Opinions of social science teachers on virtual tour applications in social study education

The aim of this research was to understand the opinions of pre-service teachers in Social Studies Teaching Program against virtual tour applications and in this context, to comprehend the contribution of virtual tour to social studies education and its effect on the professional development of prospective teachers in the future. In the study group of the research, undergraduate students in the Social Studies Teaching Program studying at the education faculty of a state university in the Mediterranean region of Turkey took place. Qualitative data analysis was carried out in the research. 23 undergraduate students, who are social studies teacher candidates, participated in the research. Interview questions were prepared and questions were asked to the students, whether they had any prior knowledge of the virtual tour, which learning areas the virtual tour could be associated with in the social studies course, whether the prospective teachers had virtual tour experiences, whether they would use it in their future professional life, and whether they would use the virtual tour in the future. In this context, it has been tried to determine what kind of contribution the virtual tour will make to their professional life in the future. The information obtained from the interview forms was evaluated and interpreted within the scope of content analysis. Within the scope of the evaluations, information about the opinions of the teacher candidates about the virtual tour was determined. In general, it has been found that the virtual tour is more associated with the learning area of "Culture and Heritage", "People, Places and Environments" by the social studies teacher candidates. While the pre-service teachers generally found virtual tour applications more advantageous due to their cost-effectiveness, embodying abstract concepts, and making the social studies lesson more enjoyable, they also saw it as a disadvantage because it prevented the perception of reality. On the other hand, the positive effect of the virtual tour on student success was emphasized. The information about what kind of studies the virtual tour will bring to the department in the social studies education program has also been tried to be determined in the research.