums in this learning area are Journey to History, New Homeland Anatolia and Central Asia, the Homeland of Turks. It has been determined as a result of teachers' opinions that the use of virtual museums in the 5th and 6th grade Culture and Heritage learning areas can have an impact on student success in terms of providing permanent learning, and that virtual museums have a positive effect on the educational environment. Keywords: Museum, Virtual Museum, Social Studies, Culture and Heritage