Abstract:

The purpose of the research is to evaluate the use of virtual museums in history courses considering the student opinions.  The research was carried out with qualitative research method and case study.   The study group consists of a total of 27 students studying in the 10th grade in Anatolian Teaching High School in Şereflikoçhisar, Ankara.   The study group was determined via convenience method.  The subject of the Topkapı Palace was studied by using a virtual museum so that students could evaluate the virtual museum application.  The data were gathered via virtual museum evaluation form administered before and after the implementation and analysed via content analysis. The findings revealed that most of the students participating in the study did not experience virtual museums before, they described virtual museums as a museum visit on the Internet, and they expected to be informed and benefit from the virtual museum implementation. After the implementation of virtual museum, students emphasized the visual aspect of virtual museum and they stated that the implementation was both effective and interesting.  In addition, they stated that they learned new information with the implementation; they learned easily, permanently, and clearly, and they really felt as if they visited the palace. After the visual museum implementation, some students stated that they really wanted to see and visit the Topkapı Palace. Students suggested that more time should be allotted to this activity, the lecture should be more detailed during the implementation, this application should be used more in the lessons, the application should be supported with music and voice for the purpose of giving information, and the resolution of the visuals projected should be high and clear so that this application could be more effective.   

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